Jewish pioneers first arrived in Utah after the 1849 gold rush; the first instance of organized Judaism in Utah was the creation of the Hebrew Benevolent Society in 1864.
Jews first came to Utah territory after the 1849 gold rush.[1] [2] The trip was dangerous enough that insurance companies restricted activities of policy holders who wished to travel around the West. Jews who took the overland route included Solomon N. Carvalho, Julius and Fanny Brooks, Meyer Rosenberg, Berry Marks, Morris Rosenbaum, Nicholas S. Ransohoff, Eli Ransohoff, Samuel Kahn, Abraham and Adam Kuhn, Meyer Cohn, and Gumpert Goldberg. Other early Jewish pioneers went West by sea, landing in California before coming to Utah. Those early pioneers who took the sea route included Abraham Watters, Aaron Greenewald and Charles Popper.[3] In later times, organizations such as the Jewish Industrial Removal Office helped Jews relocate from the crowded cities of the East coast to places in the west.[4] Businesses founded by Jews did well – by 1878 many villages throughout Utah had at least one Jewish store.[5]
Many of the early Jewish pioneers in Utah were young, unmarried men. During the first years, these young men, who were often clerks or merchants, slept in narrow quarters in the back of their stores and did their own housework. They often ate at restaurants in the city. Keeping Kosher was very difficult, if not impossible, but they did the best they could to fulfill their dietary laws.[6] Two of the earliest Jewish merchants to come to Utah were Nicholas S. Ransohoff and Samuel Kahn. Ransohoff was a merchant, but he also freighted goods across the plains. He had close commercial relationships with several Latter-day Saint authorities and transacted business with Brigham Young several times. Kahn worked as a freighter as well, and eventually established one of the biggest wholesale grocers in Utah Territory.[7] The majority of the Jewish merchants who arrived in Utah in the mid-1860s had previously been settled in California mining camps, but as mining opportunities in California subsided, these merchants sought a better place for permanent settlement.
The first instance of organized Judaism in Utah was the creation of the Hebrew Benevolent Society in 1864. Brigham Young deeded land to the Jewish community, and the first Jewish cemetery was founded in 1866. After the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, many more Jewish families came to Utah. The first Jewish congregation established in Utah was Congregation B'nai Israel, established in 1873. Jewish service organization B'nai Brith founded a lodge in Salt Lake in 1892, as well as a sister chapter in 1923. The National Council of Jewish Women founded a chapter in Salt Lake in 1941. Hadassah founded a Salt Lake chapter in 1943.
Jews participated in several areas during the First World War, including in the armed forces, the Red Cross, and other supporting organizations. Jewish activity boomed in the World War II war effort. Jewish Utahns once again served in the armed forces, worked with the Red Cross, and sold savings bonds.
The development of the Jewish community in Salt Lake City followed the historic national trend. The first Jewish couple to settle in Utah were Julius and Fanny Brooks, who settled in Salt Lake City in 1853. They came from Illinois in a company of wagons.
Photographer and painter Solomon Nunes Carvalho arrived in Parowan, Utah, on 7 February 1854. A few weeks later he made his way to Salt Lake City. In order to fund his travel home, he set up a business as a portrait painter. He painted portraits of Brigham Young, Daniel H. Wells, James Ferguson, Seth Blair, Wilford Woodruff, A. O. Smoot, and Feramorz Little.
The Salt Lake City Directory published in 1874 listed ninety-one Jewish businesses. Fourteen of those had been in business since 1867.
Congregation B'nai Israel was founded, first holding Reform services at the Odd Fellows Hall. In 1891, Temple B'nai Israel was built. Congregation Montefiore was founded in 1881. Congregation Sharey Tzedek broke off from Congregation Montefiore, and existed until the effects of the Great Depression forced it to close in the early 1930s. Congregations Montefiore and B'nai Israel merged in 1976.[8]
Ogden was the route through which many new arrivals to Utah were routed after the completion of the railroad. Jewish immigrants often stayed in Ogden for a time before continuing on to their final destinations.[9]
The first Jewish congregation in Ogden was established in 1890, when Congregation Ohab Sholem was founded. There was no synagogue in Ogden at the time, so the congregation met in various places. The congregation was sustained throughout the twentieth century. During the community's celebration of Purim in 1911, plans to build a synagogue were announced. In 1917, the name of the congregation was changed to Congregation Brith Sholem. In 1921, the synagogue in Ogden was built. At the laying of the cornerstone for the synagogue, the principal address was given by former Utah Governor Simon Bamberger. Congregation Brith Sholem started as an Orthodox congregation, but is now a Reform synagogue.[10]
By the 1920s, between thirty to fifty Jewish families had settled in Ogden.[11] The number of Jewish families in Ogden presently in forty-five.[12] The Jewish population in Ogden has remained constant throughout the twentieth century.