Pushcarts and Immigration, a Snapshot from 1906
From the Pushcart Commission report, 1906, Brooklyn:**
Length of Residence of Peddlers in the United States:
Time in the United States | Number | Percent |
Less than one year | 14 | 2.16 |
1 year | 25 | 3.75 |
2 years | 44 | 6.60 |
3 years | 62 | 9.29 |
4 years | 36 | 5.40 |
5 years and up | 122 | 18.29 |
10 years to life | 224 | 33.58 |
Life | 139 | 20.54 |
Not ascertained | 3 | 0.45 |
Total | 667 | 100.00 |
Nationality | Number | Percent |
English | 1 | 0.15 |
German | 27 | 4.95 |
Greek | 64 | 9.59 |
Irish | 5 | 0.75 |
Italian | 180 | 26.99 |
Hebrew | 251 | 37.63 |
Scotch | 1 | 0.15 |
Swiss | 1 | 0.15 |
United States | 137 | 20.54 |
Total | 667 | 100.00 |
** Manhattan shows a similar spread, with Hebrews and Italian categories the largest – except the Hebrew totals four times the category Italian. Manhattan slows a much lower percentage of U.S.- born vendors and smattering of vendors from Turkey, Austria, Bulgaria, England, Hungary, Ireland, Spain and Sweden.
* Post sourced from NY Food Museum archive