Nineteenth Century: Immigration

During the nineteenth century and into the beginning of the twentieth, New England cities, seaports, and industrial centers attracted large numbers of immigrants. The first were Irish fleeing the potato famine, followed by Italians, Germans, Swedes, middle Europeans, Portuguese, freed blacks, and French Canadians. A combination of the desire of newcomers to become Americanized and the desire of native Yankees to remain apart meant that many food habits were only slowly exchanged. Some ethnic groups were numerous enough to support local grocery stores, which carried favorite foods. Even in a small city like Portsmouth, New Hampshire, there was a large enough Jewish population to support kosher butchers. Italians in Boston fished for and sold to other immigrants varieties of fish that most other New Englanders had ignored. In New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, Portuguese bakeries were established that survived into the late twentieth century.