This soup tureen belonged to Fannie Rogarshevsky, and it is believed to have been used at 97 Orchard Street. Fannie Rogarshevsky, her husband Abraham, and their six children lived in 97 Orchard Street in the 1910s and 20s, when the Lower East Side provided a home for many Jewish immigrants like Fannie and Abraham, who were from Lithuania. The Rogarshevskys maintained a Jewish home, including eating and preparing foods that were kosher, made according to the Jewish dietary laws. Fannie had two sets of dishes, one for foods with dairy and one for meat. This tureen was part of the “meat” set of Fannie’s kosher dishes and she used it to serve cholent, or stew, during the Sabbath meal on Friday evenings. Fannie prepared Sabbath meals for her family every week; even after her sons and daughters had moved away from home, they travelled back to the Lower East Side for the Sabbath. 

Fannie gave this tureen to her daughter Bessie Cohen, who gave it to her granddaughter, Sandra Sokal, who donated it to the Tenement Museum in 2008. From generation to generation, this tureen represented a connection to their family’s religious identity and customs. 

– From the Tenement Museum Collection

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant