Jennie Grossman Learns English in 18 Months
Below I transcribe a news story about a 13 year old girl named Jennie Grossman who learned English in 18 months at the Shields School in the Carr Square neighborhood. The news article is dated in 1903, suggesting she was born approximately 1890. The article also states the family left Russia when she was 8. I have been unable to find the Grossman family in the 1900 Census in St. Louis. I believe they are in the 1910 census, and if I have the correct family, it states they immigrated in 1899. Other records suggest from Volhynia. They may not have immediately settled in St. Louis. This Jennie Grossman would marry Robert Parkinson, and it doesn’t appear they had any offspring. *** The St Louis Republic St. Louis, Missouri 30 Jan 1903 - Page 5 GIRL LEARNS ENGLISH IN 18 MONTHS AND WRITES AN ATTRACTIVE ESSAY Among the bright compositions collected from the various public schools of the city and filed by the Board of Education is one written by Jennie Grossman, a 13-year-ol