Collection of Lawrence Public Library Materials 1910-1940

Materials in this collection are primarily in English and Arabic, with a selection in French or Turkish.

In the first decades of the 20th century, Lawrence, Massachusetts was home to one of the largest populations of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants in the United States. These individuals were drawn to the industrial town to find work in its textile mills. The community in Lawrence created several charitable societies and was involved in the establishment of the St. Joseph's Melkite Church and St. Anthony's Maronite church. Additionally, the Zahley Association published the Arabic-language newspaper al-Wafa in Lawrence.

The birth, school, and immigration records included in this collection were provided by children and their families in order to verify the ages of young immigrants. This was necessary in order for teenagers and young adults to prove they were old enough to work. Though nationwide laws regulating and restricting work for children 16 and under were not ratified in the United States until 1938, Massachusetts was the first state to create child labor laws in 1836. By the early 1900s, when many families settled in the booming mill town of Lawrence, various state legislation governed the ability of minors to work. Not only were children under 16 prohibited from working in factories, the state also issued fines to people who employed minors who were illiterate in English. This led to the growth of night schools and schools dedicated specifically to teaching immigrant children to speak, read, and write English. Thus, work permits were typically issued by schools. Once age and literacy were verified, teenagers would be issued a work permit. While it is unknown how many youth and factory owners circumvented these laws, these records indicate that many attempted to conform.

This collection contains materials housed at the Lawrence Public Library Special Collections that were originally kept by the Oliver School. They were digitized and provided to the KCLDS Archive by archivist Louise Sandberg in fall 2017 as part of a research project into the substantial Syrian/Lebanese population that lived in Lawrence, Massachussetts. To view the project visit "Legacies of Labor" on the Khayrallah Center's website.

The Collection of Lawrence Public Library Materials contains documents relating to the civic and religious activities of Syrio-Lebanese immigrants in Lawrence. It also includes birth, school, and immigration records for children and young adults who emigrated from Greater Syria (particularly the areas encompassing modern-day Lebanon and Syria) and lived in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in the early 20th century.

This collection displays the variety of records that Syrian and Lebanese immigrants used to prove their age. Because many did not have birth certificates, a large number of the proof of birth records consist of correspondences with clergy in Greater Syria, who consulted baptismal records to confirm age. Other records are from the process of immigration, and include documents from both Marseilles, France, and Ellis Island, New York. Some records were requested from officials or individuals in America, and consist both of missives from immigration officials and from private individuals.

The collection also includes records issued by schools, which verify age through years of schooling. Included among some of these school records are short documents handwritten by young immigrants to prove their literacy in English. In addition to records proving age, some individuals have additional documents including work permits and physician's certificates of health.

The materials in this collection are arranged alphabetically by last name.

The donor retains full ownership of any copyright and rights currently controlled. Nonexclusive right to authorize uses of these materials for non-commercial research, scholarly, or other educational purposes are granted to Khayrallah Center pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. Usage of the materials for these purposes must be fully credited with the source. The user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials.

These materials are digital copies of an original resource held by another institution. The KCLDS Archive often works with other institutions to make digital materials available online to the public. KCLDS is not able to grant permission to use or reproduce these materials. The KCLDS Archive strongly encourages users to contact the holding institution for permission to use or reproduce materials from their holdings.

[Identification of item], Collection of Lawrence Public Library Materials, GR 0007, Hoda Z. Nassour and Herbert R. Nassour Jr., MD, Archive of Lebanese Diaspora

Al-Wafa Newspapers, الوفاء‎ 1907-1910, NS 0008

Materials digitized through a collaboration between the Khayrallah Center and Lawrence Public Library Special Collections, 2017 July (Accession No. 2017.002).

Processed by Claire A. Kempa and Marjorie Stevens, 2017. Finding aid content contributed by Claire A. Kempa and Laura Lethers, 2017 and 2023. Finding aid created by Allison Hall, 2023 November.