Wisconsin

State in the Upper Lake region of the United States of America; admitted to the Union in 1848. In 1792 a Jew named Jacob Franks went to Green Bay, and in 1805 he erected the first grist- and saw-mill in that section of the country. There were doubtless other Jews possessing business and other interests in the region which later became the state; but the early records are very scanty. The oldest congregation in the state is B'ne Jeshurun, in Milwaukee, organized in 1852 by Lobl Rindskopf, Leopold Newbauer, Solomon Adler, Emanuel Silverman, and others, all of whom were among the first Jewish settlers in that city.

Wisconsin contains the following Jewish communities: Appleton, with a congregation (Zion) comprising 34 members and founded in 1873, and a ladies' aid society having a membership of 32 and founded in 1878; Ashland, which has a congregation organized in 1887, an auxiliary society, a ladies' benevolent association, and a cemetery; Duluth, with a congregation, Adas Israel; Eau Claire, with a congregation,a religious school, and an aid society comprising 50 members; Fond du Lac, containing a community that holds holy-day services; Gilette and Green Bay, each with a congregation; Hurley and Ironwood, which form a congregation jointly; Kenosha, with the Congregation B'nai Zedek, incorporated in 1904 and having 27 members; La Crosse, which has two congregations (Ansche Cheset, founded in 1856, and Shearith Israel, in 1899), a benevolent society, and a cemetery; Madison, possessing a congregation, Ahawath Achim, and a cemetery; Manitowoc, whose congregation, Anshe Polia Sadek, was founded in 1900; Marinette, which has a congregation (founded in 1888 and having 32 members), a religious school, and a cemetery; Milwaukee (see Jew. Encyc. viii. 594); Monroe, Oshkosh, Racine, and Sheboygan, each with a congregation; and Superior, which has three congregations, all organized within the last ten years.

The state has a Jewish population of 15,000 in a total of 2,069,042 (1904).

J. A. M. Ho.