In the early 20th century, the Galveston Movement emerged as a lesser-known immigration effort that helped approximately 10,000 Russian Jews escape violence in Eastern Europe before World War I. Co-founded by David Jochelmann, Rachel Cockerell's great-grandfather, this initiative redirected Jewish immigrants from the well-trodden Ellis Island to Galveston, Texas. Cockerell's new book, "Melting Point: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land," explores her family's role in this movement, detailing how the devastating 1900 hurricane influenced these decisions and the integration of immigrants into local communities, which included the development of a distinct Russian-Texan accent.
The Galveston Movement saw around 10,000 Russian Jews migrating to Texas from 1907 to 1914, an effort largely overlooked compared to Ellis Island.
Rachel Cockerell's family history is intertwined with the Galveston Movement, highlighting personal connections to a significant period in Jewish immigration.
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