Samuel Fine Oral History (Mss. Gr. 203)

Historical Information

The Samuel Fine interviews were conducted by Prof. Charles Wiener in August of 1975 and July of 1976. Wiener, a faculty member of MIT, conducted the interviews over a two year period at the Fine family reunions in 1975 and 1976. The Fines, Russian Jews, immigrated to the United States in 1900 and settled in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The family moved from Hell’s Kitchen around 1904 and settled in Attleboro, MA when Samuel was six years old. Fine spent most of his life in the Attleboro area. Members of the Fine family, including Benjamin Fine, attended the University of Rhode Island.

The interview of August 11, 1975 begins with the history of his family in Russia and ends at beginning of World War II. The second interview, conducted on July 10, 1976, continues Fine's years post WWII to 1976. Fine's story is representative of many immigrant families who came to America from Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.