Explore some of our artifacts related to immigration and immigrants below.

Ararat Stone

Stone

In 1825, Mordecai Manuel Noah, a New York newspaper man, sought to establish a Jewish homeland on Grand Island. This stone was dedicated at an elaborate ceremony at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Buffalo.

Burmese Men’s Shirt

Wool

A man’s wool shirt made by Ma Win and Oo Kin, two Karen women from Burma, who immigrated to Buffalo.

Chisels

Steel

Stone mason chisels used by Louis Marinaccio, who immigrated to Buffalo from Foggia, Italy in 1900. Marinaccio was a successful stone cutter whose work includes some of the marble on Our Lady of Victory Basilica and some monuments in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Coverlet

Wool

A handwoven coverlet made by Sophia Marcinkowski around the time she left Poland for America in 1911.

Blanket Chest

Wood

A wooden chest with painted decorations made in Bad Salzungen, Germany, believed to belong to the great grandmother of late Louis F. Schulz.

Croatian National Costume

Cotton/Linen/Embroidery thread

A Croatian national costume donated for the Museum’s "The People of Our City and Country" 1963 exhibit. This was one of several national costumes donated to the exhibit which recognized the contributions of Buffalo’s many ethnic groups to the history of the area.

German Choir Banner (Blue)

Silk/Paint

A hand-painted silk banner for a Buffalo German-American singing society, “Germania Gesang Verein”. The back of the banner features a painting of a man carrying a shield and a sword.

German Choir Banner (Yellow)

Silk/Paint

A hand-painted silk banner for a Buffalo German-American singing society, “Germania Gesang Verein”. The back of the banner features a painting of a man carrying a shield and a sword.

Handcart

Wood/Metal/Glass/Paint

This handcart was used by James Eoannou, a Greek immigrant, purchased the cart in 1957 from a friend who decided to return to Greece. The “Popcorn Man” pushed his cart through North Buffalo, the Town of Tonawanda, and Kenmore selling popcorn, corn fritters, and peanuts on the weekends. After retiring from his job as a cook at the Buffalo Athletic Club in 1973, Eoannou made more rounds during the summer- sometimes five or six days a week.

Güiro

Guord/Wood/Metal

A Güiro is a Latin American instrument made of a hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side and played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound.

Typewriter

Metal/Wood

A Hammond Multiplex typewriter made in the USA with a Cryllic alphabet keyboard. The typewriter was used by Alexander Slotiuk, possibly the first Ukranian undertaker in the Black Rock community.

Typewritier (Detail)

Metal/Wood

A Hammond Multiplex typewriter made in the USA with a Cryllic alphabet keyboard. The typewriter was used by Alexander Slotiuk, possibly the first Ukranian undertaker in the Black Rock community.

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