William Jennings Jr.

Aboard the Fabre Line to Providence: Immigration to Rhode Island William Jennings Jr.

In an era when immigration was at its peak, Fabre Line was the only transatlantic immigration line to service Southern New England with one of its most important ports in Providence, Rhode Island. Nearly 84,000 immigrants were admitted to the country between the years 1911 and 1934. Nearly 1 in 9 of these individuals elected to settle in Rhode Island after landing in Providence - amount to approximately 11,000 new residents. With immigrants primarily from Portugal, Ireland, and Italy, the line's business was largely successful. However, the line and families hoping for a new life faced major obstacles in the form of World War I, the immigration restriction laws of the 1920s, and the Great Depression. Join authors Patrick T. Conley and William J. Jennings Jr. as they chronicle the history of the Fabre Line and its role in bringing new residents to the Ocean State.