This photograph shows the South Deerfield, Massachusetts, home of Joseph Baranowski (also spelled “Baronowski”), a farmer from what was then the Russian province of Lithuania. He arrived in the United States in 1893. His wife, Fanny, who was also from Lithuania, arrived the year earlier with their two sons. Once in Massachusetts, they had three more children. According to the 1904 Town of Deerfield Valuation List, Joseph “Burnaskie” owned property and livestock worth $5,545.  By 1915 it was worth $8,040.  In Eastern Europe being able to own land was a symbol of status and success. Immigrants to the Connecticut River Valley worked hard and saved their earnings to achieve this goal. Many succeeded.

This photograph comes from the Howes Brothers collection of photographs. They were based in Ashfield, Massachusetts, and created more than 20,000 images of New England rural life from 1890 to around 1906.