As we do more and more research into Jewish families, it becomes quite clear that certain areas dominate various industries. A simple search of census records through the late 1800's shows that one of those areas was the East End of London. This area, namely Spitalfields, Whitechapel and Bethnal Green, is the home to the tobacco industry and most of the Cigar Makers in the British Isles.
Being a cigar maker in London, meant working long hours, at a low wage. It was work that was repetitious, day in and day out. The largest group of these workers were cigar makers were immigrants from the Netherlands. The 1881 Census belows shows a typical immigrant family that has settled in Spitalfields, with dad and his four sons working as cigar makers.
This was by no means the only family like this, this example fits hundreds of other families, many of whom were immigrants from the Netherlands. These immigrant workers not only worked together but lived together, they can be found on the census as neighbors of one another.The records of these families can be found in The Jews of The British Isles.
