Spitalfields: A Family History Lesson in Jewish Geography

It was sooty, overcrowded and impoverished; a most appropriate setting for Oliver Twist; and, not surprisingly, the haunt of Jack the Ripper. It was home to struggling artisans with large young families, to the destitute, the prostitute, and to shady criminal elements. That was the Spitalfields area of East London, as the Victorian era gave way to the 20th century.

It was cheap to live in Spitalfields and, accordingly, it became a magnet to waves of immigrants who were fleeing persecution, discrimination and poverty. By the 1880s it had become the major destination for East European Jews escaping the Polish pogroms and harsh conditions in Russia, as well as for Dutch entrepreneurial Jews. In fact, at the turn of the century, Spitalfields was so overwhelmingly Jewish it was probably one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe, with over 40 Synagogues. (Note: as the 20th century progressed, the Jewish presence diminished, to be replaced by an influx of Bangladeshi immigrants.)

Ezras Chaim Synagogue, 2 Heneage Street

Spitalfields plays an uncanny, important role in the histories of the SOLOMON and ROSS families. Barney’s father Hyman Solomon was born there, at 30 Heneage Street, in 1895; while Noreen’s father, Joshua Saul Ross, was born there, at 46 Crispin Street*, in 1903. These two children were born, and their families lived, only a few blocks apart! (While visiting this area, it took less than ten minutes for Carin, Dylan and I to walk between those two addresses.) In spite of this proximity within the tightly knit Spitalfields community, there is nothing to suggest that any members of the Solomon or Ross families ever mingled with one another - in school, on the streets or at Synagogue; or that anyone in either family even knew of the other’s existence. Such awareness would take another fifty years to develop.

In Crispin Street, looking towards Spitalfields Market: 1912

The closely paralleled family paths continued. After both families had arrived from Eastern Europe at the end of the 1800s; and, after both had settled and raised their children in the rather tough environment of Spitalfields; then both families decided to depart - the Rosses in 1907 and the Solomons in 1913 - for a transatlantic journey which ended in Toronto, Ontario. Eventually, in twists and turns, that journey continued onward to its denouement in Detroit, Michigan. It was in that unlikely American city that the children of Hyman finally crossed paths and united with the children of Saul. And, as they say, “the rest is history”. 

*The next blog: 46 Crispin Street - The Noted House for Paper Bags