"low-class Jews"

[Colin Roberts]

I think Anderson is trying to be Sherlock Holmes, but there are gaping holes in his argument - the search area didn't include the "immediate vicinity"; the police really had no way of eliminating men who lived alone; and if the murderer was being shielded by his family, that was no indication that he was a Polish Jew.

By the way, I agree that the search area was aimed at the Gentile "underclass" in the neighbourhood of the "blackest streets" around Christ Church Spitalfields. But coincidentally it did include areas with a large percentage of Jewish inhabitants, ...

And, of course, a portion of the 'immediate vicinity' was 'off limits', so to speak, i.e. within the jurisdiction of the City of London Police Force.

... and there were reports at the time characterising it as a "Search Among the Jews":

"The police are making a house to house visit amongst the Jews at the East-end. They demand admission to every room, look underneath the beds, and peer into the smallest cupboards. They ask for the production of knives, and examine them. In some cases they have been refused admittance until proof was produced of authority."

[Star, 17 October 1888

http://www.casebook.org/press_reports/star/s881017.html]

But at the same time it was explicitly denied that the search was directed at the Jewish population:

"The Central News further says that certain statements, to the effect that the police are conducting indiscriminate search among Jews' houses in the East-end, is an entire misrepresentation. It is well-known that ten days ago a body of fifty police were told off to visit and systematically inspect houses of all inhabitants, entirely regardless of nationality in the neighbourhood of the crimes. This was done, the officers doing their work in plain clothes, and being met, in almost every instance, with the willing co-operation of the householders."

[Evening News, 17 October 1888

http://www.casebook.org/press_report...18881017.html]

If a periodical is going to refute the claims of another, then it had better be pretty damned sure of itself; so I would think.

..., but Swanson said something curious in his report, when describing the boundaries of the search area:
"with a few exceptions - but not such as to convey suspicion - covered the area bounded by ..."

Can anyone explain that comment?

Perhaps he was saying that the conduct of the search did, in fact, extend beyond the stated parameters of the established search-area, in a few exceptional instances; but, with a greater degree of discretion, than that, which was exercised within the stated parameters.

[Hunter]

I believe it meant that the exercise was conducted by officers in plain clothes.

[Chris]

I believe it meant that the exercise was conducted by officers in plain clothes.

Judging from the report I quoted above, that was the case for the whole house-to-house search. Swanson's comment apparently relates to the "exceptions" to the search area described.

I find that difficult to understand. It sounds as though they searched some specific houses outside the area, but somehow avoided conveying the impression - either to the occupants or to their neighbours - that these houses were under particular suspicion.

[Errata]

I kind of sounds like the exceptions were the targets. Like having a house to house search covers up the searches of certain houses outside the search parameters that were of great interest, therefore not casting suspicion on those exceptions as being either of note or outside the search parameters.

But that can't be right. He clearly seems to think that the exceptions should have been considered suspicious, but were not due to their limited number.

[Merry_Olde_Mary]

This is an interesting 1982/1983 article from a magazine for the young called "A Girls Own Paper"...which seeks to dispel stereotypes about Victorian Jews. (It's part of a collection found at http://mostly-victorian.com/, a very interesting repository of late Victorian clippings.)

"To the Jews we are indebted for the preservation of the Scriptures, which prove the advent of the promised Messiah. Of the Jews that Messaiah was born, and surely we owe them a debt of gratitude. May God help us to pay what we can of the large amount, and bless the means now being used to help them who have so often and so generously helped us."

http://www.mostly-victorian.com/GOP1882/Jews.pdf

[Colin Roberts]

To the best of my knowledge, Whitechapel was not primarily Jewish. It was where the majority of low class Jews lived, but they did not make up the bulk of the population.

"We know that the population of Whitechapel and Spitalfields was 90 per cent Jewish in 1888." (My Emphasis)

Mei Trow

Ripperologist 113

Actually, we don't "know" anything of the sort!

~~~

The Whitechapel Registration District: A sort of 'Greater Whitechapel'


Whitechapel Registration District / Poor Law Union - 1888 (Click Image, to Enlarge in flickr)
Underlying Aerial Imagery: Copyright Google Earth, 2007
Overlying Plots, Labels and Color-Shadings: Copyright Colin C. Roberts, 2010

Whitechapel Registration District / Poor Law Union (Populations, in Accordance with the Census of England & Wales, 1891):
- The Liberty of Norton Folgate (Green): 1,449
- The Old Artillery Ground (Aqua): 2,138
- The Parish of Christ Church Spitalfields (Blue): 22,859
- The Hamlet of Mile End New Town (Orange): 11,303
- The Parish of Holy Trinity ('Minories') (Yellow): 301
- The Parish of St. Mary Whitechapel (Red): 32,326
----- {Portion within the County of Middlesex, -1889; ... the County of London, 1889-1965: 32,284}
----- {Portion within the City of London, -1900: 42}
- The Liberty of Her Majesty's Tower of London (Orange): 933
----- {The Liberty of the Tower: n/a}
----- {The Precinct of Old Tower Without: 65}
----- {The Tower: 868}
- The Precinct of St. Katharine (Blue): 182
- The Parish of St. Botolph without Aldgate (Green): 2,971
----- {Portion within the County of Middlesex, -1889; ... the County of London, 1889-1965: 2,971}

The portion of the Parish of St. Mary Whitechapel (42) that was situated within the Municipality of the City of London, was a component of the Whitechapel Registration District / Poor Law Union; until becoming a part of the Parish of St. Botolph without Aldgate, City of London, in 1900; and accordingly being then included within the Registration / Poor Law administration of the City of London.

- Total Population - Whitechapel Registration District / Poor Law Union (In Accordance with the Census of England & Wales, 1891): 74,462

~~~

Whitechapel Registration District / Poor Law Union

Census of England & Wales, 1891:
Enumerated Persons, Not Born within the United Kingdom

- Along With -

My Estimates (Percentages and Quantities, from Each 'Country-of-Origin' Sub-Set):
Enumerated Persons, Not Born within the United Kingdom, Likely to Have Been Jewish



Each entry in the "Est. % Jewish" column, is a very 'general' estimate of the percentage of its respective "Country of Origin" subset, that was Jewish. In order to ensure a very 'general' characteristic, in the case of each estimate; and in order to minimize 'bias': The estimates are given in increments of 1/2 cubed, i.e. 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 = 1/8; i.e. 12.50%.

The estimates are designed to err on the side of over-estimation, so that I should have good reason to proclaim that the Whitechapel Registration District, in 1888, was 'no more than xx.xx% Jewish'.

The two 'Sub-Total' and 'Total' percentage estimates, it should be noted, are resultant of all of the other percentage estimates. It is understandable, therefore, that they are not given in increments of 12.50%.

~~~

The 'Total' percentage estimate, which in this case, suggests that 93.41% of all enumerated immigrants, living in the Whitechapel Registration District / Poor Law Union, in accordance with the Census of England & Wales, 1891, were Jewish; is surely an over-estimate.

In any case, that equates to 16,778 Jewish immigrants, comprising 22.53%of the Whitechapel Registration District's total population, of 74,462, in accordance with the 1891 census.

I will propose an estimate that London's Jewish immigrants represented 50.00% of its overall Jewish population, in 1891; and suggest that this representation was uniform, throughout each of the Registration Districts, in the Metropolis: Whitechapel being no exception. This estimate should, so I would think, err on the side of under-estimation.

I am estimating, therefore, that 33,556 Jews comprised 45.06% of the Whitechapel Registration District's total population, of 74,462, in accordance with the Census of England & Wales, 1891.

This is, in all likelihood, an over-estimate!

Even if I propose a margin-of-error of 10.00%, i.e. 4.506 percentage points; the estimate remains below fifty percent: 49.57%.

~~~

It should also be noted, that while the census data, which provides the basis for my estimates, was gathered in April 1891; the period, in which we are interested, occurred some two-and-a-half years earlier, in the Autumn of 1888. Surely, the number of Jews, living in the Whitechapel Registration District, in April 1891, was greater than that of October 1888!

~~~

Again;

"We know that the population of Whitechapel and Spitalfields was 90 per cent Jewish in 1888." (my emphasis)

I can assert, with good reason and tremendous confidence, that the Whitechapel Registration District was no more than 50 percent Jewish, in 1888!

[Colin Roberts]

Mile End Old Town Registration District / Poor Law Parish

Census of England & Wales, 1891:
Enumerated Persons, Not Born within the United Kingdom

- Along With -

My Estimates (Percentages and Quantities, from Each 'Country-of-Origin' Sub-Set):
Enumerated Persons, Not Born within the United Kingdom, Likely to Have Been Jewish



The 'Total' percentage estimate, which in this case, suggests that 88.40% of all enumerated immigrants, living in the Mile End Old Town Registration District / Poor Law Parish, in accordance with the Census of England & Wales, 1891, were Jewish; is probably an over-estimate.

In any case, that equates to 5,036 Jewish immigrants, comprising 4.68% of the Mile End Old Town Registration District's total population, of 107,592, in accordance with the 1891 census.

I will propose an estimate that London's Jewish immigrants represented 50.00% of its overall Jewish population, in 1891; and suggest that this representation was uniform, throughout each of the Registration Districts, in the Metropolis: Mile End Old Town being no exception. This estimate should, so I would think, err on the side of under-estimation.

I am, therefore, estimating that 10,072 Jews comprised 9.36% of the Mile End Old Town Registration District's total population, of 107,592, in accordance with the Census of England & Wales, 1891.

This is, in all likelihood, an over-estimate!

Even if I propose a margin-of-error of 10.00%, i.e. 0.936 percentage points; the estimate remains below eleven percent: 10.30%.

~~~

St. George in the East Registration District / Poor Law Parish

Census of England & Wales, 1891:
Enumerated Persons, Not Born within the United Kingdom

- Along With -

My Estimates (Percentages and Quantities, from Each 'Country-of-Origin' Sub-Set):
Enumerated Persons, Not Born within the United Kingdom, Likely to Have Been Jewish



The 'Total' percentage estimate, which in this case, suggests that 88.73% of all enumerated immigrants, living in the St. George in the East Registration District / Poor Law Parish, in accordance with the Census of England & Wales, 1891, were Jewish; is probably an over-estimate.

In any case, that equates to 6,596 Jewish immigrants, comprising 14.40% of the St. George in the East Registration District's total population, of 45,795, in accordance with the 1891 census.

I will propose an estimate that London's Jewish immigrants represented 50.00% of its overall Jewish population, in 1891; and suggest that this representation was uniform, throughout each of the Registration Districts, in the Metropolis: St. George in the East being no exception. This estimate should, so I would think, err on the side of under-estimation.

I am, therefore, estimating that 13,191 Jews comprised 28.81% of the St. George in the East Registration District's total population, of 45,795, in accordance with the Census of England & Wales, 1891.

This is, in all likelihood, an over-estimate!

Even if I propose a margin-of-error of 10.00%, i.e. 2.881 percentage points; the estimate remains below thirty two percent: 31.69%.

[Colin Roberts]

I can assert, with good reason and tremendous confidence, that the Whitechapel Registration District was no more than 50 percent Jewish, in 1888!

I can also assert, with good reason and tremendous confidence:

- That the Mile End Old Town Registration District was no more than 11 percent Jewish, in 1888!

- That the St. George in the East Registration District was no more than 32 percent Jewish, in 1888!

[Colin Roberts]

Some Contemporary Estimates:

1.) In 1883, The Jewish Chronicle estimated that London's metropolis was inhabited by 46,000 Jews: ~21,000 being 'Foreign'; ~25,000 being English.

2.) In 1887, in "Condition and Occupations of the People of the Tower Hamlets, 1886-1887", Charles Booth estimated that:

--- The Whitechapel Registration District / Poor Law Union was inhabited by 28,790 Jews

--- The Mile End Old Town Registration District / Poor Law Parish was inhabited by 7,750 Jews

--- The St. George in the East Registration District / Poor Law Parish was inhabited by 5,880 Jews

Sub-Total: 42,420 Jews

... And, that the inclusion of the Bethnal Green Registration District / Poor Law Parish would account for London's 'East End' being inhabited by "fully 45,000" Jews.*

* Mr. Booth was probably assuming, at that point in time, that the Registration Districts of Shoreditch, Stepney and Poplar were inhabited by relatively negligible quantities of Jews.

3.) In 1889, Hubert Llewellyn Smith, in writing his chapter "Influx of Population", for the first of Charles Booth's three published surveys, "Labour and Life of the People: London", Williams & Norgate, 1889-1891, stated that:

- In reference to the whole of London's metropolis: "We conclude then that this method of reckoning will give over 60,000, and possibly as many as 70,000, in so far confirming the calculation from the death and marriage rate combined. Of this number more than nine-tenths are living in the East End." [i.e. 54,000 - 63,000]

- "It may, however, be said generally that there are at least 60,000 Jews in East London, and that about half of them are foreign-born."

4.) In 1891, according to the appendix of Cyril Russell's "The Jewish Question in the East End", which was written for "The Jew in London: A Study of Racial Character and Present-Day Conditions", Being Two Essays Prepared for the Toynbee Trustees, T. Fisher Unwin, 1900*; The Jewish Year Book estimated that London's 'East End' was inhabited by 64,280 Jews

* This, being the publication, for which the map "Jewish East London" was prepared, by George Arkell, in 1899.



--- Click Image, to Enlarge Map (.pdf) in the "Moving Here Catalogue": movinghere.org.uk ---

~~~

My Estimates:

London's Metropolis

- Total Population (Census of England & Wales, 1891): 4,211,743

- Estimated Total Jewish Population (1891): Approximately 106,176, i.e. 2.52%; But, no more than 116,793, i.e. 2.77%

London's 'East End'

The Parliamentary Boroughs of Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, and Tower Hamlets

The Parliamentary Borough of Shoreditch

Shoreditch Registration District / Poor Law Parish
- The Parish of St. Leonard Shoreditch: 124,009

The Parish of St. Leonard Shoreditch included the settlements of Hoxton, Holywell and Haggerston.

- Total Population (Census of England & Wales, 1891): 124,009

- Estimated Total Jewish Population (1891): Approximately 1,876, i.e. 1.51%; But, no more than 2,064, i.e. 1.66%

The Parliamentary Borough of Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green Registration District / Poor Law Parish
- The Parish of St. Matthew Bethnal Green: 129,132

The Parish of St. Matthew Bethnal Green included a portion of the settlement of Globe Town.

- Total Population (Census of England & Wales, 1891): 129,132

- Estimated Total Jewish Population (1891): Approximately 2,983, i.e. 2.31%; But, no more than 3,281, i.e. 2.54%

The Parliamentary Borough of Tower Hamlets

Whitechapel Registration District / Poor Law Union
- The Liberty of Norton Folgate: 1,449
- The Old Artillery Ground: 2,138
- The Parish of Christ Church Spitalfields: 22,859
- The Hamlet of Mile End New Town: 11,303
- The Parish of Holy Trinity ('Minories'): 301
- The Parish of St. Mary Whitechapel: 32,326
----- {Portion within the County of Middlesex, -1889; ... the County of London, 1889-1965: 32,284}
----- {Portion within the City of London, -1900: 42}
- The Liberty of Her Majesty's Tower of London: 933
----- {The Liberty of the Tower: n/a}
----- {The Precinct of Old Tower Without: 65}
----- {The Tower: 868}
- The Precinct of St. Katharine: 182
- The Parish of St. Botolph without Aldgate: 2,971
----- {Portion within the County of Middlesex, -1889; ... the County of London, 1889-1965: 2,971}

The portion of the Parish of St. Mary Whitechapel that was situated within the City of London (becoming part of St. Botolph without Aldgate, in 1900), was a component of the Whitechapel Registration District / Poor Law Union (until 1900); but, was not a component of the Parliamentary Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is, however, included here, for the purposes of this analysis.

Mile End Old Town Registration District / Poor Law Parish
- The Hamlet of Mile End Old Town: 107,592

The Hamlet of Mile End Old Town included portions of the settlements of Globe Town, Stepney and Bow Common.

St. George in the East Registration District / Poor Law Parish
- The Parish of St. George in the East: 45,795

Stepney Registration District / Poor Law Union
- The Parish of St. John of Wapping: 2,123
- The Parish of St. Paul Shadwell: 8,123
- The Hamlet of Ratcliff: 14,928
- The Parish of St. Anne Limehouse: 32,202

The Hamlet of Ratcliff included a portion of the settlement of Stepney.

Poplar Registration District / Poor Law Union
- The Parish of St. Mary Stratford Bow: 40,365
- The Parish of Bromley St. Leonard: 70,000
- The Parish of All Saints Poplar: 56,383

The Parish of St. Mary Stratford Bow included the settlement of Old Ford; the Parish of Bromley St. Leonard included a portion of the settlement of Bow Common; and the Parish of All Saints Poplar included the settlements of Millwall, Cubitt Town and Blackwall.

- Total Population (Census of England & Wales, 1891): 451,973

- Estimated Total Jewish Population (1891): Approximately 59,723, i.e. 13.21%; But, no more than 65,695, i.e. 14.54%

Total: London's 'East End'

The Parliamentary Boroughs of Shoreditch, Bethnal Green, and Tower Hamlets

- Total Population (1891 Census): 705,114

- Estimated Total Jewish Population (1891): Approximately 64,581, i.e. 9.16%; But, no more than 71,039, i.e. 10.07%

~~~

My Estimates, in a 'Nutshell':

By 1888; even in light of the increasing Jewish proportions, within London's overall population, ...

- The population of London's metropolis was still no more than three percent Jewish

- The population of London's 'East End' was still no more than ten percent Jewish

- The population of the Parliamentary Borough of Tower Hamlets was still no more than fifteen percent Jewish

- The population of the Whitechapel Registration District was still no more than fifty percent Jewish

[Roy Corduroy]

Outstanding analysis as always, Colin. What about Portsoken and Aldgate Ward, site of Mitre Square, City of London. Is a demographic workup possible?

Roy

[Errata]

Wow Colin, that's like, extra thorough. Bravo Sir.

My only tweak (personally) would be to knock back the percentage of Russians and Polish that were Jews from 100% to about 75% or 80% as a high estimate.
My reasoning being that Jews coming over land were going to settle in the Germany region and the Netherlands, where there are longstanding Jewish populations (and who speak the same form of Yiddish). Also most were headed for America. This was also at the beginning of Zionism. Jews were emigrating to Palestine. About 250,000 Russian Jews entered the US in 1891 and 1892. A majority of Russian Jews did not leave Russia (as they could not afford it). I think about 40,000 Russian Jews were in Palestine by 1892... And there have never been as many of us as people think. I think the world population of Jews at this point was 14 million. It's not much more than that now.

London was simply not going to receive to sheer volume of Jewish immigrants That the US or even Central Europe did. Add in a war and an epidemic, and you have quite a few non Jewish Russians getting out as well.

So, that would be my argument. Take it however you will.

[Colin Roberts]

What about Portsoken and Aldgate Ward, site of Mitre Square, City of London. Is a demographic workup possible?

Using the same 'methodology', Roy, I have drawn the following conclusion:

The City of London

The City of London Registration District

- Total Population (1891 Census): 38,320

- Estimated Total Jewish Population (1891): Approximately 2,295, i.e. 5.99%; But, no more than 2,524, i.e. 6.59%

But, we must make note of the fact that the vast majority of these Jews resided in the eastern-most reaches of the City: i.e. - as noted, by yourself - the Wards of Portsoken and Aldgate, as well as those of Bishopsgate Within and Bishopsgate Without, and perhaps that of the Tower.

I will attempt to estimate the Jewish proportion of the populace that resided within this 'area', when I am able to set aside the necessary amount of time.

~~~

I should also make note of the fact that I have concluded, ...

Holborn Registration District

- Total Population (1891 Census): 141,920

- Estimated Total Jewish Population (1891): Approximately 2,632, i.e. 1.85%; But, no more than 2,895, i.e. 2.04%

... and suggest that the overwhelming majority of these Jews resided within the boundaries of the Parish of St. Luke, which despite its exclusion from London's 'East End', was certainly within the broad vicinity of the 'killing field' of 'Jack the Ripper'.

My only tweak (personally) would be to knock back the percentage of Russians and Polish that were Jews from 100% to about 75% or 80% as a high estimate.
My reasoning being that Jews coming over land were going to settle in the Germany region and the Netherlands, where there are longstanding Jewish populations (and who speak the same form of Yiddish). Also most were headed for America. This was also at the beginning of Zionism. Jews were emigrating to Palestine. About 250,000 Russian Jews entered the US in 1891 and 1892. A majority of Russian Jews did not leave Russia (as they could not afford it). I think about 40,000 Russian Jews were in Palestine by 1892... And there have never been as many of us as people think. I think the world population of Jews at this point was 14 million. It's not much more than that now.

London was simply not going to receive to sheer volume of Jewish immigrants That the US or even Central Europe did. Add in a war and an epidemic, and you have quite a few non Jewish Russians getting out as well.

For the sake of more accurate, and hence, ... more meaningful estimates, I would probably do just that; i.e. "knock back the percentage of Russians and Polish that were Jews from 100% to about 75% or 80%".

But, these 'estimates' are intended to err, decidedly, on the side of over-estimation, so that they may be emphatically qualified: i.e. ... no more than xx.xx%.

In estimating the percentages for the whole of London's metropolis, I utilized 87.50%, rather than 100.00%, for Russia and Poland; 50.00%, rather than 87.50%, for Holland; 62.50%, rather than 75.00%, for Germany and Austria; and 25.00%, rather than 37.50%, for Spain and Portugal.

~~~

Subjectively Speaking ...

I am inclined to believe that the areas that I have dubbed 'Immediate Vicinity' and 'General Vicinity', with respect to the 'killing field' of 'Jack the Ripper', ...


Murder 'Locale' - Immediate Vicinity (Red); General Vicinity (Red/Aqua) (Click Image, to Enlarge in flickr)
Underlying Aerial Imagery: Copyright Google Earth, 2007
Overlying Plots, Labels and Color-Shadings: Copyright Colin C. Roberts, 2010

Red: Accumulation of Probability Distribution, from Murder-Site Mean-Center (Green Dot: i.e. 0.00%), to Extent of Greatest Observed Deviation, i.e. Nichols Murder-Site (77.30%)
- 0.00 - 1.38 Standard Deviations
- Radius: 843.50 Yards
- Area: 0.72 Square-Miles
- Accumulation of Probability Distribution, as Calculated: 77.30%*

* Given a perception of late November 1888 that this series of murders would continue ad infinitum; the expectation should have been that 77.30% would occur within the specified circular area, i.e. within 1.38 Standard Deviations of the murder-site mean-center (green dot).

This can be loosely interpreted to mean that in late November 1888, the perceived probability of any impending subsequent murder occurring within this circular area, should have been 77.30%.

Red/Aqua: Accumulation of Probability Distribution, from Murder-Site Mean-Center (Green Dot: i.e. 0.00%), to Extent of Deviation, which Accords Ninety Percent (90.00%)
- 0.00 - 2.02 Standard Deviations
- Radius: 1,234.67 Yards
- Area: 1.55 Square-Miles
- Accumulation of Probability Distribution, as Stipulated: 90.00%*

* Given a perception of late November 1888 that this series of murders would continue ad infinitum; the expectation should have been that 90.00% would occur within the specified circular area, i.e. within 2.02 Standard Deviations of the murder-site mean-center (green dot).

This can be loosely interpreted to mean that in late November 1888, the perceived probability of any impending subsequent murder occurring within this circular area, should have been 90.00%.

... were, in 1888, approximately 40.00% - but, no more than 45.00% - Jewish.

[Errata]

Is that a railway through the upper portion on the red area? Above Mrs. Chapman?