First Jewish Settlers and Founding Families


The first Jewish man known to have settled in Peterborough was a shoemaker, Mr. L. Kert, who arrived in 1881. Other early Jews to come included Moses Levin and Phillip Shulman. Both were merchants and both moved on to Toronto. Around the turn of the 20th century, three of the patriarchs of the Peterborough community came to settle: Abraham Low, David Florence, and Abraham Swartz. Several years later they were joined by Mr. A. Cohen, Mr. Elkin, and Mr. Fineberg. These community pioneers had to work hard to make ends meet and could not afford to hire a shochet or a teacher. However, they spent the money necessary to get kosher meat from Toronto. They also took turns hosting services in their homes and teaching the children.

David Florence and Abraham Low both settled in Peterborough in 1905, as did many other Jewish immigrants. Both men also began as junk dealers. David Florence had first arrived in Canada in 1901, going to Kingston and then to Toronto before settling in Peterborough. He worked for six years before he felt ready to send for his wife Fanny and their children who were in Lithuania. The Florences had six children altogether, three boys: Louis, Harry and Arthur, and three girls: Annie, Rosie and Minnie. Like Florence, Low had come to Canada from Eastern Europe in 1901 and was joined in 1905 by his wife and two young sons, Louis and Jacob.

In the first and second decades of the 20th century, Peterborough’s Jewish population continued to grow. Messrs Sukloff, Black, Cherney, Zacks, Green and Fine arrived in this period. All stayed to raise families and become important community members.