The Jews of Glasgow

by Mary Edward

The first recorded mention of a Jewish person in Glasgow is found on a ‘burgess certificate” awarded to one Isaac Cohen on 12 September 1812. Isaac Cohen was a hatter, but before he could ply his trade in the city he was obliged to obtain this certificate. No-one at that time could set up a business without this authorisation.

Interestingly enough, one of the main purposes of the certificate was to exclude anyone who did not uphold the ‘True Religion’, and it can be assumed that even Isaac recognised the irony in the oath he had to swear:

Possibly Isaac’s permission to trade outweighed his need to practice his own religion since there was no such institution in Glasgow for him at that time: he was the only Jew in the city after all. Moreover, this official authorisation to trade must have been a great boon to a man whose fellow Jews suffered many disadvantages in other parts of the world.