Jewish migrants from eastern Europe often became pedlars because they were barred from most trades by law. Robbers murdered the pedlar Jonas Levi and stole his stock. Whether he was targetted because he was a Jew or simply because he had something worth stealing is not known.

His fellow Jews at the Bristol synagogue offered a reward for information on his killer/s, placing this advertisement in Felix Farley's Bristol Journal on 8 December 1753. There was a strong sense of community within the small Jewish population, not least because of the many legal and social barriers they faced. We don't know whether the murderer was ever caught and brought to justice.