Massachusetts MA
Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston: Contact information
Western Massachusetts Jewish Genealogy Society: Contact information
Berkshire Jewish Archives Council
75 Mountain Drive
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Jewish Historical Society of the North Shore
One Community Road
Marblehead, MA 01945-2704
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(781) 631-0831
Jewish Historical Society of Western Massachusetts
The Old Firehouse
Seven Sugarloaf Street
South Deerfield, MA 01373
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(413) 665-0066
SYNAGOGUES IN MASSACHUSETTS: May 2006] [2004]
SYNAGOGUES IN BOSTON: [February 2002]
Massachusetts death certificates (available at the Massachusetts Archives [1841-1900] and the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics [1901-date) list the deceased individual's burial site. Death certificates should be researched first to ascertain the correct cemetery.
JEWISH CEMETERY ASSOCIATION OF MASSACHUSETTS
Facility Director: Mark A. Siskowitz, President
Jane D. Salk, Executive Director
Miriam Drukman, Administrator
Address: Jewish Cemetery Association of Mass., Inc.
1320 Centre Street, Suite #306
Newton Centre, MA 02159
Phone Number: (617) 244-6509 (800-752-JCAM).
Hours of Operation: Monday to Thursday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Friday: 9:00am - 2:00pm/Closed Jewish Holidays.
website:
Directions: The JCAM office is located on Centre Street in Newton, just north of Newton Centre. The Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts (JCAM) was founded in 1984 to meet regional needs for cemetery rehabilitation, management and preservation. To these ends it has focused on abandoned Jewish cemeteries and has encouraged affiliation of active cemetery associations as a necessary alternative to dissolution. JCAM is mentored by the Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) of Greater Boston and the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts. Liaisons have been established with the major Jewish service organizations, cemetery and legal services. JCAM publications include the annual Guide to Jewish Cemeteries and a quarterly newsletter.
The JCAM office answers telephone and mail (preferred) inquiries and responds to visits. Its database can produce lists of affiliated cemeteries and names of interred individuals, often with burial dates. Maps of cemetery sites and burial plot arrangements exist for many cemeteries. Their archive has become a valuable resource for people searching for relatives' graves. JCAM's computer database from the records of individual cemeteries eventually will provide a practical and historical record of all Jewish burials in the greater Boston area. The JCAM database currently contains over 40,000 individual entries from 43 cemeteries, split up into five separate databases: West Roxbury, Woburn, North Shore, Everett and Framingham/Natick. The database contains records for each cemetery JCAM manages. (see exceptions below). The database includes nothing for privately managed cemeteries. [Exceptions: Records of the Plymouth Rock Cemetery in Brockton and Temple Ohabei Shalom in East Boston are at the JCAM office, but not in the database. There is no written record for Sons of Benjamin (Grove Street), Chevra Thillim and Shary Cedeck (Centre Street). Records for Beth Abraham (Grove Street) are incomplete. For each individual, the database contains the surname and given name, date of death (usually), and grave location (cemetery, section and lot number). For burials since 1984, the database also contains the name and address of next of kin. Some information on plot ownership is also available. The types and quality of the data vary, since the information for each cemetery comes from diverse original sources. There is no public access to the database; all inquiries must be made through the JCAM office.
About 34,000 names have been supplied by JCAM to IAJGS. The associations or cemeteries for which names have been supplied are indicated with a number within {} next to the association name.
Finding Aids: JCAM's annual Guide to Jewish Cemeteries lists its member cemeteries, along with a contact representative for each. The Guide provides maps and directions to cemetery locations and lists leading funeral and cemetery service organizations in the Boston metropolitan area. While no change is made for information, donations to JCAM are suggested.
1987-88 Guide to Jewish Cemeteries. published: Newton Centre, Mass.: Jewish Cemetery Association of Massachusetts
JCAM Member Cemeteries are divided into two categories: Constituent members are Jewish cemeteries, which have merged assets and liabilities, including all property and archives, into JCAM. Sustaining members are independent cemetery associations that support the concepts of JCAM with their membership. Several sustaining members contract for one or more of the management services offered by JCAM; they are indicated in the list below with an asterisk. Note: (The information for the "contact" on those for Woburn shown below came from a different source. The area code for all phone numbers is 617. Also see Woburn for those not listed here. Caretakers of those with a contact name are Gennaro and Steven Vozzella, 11 Washington St., Woburn, Mass. 01801 (617-935-1564). Also see Woburn for some not listed under the JCAM. The names of burials were supplied by JCAM. Constituent and Sustaining: (Constituent indicated by a c at the right side of line.) Sustaining Members of JCAM: Total of 126 cemeteries -- 41 constituent members, 85 sustaining members (including 14 cemeteries managed by JCAM). Contact JCAM.
Massachusetts' death certificates (available at the Massachusetts Archives [1841-1900] and the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics [1901-date] list the deceased individual's burial site. Death certificates should be researched first, to ascertain the correct cemetery.