St Louis Genealogical Society burials in Jewish cemeteries. [Feb 2013]
also see Ballwin
St. Louis Jewish Archives: Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library, 12 Millstone Campus Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146, (314) 432-0020.
Book: Jews in St. Louis by Walter Erlich, a history published 1996.
SYNAGOGUES:
Bais Abraham Congregation - http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/7096/BaisAbe.html [October 2002]
B'nai El Congregation - St. Louis, MO - http://uahc.org/congs/mo/mo001 [October 2002]
Central Reform Congregation - http://uahc.org/congs/mo/mo004 [October 2002]
Congregation B'nai Amoona - http://uscj.org/central/stlouisba [October 2002]
Congregation Shaare Emeth - http://www.inlink.com/~shaare_e/ [October 2002]
Congregation Temple Israel - Creve Coeur, MO - http://www.ti-stl.org/ October 2002]
Nusach Hari B'nai Zion - http://www.nhbz.org/ [October 2002]
United Hebrew Congregation - St. Louis, MO - http://www.unitedhebrew.org [October 2002]
CEMETERIES
Seven Jewish cemeteries are in the St. Louis area. Five are in the suburbs of University City and Ladue, areas with high Jewish population from the late 1940's to the 1980's. Before that, these western areas probably were undeveloped when the cemetery sites were bought. One cemetery is on the south side of St. Louis. One is in the far western suburbs. Source: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 432-2614
Aphabetical by surname burials from 1850 to 2013. [Mar 2013]
Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol Cemetery: 9125 Ladue Rd., 991-0264. Graves date from 1901; caretaker on site. Source: David Zinner. p 11945 in Cemeteries of the US by Deborah M. Burek, ed. Detroit: Gale Research Int., 1994. ISBN 0-8103-9245-3. Source: Al Rosenfield:
http://www.switchboard.com/bin/cginbr.dll?MEM=1&BUS=112461059&CID=1668&S=MO&TTL=Location&TYPE=1050 [October 2002]
Primarily Litvak burials. . All records are at the cemetery, indexed since 1937. 1902-1937 records (originals destroyed by fire) reconstructed and recorded in plot books which are kept current. Brief accounts in the golden and diamond jubilee books. Six acres of land purchased for a new cemetery on 5 December 1901. Orthodox. The present stone gates were constructed in 1931. A stone chapel was designed for the cemetery in 1936. To access Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol records by cemetery section, click here.
Beth Shalom Cemetery: see Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery:
B'nai Amoona Congregation Cemetery (previously Sheerith Israel Cemetery): 930 N and South Rd. St Louis, 63130. Phone: (314) 725-2033
Conservative; raised stones; caretaker on site; Jewish War Veterans monument at entrance; source: David Zinner.
p. 11947 in Cemeteries of the US by Deborah M. Burek, ed. Detroit: Gale Research Int., 1994. ISBN 0-8103-9245-3. Source: Al Rosenfield: .
p 11951 in Cemeteries of the US by Deborah M. Burek, ed. Detroit: Gale Research Int., 1994. ISBN 0-8103-9245-3. Source: Al Rosenfield:at http://www.switchboard.com/bin/cginbr.dll?MEM=1&BUS=108349789&CID=1668&S=MO&TTL=Location&TYPE=1050 [October 2002]
Cemetery has brief register for1888-1895 (records 1872-1887 missing), and recent large plot maps with all identifiable graves from existing monuments and records. In 1924, the name of the cemetery changed from Sheerith Israel ("Remnant of Israel") Cemetery to B'nai Amoona Cemetery. Plots are on both sides of Blackberry Lane in University City. The smaller to the south is 1.3 acres and dates from 1871, when it was purchased for Sheerith Israel. In 1884, a Sheerith Israel splinter group formed B'nai Amoona and were banned from using the Sheerith Israel cemetery. Therefore, they bought an acre from Mount Sinai on Gravois Road. In 1893, the two groups reunited under the newer name. To access B'nai Amoona records by cemetery section, click here.
Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery: 7570 Olive Street Road, St. Louis, MO 63130 (314) 721-4658 and new branch at 2 White Rd., 469-1891. At corner of Olive and North & South Rd., 700 North and South Rd/ 95 numbered sections + letters A to S; across the street from Rosenbloom Monument Co. Fenced, large gates, well maintained graves. Caretaker lives on site. Entrance memorial: "In Memory of the men who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of our country and whose bodies repose in this cemetery - W.W.I, W.W.II". Cemetery has lots of trees, raised stones, and foot stones. Source David Zinner.
The Chesed Shel Emeth Society was formed on 3 November 1888 by Russian Jews with a chevra kadisha. The name, "Chased Shel Amas," means "Faith in the Truth." They bought a hearse (early 1889). The society purchased 1.5 acres on the west side of Hanley Road at Olive Street Road on 3 May 1893. The new fence and frame chapel were dedicated on 16 July 1893. The old gate to the original part of the cemetery remains on Olive with a cut limestone arch inscribed in Hebrew. An adjacent 19.19 acres were purchased in 1904 but not dedicated until September 1926. A new cemetery launched in 1967, thirty acres purchased at 650 White Road, near Olive Boulevard in Chesterfield. Chesed Shel Emeth existed to provide free burials to all Jews regardless of ability to pay.. A hospital, a senior citizens home and an orphans home, Hebrew schools both here and back in Russia and Poland were supported. inally in 1919, Chesed Shel Emeth moved into its own synagogue at Page and Euclid. A new University City building, at North & South and Gannon, was built in 1950. The congregation remained Orthodox and disbanded in 1996, when the building was sold to Shaarei Chesed Shul. On 8 May 2011, the Chesed Shel Emeth Society opened Beth Shalom Cemetery within the grounds of the cemetery on White Road to meet the growing need in the Jewish community for converted to Judaism of any denomination snce the Orthodox Chesed Shel Emeth location will only accept Jews converted by Orthodox rabbis. The new cemetery has no such a restriction. To access Chesed Shel Emeth records by cemetery section, click here.
See p 11931 in Cemeteries of the US by Deborah M. Burek, ed. Detroit MI: Gale Research Int., 1994. ISBN 0-8103-9245-3. Source: Al Rosenfield:
In "Directory of Jewish Local Organizations in the United States" pp. 330-583. American Jewish Year Book 5680 September 25,1919 to Sept. 12, 1920; Volume 21 Edited by Harry Schneiderman for the American Jewish Committee submitted by Alan Hirschfeld.
[UPDATE] Vandals target historic Jewish Cemetery [February 2017]
Chevra Kadisha Cemetery: 1601 North & South Rd., St. Louis, MO.63130 (314) 427-0160. Source: Julian H. Preisler This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
(Chevra Kadisha Adas B'nai Israel V'Yeshurun Cemetery Association) A four-foot metal fence surrounded the site. Small 1965 Chevra Kadisha Cemetery monument reads: "This monument has been erected in memory of the founder of this cemetery - Morris Saffron and to the men dedicated to the purpose of making this an everlasting resting place for the departed; lots of trees." Source: David Zinner Chevra Kadisha Cemetery: 1601 N and South Rd., St Louis, MO 63130, (314) 427-0160.
http://www.MapsOnUs.com/bin/maps-maponly/usr=~3da044b6.a34bf.62.5/c=1/refsrc=SB.newsb/isredir=1/[October 2002]
Indexed records and plot maps since 1922. Began as another chevra kadisha in 1920 (Zichron David Synagogue) on 10.2 acres at the corner of Page and North and South Rd. purchased on 18 January 1922. The cemetery society remains wholly independent of any congregation. To access Chevra Kadisha Adas records by cemetery section, click here.
Chevra Kadisha Ohave Sholom ("Holy Society of Loving Peace") 7400 Olive St. Rd.; St. Louis, MO 63130; 314-721-0026. The most recent Jewish cemetery established in the city, primarily German, Holocaust survivor families. Founded in 1937 by Brith Sholom ("Covenant of Peace") with burials beginning in 1942 (Rosenbloom Monument Company map identifies many of those interred). Records are available through association president. In 1937, a group of German-Jewish refugees formed Chevra Kadisha Ohave Shalom. The group acquired a plot of ground measuring 88 by 91 feet from Brith Sholom in 1949. The cemetery's careful maintenance is done by the staff of Chevra Kadisha Cemetery. In 1952, the nearby Wesleyan Cemetery closed in 1952, and its site became a grocery store. Brith Sholom sold their remaining land in 1958 to the Jewish Community Centers Association, which built a large community center building on the site.
Mount Olive: see United Hebrew Temple Cemetery
Mount Sinai Cemetery: 8430 Gravois Rd.; St. Louis, MO 63123; 314-353-2540. 10,000 burials on JGS diskette at office at United Hebrew Mount Sinai Cemetery Association. Documents exist in AJA . American Jewish Archives, 3101 Clifton Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio 45220-2488. 513-221-1875 (tel); 513-221-7812 (fax). E-mail: AJA contact form : Register of deaths. 1859-1972. Microfilm No. 861 and 10,000 burials at office at United Hebrew Mount Sinai Cemetery Association: Constitution and bylaws. 1884. Small Collections. New Mt Sinai Cemetery Assn: 8430 Gravois Rd, St Louis, MO 63123-4602. (314) 353-2540.
http://www.MapsOnUs.com/bin/maps-maponly/usr=~3da046f2.aadb3.4fbb.4/c=1/refsrc=SB.newsb/isredir=1/ [October 2002]
The original German minutes since 1868 (and an English typescript, also at the St. Louis Jewish Archives), lists burials and identified removals in 1872. A reconstructed single graves book has name and location beginning with the earliest burials. A death register, indexed by last name, has entries starting in 1853. All but the minutes were microfilmed in 1972 and at the AJA . American Jewish Archives, 3101 Clifton Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio 45220-2488. 513-221-1875 (tel); 513-221-7812 (fax). E-mail: AJA contact form : Pelta Peltasohn. .
New Mount Sinai Cemetery: 8430 Gravois Rd., 314-353-2540 p11962 in Cemeteries of the US by Deborah M. Burek, ed. Detroit: Gale Research Int., 1994. ISBN 0-8103-9245-3. Source: Al Rosenfield:
New Mt. Sinai Cemetery Association is a non-profit religious corporation providing mausoleum and in-ground burial arrangements for Jews and non-Jewish spouses throughout the St. Louis area. Owned by B'nai El, Shaare Emeth, and Temple Israel, the association was established in 1859. To access New Mount Sinai records by cemetery section, click here.
See "Directory of Jewish Local Organizations in the United States" pp. 330-583. American Jewish Year Book 5680 September 25,1919 to Sept. 12, 1920; Volume 21 Edited by Harry Schneiderman for the American Jewish Comm. submitted by Alan Hirschfeld.
Website: http://uahc.org/congs/mo/mo005/
Ohave Sholom Cemetery: 7400 Olive Blvd. 15-foot high bushes surround the cemetery on three sides. A 10-foot high concrete wall encloses the eastern end. A 4x6 foot red granite stone with an urn on either side and three small curved benches is the Holocaust Memorial Marker dedicated by the Chevra Kaddisha Ohave Sholom in October 1949. "This commemorates the supreme sacrifice through martyrdom of our dear ones who gave up their lives as victims of Nazi barbarism 1933-1945." Annual memorial service takes place on Sunday before Rosh Hashanah for members and relatives of the Chevra. All stones face east, ten rows of twenty sites or about 90% full. Raised stones. In 1996, the cemetery fought with a developer who wanted to build apartments around the cemetery. Problems include water drainage and lack of gravediggers. Source: David Zinner
Sherith Israel: "Directory of Jewish Local Organizations in the United States" pp. 330-583. American Jewish Year Book 5680 September 25, 1919 to Sept. 12, 1920; Volume 21 Edited by Harry Schneiderman for the American Jewish Committee; submitted by Alan Hirschfeld. see B'nai Amoona
United Hebrew Temple Cemetery: originally Mt. Olive at 7855 Canton; St. Louis, MO 63130, 314-726-4666. (Mt. Olive Avenue dead ends at the cemetery.) Reform cemetery at the corner of North & South and Canton with caretaker on site. Flat inground markers are on some newer sites. Burials date from 1860. Monument in eastern section reads: "This monument erected by the United Hebrew Congregation is dedicated to the memory of those whose remains were transferred from the burial grounds on Jefferson Avenue to Mount Olive Cemetery on Sunday June 6, 1880 - 5640." Documents exist in AJA . American Jewish Archives, 3101 Clifton Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio 45220-2488. 513-221-1875 (tel); 513-221-7812 (fax). E-mail: AJA contact form : Pelta Peltasohn. Cemetery deed, Mt. Olive cemetery of the United Hebrew Congregation, St. Louis, MO. Jan. 27, 1870. Documents file. Source: David Zinner.
The original United Hebrew Cemetery was in the Mill Creek Valley and opened in 1841, when it was outside the city limits. Today, the area is railroad-owned land west of the Jefferson Avenue Viaduct, a bit north of the intersection with Chouteau Avenue. The cemetery was active there until 1867, when the city refused to allow more burials as the city expanded. United Hebrew then purchased land further west (later University City.) The new cemetery called Mount Olive was dedicated in 1880, and, at that time, many bodies and gravestones from the old location were moved. In 1960 the cemetery reverted to its original name. The congregation and trustees' minutes record all early burials; the indexed cemetery death register, at the synagogue, records burials beginning in 1849 to the present and includes the names of those reinterred in 1880 and who were transferred to the current UH cemetery. The St. Louis Genealogical Society published an extensive and useful transcription of United Hebrew Congregation tombstone inscriptions in the older section of the current cemetery in "Old Cemeteries," vol.1, 1982.. The main gate was originally on North & South. The chapel there was used as an Orthodox burial mortuary. Twenty acres to the west of the original cemetery were purchased in 1929. The new caretaker's residence was built in 1962. The old chapel was demolished as was the former caretaker's residence. To access United Hebrew records by cemetery section, click here.
Although Jewish law prohibits cremation, cremains may be interred in a non-denominational repository such as Valhalla Cemetery Crematory and Mausoleum Co. with office at 7600 St. Charles Rock Rd.; St. Louis, MO 63133; 314-863-3011.
Jefferson Barracks Cemetery is part of the National Cemetery system dating from The Civil War. Jewish military burials may be in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. [Mar 2013]