Cemetery History

Beth Abraham Cemetery is located at the very edge of the Carrick section of Pittsburgh on Stewart Avenue. According to some accounts the cemetery was located here when the area was Baldwin Township, a separate municipality, and Jewish cemeteries were forbidden to be located in the City of Pittsburgh. In 1888, Russian Jewish immigrants formed a small Orthodox congregation known as Beth Abraham in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The synagogue existed from the 1880s until the 1940s when the Jewish people began to move off the Hill. The Congregation’s archives collection, housed at the Rauh, consists of several boxes of records including ledgers. These are primarily in Yiddish.

The history of the cemetery is explained by the late Arlene Adelman, past president of the Beth Abraham Congregation Cemetery, which turned the cemetery over to the JCBA in 2010. “The Polish, Romanian, and Spanish Jews all had their own synagogues in the Hill District. The Russian Jews built Beth Abraham at 23-25 Miller Street. We purchased six plots of land, over time, next to each other at until we have what now exists in Carrick. The cemetery was incorporated in 1889. However, the first burial was actually in 1885. There is a very old baby section where still-born babies and infants are buried.

In 2011 photographs by Devon Christopher Adams were displayed at the Carrick Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The Carrick Overbrook Historical Society was also involved in displaying 28 black and white photos from the Adams Collection.

The Hebrew Burial Association (also known as Chesed Shel Emeth of Pittsburgh) was organized ca. 1853 to provide orthodox burials for the deceased of indigent families. The Association was among the original beneficiaries of the JFGP in 1912.

The association's "Old Cemetery" Chesed Shel Emeth was purchased in 1853 on Seavey Road in Shaler Township. The "New Cemetery," located on Oakwood Street, also in Shaler Township, was purchased in 1913 and is still in use. Three separate burials of damaged prayer books and other sacred texts were held in 2007, 2013, and 2018.

Shaare Zedeck Cemetery is located adjacent to the Beth Abraham and Gates of Wisdom (old Shaare Torah) Cemetery in Carrick. When established, this area was the city of Pittsburgh.

In 1895, several Polish Jewish immigrants, living in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, organized the Shaare Zedeck Congregation. The Orthodox congregation first met and held religious services in a rented property at 7 Scott Street. By 1905, the congregation had grown to 200 members. Property was purchased at 14 Townsend Street where a new synagogue was built, opening in 1907. Rabbi Aaron M. Ashinsky served as the congregation’s first rabbi, and Meyer Ross as the first president. The congregation continued to grow, serving Jews mostly from Polish Russian provinces. The Ershte Warshawer Untershtitzung Verein (First Warsaw Support Society), a benevolent society which aided Polish Jewish immigrants and their families, was headquartered at the synagogue.

By the close of World War II, many Jewish families had left the Hill District for Pittsburgh’s East End neighborhoods. By 1948, Shaare Zedeck had moved to a building at 5831 Bartlett Street in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. In 1974, it merged with the Young Israel Congregation. The cemetery was turned over to the JCBA in 2010.

This is a family based cemetery adjacent to Shaare Zedeck. The grounds are surrounded by an early twentieth century chain. The Gomberg Family is well represented. The Marks Cemetery became part of the JCBA in 2010.

Agudath Achim Congregation was founded in 1921 in the Hill District. The congregation celebrated its founding at the home of Simon Ronick on Herron Ave. with speakers including Rabbis Ashinsky and Friedman, and Pittsburgh City Councilman James Malone Its cemetery is on Wickline Road in Hampton Township. They became a JCBA cemetery in 2009.

Jews settled in Steubenville, Ohio and in Weirton, West Virginia in the mid-19th century. On the Ohio River, these towns became thriving centers of the steel industry. Within the region, a robust Jewish community flourished as well, on both sides of the Ohio. Weirton’s Jewish community formed Beth Israel Synagogue in 1917, dedicating a new building in 1929 at the corner of West Street and Virginia Avenue. Originally an Orthodox congregation, it became Conservative over time. Long before chain stores, Weirton had no less than forty Jewish owned grocery stores. According to Sharon Bogarad, raised within a longstanding Beth Israel family, “Weirton was a special place to grow up. It was a madras of nationalities and faiths”. She proudly maintains the congregation’s records.

A highlight of the region’s Bicentennial observance was an inspiring musical program held at Beth Israel Synagogue. It was considered one of the finest tributes to America in the Tri-State area. Rabbi Max Fox was the spiritual leader at that time. The congregation closed in 1990 and Temple Beth El and B'nai Israel Congregation, merged to form Temple Beth Israel.

Jews from Weirton have long been involved with the Steubenville Jewish cemetery. B’nai Israel contains burials from Weirton and East Liverpool, and from the large conservative shul in Steubenville. Temple Beth Israel was central to a community that numbered over 400 Jewish families. As the area’s population declined, the Jewish community’s population declined even more. Its doors closed in 2013. The Tikkun Olam Scholarship of Temple Beth Israel, through the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley, continues funding scholarships to support students in the health professions. A book with burial information is available at the Steubenville and Jefferson County Public Library.

The cemetery remains as a tribute to the Jewish communities of Weirton and Steubenville. Located on Sunset Boulevard in Steubenville, B’nai Israel became a part of the JCBA in 2015.

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In 1897, twelve immigrants from Galicia, in southeast Poland, organized an Orthodox congregation known as Machsikei Hadas (Upholders of Faith) in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. It was chartered in 1900. The founding members were immigrants from Galicia, which had been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Polish Kingdom, now southwest Poland. They came to escape religious persecution and to seek a better life. The “Galitzianers” differed from other Eastern European Jewish immigrants in the Pittsburgh area. They were fewer in number, and being associated with the Belzer Hasidim, they followed the synagogue ritual of the Sephardic tradition rather than that of the Ashkenazic tradition which was prevalent among Eastern European Jewry.

The group first held religious services in each other’s homes and then moved to a rented space on Fullerton Street. Later, members purchased a house at 65 Crawford Street for use as a synagogue. In 1909, a new synagogue was constructed at 1849 Wylie Avenue at the corner of Wylie and Granville Avenues.

By 1917, there were just over 100 family members. Despite its small size, the shul boasted an illustrious succession of rabbis: Rabbi Moshe Shimon Sivitz, who was later associated with Shaare Torah congregation; Rabbi Samuel Zahler; and Rabbi Wolf Leiter.

In 1936, on its fortieth anniversary, the congregation consisted of 114 family members, despite the move of the Jewish population out of the Hill District, a migration that was almost complete by the end of World War II. In 1953 a house at 814 North Negley Avenue, in Pittsburgh’s East End, was purchased for the congregation. The ritual items, such as the Torah scrolls, silver mantles, menorahs, and the pulpit and ark were removed from the Wylie Avenue building, which had been sold to a church, and reinstalled in the congregation’s new home.

By 1986, however, membership had dwindled to 40 families. The congregation disbanded in 1989, and the building was sold. The synagogue’s contents and ark, and archival records were donated to the Rauh Jewish Archives of the Heinz History Center where they are on permanent display. Sidney Santman and subsequently his son Steven Santman maintained the cemetery until 2010 when it was turned over to the JCBA. In 2010, the cemetery came under JCBA’s care.

Raphael Steinfield, the first occupant of Tree of Life Cemetery, was the pioneer Jewish resident of New Brighton, and his descendants were always active in the town's business welfare. Accompanied by his wife, Rosa, and children, Raphael Steinfield (his family later changed the spelling to Steinfeld) emigrated from Prussia in 1854, and eventually settled in New Brighton where he set up shop as a butcher. The History of New Brighton 1838-1939 states that he was a doctor of medicine in Europe. It also states: "In 1868 (one of his sons), Coleman, became a partner, and Raphael devoted most of his time to the management of a men's clothing store which he had started in 1867 in the Steinfield Building, which was the old name for the Brighton Club headquarters”. He was also made and sold Steinfield's medicinal products. He passed away in 1882.

In 1864, Raphael and others established the Tree of Life Synagogue in Beaver Falls, later moving to New Brighton. He also donated the land for the Tree of Life Cemetery. The majority of the burials are members of his family and occurred between 1888 and 1919, although the most recent burial appears to have been as late as 1949. By the late 1980s, the Steinfeld Cemetery had fallen into disrepair, and a group from Beaver Falls, working with a committee of the United Jewish Federation in Pittsburgh, assumed responsibility for maintaining it.

Names were taken from the damaged stones and placed on a new monument designed by Rome Monument Company and placed in the center of what remains of the cemetery. The land was cleared and seeded with grass seed. A 10-foot tall fence with a locked gate was placed around the 4 monuments. On both sides of the new monument are the well-preserved stones that belong to the Steinfeld family. That is why it was renamed Steinfeld Cemetery. History forgot that the land was originally called Tree of Life Cemetery and that the first Jewish congregation in Beaver County was called Tree of Life. Rabbi Wilkofsky and Rabbi Greene both served the community on a part time basis.

In 1997, JCBA acquired the cemetery through the board leadership of William Stark and Louis Zeiden. The cemetery is difficult to locate in the woods where it is easy to get lost. It is surrounded by private land with no right-of-way easement. It is included in a "History of Beaver County" by Reverend Joseph Bausman.

The Workmen’s Circle (Arbeiter Ring) Branch #45 was established in Pittsburgh in 1904. The socialist fraternal organization, whose original members were from Eastern Europe, was first organized in New York in 1892 to promote Jewish culture and to support Jewish labor and unions. Advocating “equal pay and equal human rights,” the Workmen’s Circle was associated with the Jewish Labor Committee. Workman’s Circle also founded secular Yiddish schools and camps. The national organization still exists as a progressive organization.

At one time, Workmen's Circle had four branches in Pittsburgh and six outlying branches in the Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia tri-state area. The organization supported Jewish and non-Jewish labor, including coal miners, to whom they distributed food during strikes in 1919, 1921, and 1923, and steelworkers. By 1955, only two branches were left. Workmen’s Circle #45 disbanded in 1983. Responsibility for the organization's cemetery was assumed by the Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association in 2009.

The original Workman’s Circle #975 was separated into two distinct sections, one for the Communists and one for the Socialists. This cemetery, prior to 1997, was one of the first to join in with the Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association.

The roots of Anshe Lubovitz are in the Russian town of Schedrin. This special seat of Jewish learning became a government center and region of commerce. It thrived for over 100 years, with a Jewish population of over 1,400. All were killed during the Holocaust.

Yosef Chaim Weiner arrived on the Hill from Schedrin in the early 1900’s, and brought a Torah with him. The first minyan was started above a grocery store on Center Avenue. From there Anshe Lubovitz took a home on Roberts Street in 1907. Yosef Weiner was president when they felt the need to establish their own cemetery. Land in Shaler Township was purchased in 1910, and unfortunately for Weiner, it was none too soon. He passed away in 1911, and was the first burial at the cemetery.

Other notable burials include Reliable Luggage Company founder and patriarch Samuel L. Weiner, who passed away in 1973. He was a leading member of the New Castle Jewish community and a distinguished member of Tifereth Israel, and Nathan Liff, Pittsburgh boxer, trainer and manager, who passed away in 2000. Anshe Lubovitz is on Oakwood Street in Shaler, and joined JCBA in 2020.

Tifereth Israel Cemetery is a Jewish burial site located in the northwest section of New Castle, Pennsylvania at the end of Maple Drive off of Wilmington Road (Route 18) and borders Jameson Memorial Hospital. A chapel stood on the grounds up until approximately 2000.

In 1897 a Chevra Kadisha (or “Holy society”), dedicated to upholding traditional burial customs was organized. In early 1898 they petitioned for the establishment of a Jewish cemetery and a lot was purchased. In July 1902 nine year-old Jacob Bennet, who had drowned in the Shenango River was the first burial.

On June 27, 1948, a memorial was dedicated to eight local Jewish servicemen killed during or just after World War II. Four were eventually interred in the cemetery. The eight men are Max Aronson, Nathan Baskind, Hyman Buntman, Emanuel Fell, Dr. Meyer Frank, Joshua Kaplan, Stanley Luxenberg, and Herbert Silverman. The memorial consists of a white wall with eight small markers with the names of the eight men.

Longtime local jeweler and Jewish community leader Jack Gerson helped unveil the memorial, while newly appointed Rabbi Jules Lipschutz officiated. Several local military veteran organizations took part in the dedication dubbed “Little Arlington”. Years later a new version of the World War II memorial, which had grown a little worn, was commissioned. Sadly, the impressive large white wall and the eight flat markers were replaced with a single gray granite memorial wall.

The new memorial contains the original inscription as well and the names of those eight men. It was dedicated during a ceremony on September 9, 2012. Itl is located near the original entrance at West Leasure Ave. and faces cemetery. Another marker commemorates the location of books and congregational artifacts buried when Temple Hadar Israel closed on December 31, 2017. A small park at the entrance to the cemetery was dedicated by Frieda Rosenblum. Tifereth Israel Cemetery became part of the JCBA in 2020.

In January 1926 a group of Jewish religious leaders of the Reform movement founded a small congregation in New Castle, Pennsylvania. In 1927 they were officially chartered as the “Temple Israel of New Castle” and decided to build a synagogue of their own. The impressive-looking Temple Israel was opened on Highland Avenue in September 1927. A dedicated burial ground, Temple Israel Memorial Park, was established on Sunrise Drive in Neshannock Township in late 1955. In 1998 the Temple Israel merged with that of the Tifereth Israel to form the new congregation of Temple Hadar Israel. The congregations each had their own cemeteries and each retained their original names after the merger. The Memorial Park became part of the JCBA in 2020. Among the notable burials at Temple Israel Memorial Park are Jack Gerson (1892-1987), the Lithuanian-born jeweler and civic leader who was very involved in the local Jewish community and Dr. Alfred Devon, WW II Bronze Star Awardee and longstanding area chiropractor.

Note: A Temple Israel member purchased a section in the Oak Pak Cemetery, the largest cemetery in Lawrence County, on Neshannock Boulevard in 1913. Not a part of the New Castle Jewish cemeteries per se, these thirty Jewish grave sites represent a portion of historic New Castle.

Also known as the “Rippel Road Cemetery” its roots go back to a group of non-Hungarian Jews that were originally a part of McKeesport’s Anshe Ungarn (Men of Hungary). More comfortable within their congregation, they formed Ahavas Achim in 1892. They remained separate for approximately 30 years, with the last burial being in 1924. Eight headstones remain, and the cemetery was carefully restored in 2017 by Mark Pudlowski, a White Oak PA faith leader with the able assistance of Boy Scout Daniel Lia who chose the site for his Eagle Scout project. The Jewish community is appreciative of the efforts of these two men. The JCBA assumed maintenance of the Ahavas Achim Cemetery in mid-2020. It is located on the north side of Rippel Road just before Center Street in White Oak.

The Kesher Israel Cemetery is adjacent to the Calvary Cemetery in Port Vue and sits between Dersam Street and Fern Alley. The ground was purchased in 1907. The congregation was formally consecrated in 1910 and located on Mulberry Street in McKeesport. Rabbi Weinberg was their longstanding leader. Kesher Israel merged with Anshe Sfard in 1935. Twenty graves, some marked only with numbers, have been cared for by a dedicated neighbor since 2004. JCBA has assumed maintenance and care beginning in mid-2020.