Sonora Hebrew Cemetery

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Sonora Hebrew Cemetery
Historic American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, Photographer Jan. 19, 1934 MAIN ENTRANCE, YANEY AVENUE (NORTH-WEST) - Grave Stones, Jewish Cemetery, Yaney Avenue, Sonora, HABS CAL,55-SONO,1-1.tif
Sonora Hebrew Cemetery entrance in 1934
Sonora Hebrew Cemetery
Details
Establishedc. 1851
Closed1977
Location
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 37°59′03″N120°23′11″W / 37.98421°N 120.38651°W / 37.98421; -120.38651
TypeJewish
No. of graves70
Find a Grave Sonora Hebrew Cemetery
The Political Graveyard Sonora Hebrew Cemetery

The Sonora Hebrew Cemetery, also known as Pioneer Jewish Cemetery, is an inactive Jewish cemetery founded in c. 1851, and located in Sonora, California. [1] This was the first Jewish cemetery in the Gold Rush region.

Contents

History

The cemetery was founded by the Hebrew Benevolent Society and is mostly the graves of European-born Jews who emigrated to the Gold Country. The first burial is recorded in 1853 as Hartwig Caro, age 17; however it's possible there were burials starting in 1851. [2]

Local Jewish community leader Mayer Baer (1821–1907), and then his son Julius Baer (1876–1972) maintained the cemetery up until 1972. [2] [3]

As of 2022, there are only 44 visible grave sites. [2] [4] In 1962, the Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks in the West was formed to help with education, and restoration for all of the Jewish cemeteries in Gold County. [3] The Mother Lode Jewish Community has an annual clean up day, when they visit the cemetery as a group and maintain the space. [2]

Other 19th-century Jewish cemeteries in Northern California are located at:

See also

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Grass Valley Pioneer Jewish Cemetery, also known as Shaar Zedek is a no longer active Jewish cemetery founded in 1856 by the Hebrew Benevolent of Society of Grass Valley, and is located in Grass Valley, California, U.S. The last burial happened in 1891. It is a private site operated by the Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks in the West and is not open to the public.

Pioneer Jewish Cemetery may refer to:

Placerville Pioneer Jewish Cemetery is a no longer active Jewish cemetery founded in 1854 by the Placerville Hebrew Benevolent Society, and is located in Placerville, California. The last burial happened in 1968. It is a private site operated by the Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks in the West and is not open to the public.

Pioneer Baby's Grave is a historical site in Redding, California in Shasta County. Pioneer Baby's Grave is a California Historical Landmark No. 377 listed on July 28, 1942. George and Helena Cohn Brownstein lived in Red Bluff. There infant son, 8-month-old, Charles Brownstein died on December 14, 1864. As there was Jewish cemetery in Red Bluff, George and Helena traveled 40 miles in two-days by covered wagon to a Jewish cemetery founded in 1857 by the Shasta Hebrew Congregation, Shasta Hebrew Benevolent Society. Charles was interred in Shasta Hebrew Congregation's Jewish cemetery, the first one found in the region. When California State Route 299 was built in 1923, the plans route the highway as to not disturb the grave. The Jewish cemetery was neglected for some years, till in 1976 when the Redding Jewish Community Center was founded. The site is now cared for by the Jewish Community Center.

References

  1. Tagger, Mathilde A. (1997). Printed Books on Jewish Cemeteries in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem: An Annotated Bibliography. Israel Genealogical Society.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Ricapito, Giuseppe (July 19, 2021). "Sonora Hebrew Cemetery hosts final burial for Holocaust survivor" . The Union Democrat . Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  3. 1 2 3 Greschler, Gabriel (November 25, 2020). "A road trip through Jewish Gold Country". J. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  4. 1 2 Levinson, Robert E. (1994). The Jews in the California Gold Rush. Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks, Judah L. Magnes Museum. ISBN   978-0943376622.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Morris, Susan (1996). A Traveler's Guide to Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries of the California Gold Rush. Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks, Judah L. Magnes Museum. ISBN   978-0-943376-63-9.
  6. Rensch, Hero Eugene; Rensch, Ethel Grace; Hoover, Mildred Brooke (1966). Abeloe, William N. (ed.). Historical Spots in California (3 ed.). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 487. ISBN   978-0-8047-0079-5.
  7. Friedmann, Jonathan L. (2020-03-23). Jewish Gold Country. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 22–23. ISBN   978-1-4396-6942-6 via Google Books.