Lithuania: Kalvarija Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish cemetery in Kalvarija - southern Lithuania - has just been recorded by Ralph Salinger of Kfar Ruppin in Israel.

Born in the UK and raised in New Zealand, Ralph lives on Kibbutz Kfar Ruppin. He has researched his family history and discovered that the SALINGER family lived in Vilkaviskis (c1805-1941).

To learn about the project, go to Ralph's site, JewishVilkaviskis.org.

Working with Ralph is Wayne N. Frankel, Ph.D., a professor at The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, Maine), and editor-in-chief of PLoS Genetics, an open access research journal.

Dr. Frankel's ancestors lived in Vilkaviskis for many generations prior to the 1902 emigration of his great-grandfather to New York. His cousins lived in Vilkaviskis until World War II; some survived, others did not."

His assistants on the ground in the area include Antanas Zilinskas, Vilkaviskis Regional Museum director; Algis Vaskevicius has a deep interest in the subject and his superb knowledge of English has been a wonderful source of support; and The Honorable Mr. Algirdas S Bagušinskas, Mayor of Vilkaviskis and his staff. See Ralph's site for contact information for these individuals.

In September, Ralph visited the Kalvarija Jewish Cemetery and with the help of middle-school students, the names of Jews buried there were deciphered.

The stones were cleaned with shaving cream, which is not recommended by cemetery preservationists as it can destroy stones and inscriptions.

In any case, the method was used and the stones deciphered. The International Jewish Graveyard Rabbit hopes that the visitors thoroughly washed off the foam from the stones.

One after another the names of people known from the archives were revealed to Jewish history researcher Alvydas Tottori. In a day and a half, Ralph - with his helpers - transcribed some 80 stones.

At the link above for the Vilkovishk site, see photos of the stones and learn more about Ralph's project. See the names of the researchers and the families they are looking for here.

Some history

Vilkovishk is located in southwestern Lithuania on the Seimena River, a tributary of the river Sesupe, about 18 km from the border with Prussia (now Russia) and 3.5 km from the St.Petersburg-Berlin railway line.

In 1660, King Jan Kazimir granted Vilkovishk city rights, making it one of the oldest Lithuanian towns. Jews had begun to settled there in the 14th century, but the old Jewish cemetery had stones dating only from 1575.

Queen Bona (wife of King Zigmunt August II) donated timber to Vilkovishk's citizens for building prayer houses at the beginning of the 16th century. Jews also benefited from this and the synagogue was built in 1545 and was extant until WWII, after several renovations over history. Sephardic Jews also settled here and the synagogue contained several Torah scrolls the refugees brought with them from Spain. They had their own cemetery.

In the early 18th century, Jews from Koeningsburg (Prussia) were buried in Vilkovishk because they were not permitted to construct a cemetery of their own. In the mid-1750s, refugees from a cholera epidemic in Vizhan, about 35km south of Vilkovishk, settled in a nearby forest - not allowed to enter the town - and the Jewish community supplied them with food. Many died and were buried near the forest. Their descendants settled in the town and remained there until the Holocaust.

There is much more detailed history, read it at the link above.

More links of interest

-- See the list of available Vilkovishk databases here.

-- See the photo library here.

-- See the site's index page here for all the pages on the site, including maps, photos of stones, various aspects of the project.

-- And see the related blog here, with even more information.

A truly fascinating site for those with ancestors in the area, or to see how similar projects can be organized.

Contact Ralph here.

A resting place?

If you are searching for your Jewish ancestors in cemeteries, be aware of Jewish tradition and law pertaining to burial issues. This may complicate location of graves in some cemeteries.

Jewish cemeteries, depending on denomination and tradition, may have separate sections for men and women, thereby precluding husbands and wives to be buried next to each other, some have separate sections for children. Traditional Jewish law forbids cremation, and a non-Jewish spouse or relative may not be buried in a traditional Jewish cemetery.

Liberal Jewish cemeteries around the world allow practices not permitted by other denominations, such as Conservative (Masorti) or Orthodox.

Historically, the liberal movement (also called Reform in the US or Progressive in other countries) - founded in 19th-century Germany - holds more liberal views as to membership requirements, intermarriage and other issues, including cemetery regulations.

In the UK, the Liberal Jewish Community of Prestbury (Gloucestershire) - founded last year - has been granted its own plot of land at Cheltenham Cemetery, in Bouncer's Lane. The established Jewish cemetery is only for Orthodox Jews and cremation is not permitted.

According to this article, the "all-inclusive" cemetery means that Jews (and non-Jewish family members) of all denominations can be buried side-by-side in a recognised Jewish burial ground for the first time in Gloucestershire county. It will be dedicated on April 19.

The chair of the community, David Naydor, was quoted:

"We aim to offer an inclusive brand of Judaism, which includes giving our members a choice when they die. Jews in the county can now be buried next to husbands, wives and family members of other religions in an all-encompassing Jewish cemetery.

"It also allows for cremation, something which is not an option for orthodox Jews."

Read the complete story at the link above.

UK: Historic Jewish cemetery seeks lottery funding

Restoring Jewish cemeteries through lottery funding is a possibility in the UK.

According to the Liverpool Echo, the city's historic Deane Road Jewish cemetery has applied for lottery funding to aid its restoration.

Deane Road Jewish cemetery in Kensington is the final resting place of some of Liverpool’s best-known entrepreneurs including David Lewis, pioneer of Lewis’s, and Moses Samuel, founder of H Samuel. The cemetery, which has around 750 gravestones, opened in 1837 but the last burial was in 1929 and it had become derelict before a new campaign to refurbish it was launched three years ago.

Patrons include Liverpool solicitor Rex Makin, Lord Lieutenant Dame Lorna Muirhead, and well known actress (and Jewish genealogist) Miriam Margolyes. The group has put in a bid for £220,000 which should fund a total restoration, including replacement, repair or refurbishment of boundary walls, gateposts, railings and front archway, as well as to re-erect all gravestones in good condition.

The Old Liverpool Hebrew Congregation owns the site, which has an ornate Greek-revival style archway entrance and a driveway flanked by cast iron railings.

Burials include Liverpool's first Jewish mayor Charles Mozley, and painter John Raphael Isaac. For more on notable Sephardi and Ashkenazi personalities who rest in Deane Road, click here.

These detailed biographies include family histories, illustrations, links, and other grave references.

It is hoped once restoration is complete, the cemetery will be added to Liverpool’s heritage trail.

For more details on the cemetery, click here. For the history of the cemetery, click here.

UK: Skull and crossbones, Sephardic graves

Although I am certainly no expert on Jewish tombstone symbols, I must comment on the caption in the Jamaica cemetery section of this blog which implies that the skull and crossbones are symbols for a Jewish pirate's grave.

I recently was lucky enough to visit the site of the oldest Jewish cemetery in England in the grounds of Queen Mary's College, Mile End in the East End of London. Here are some photographs I took on my visit.

It is now hemmed in by buildings on two sides and has little to show of its former status as the graves were horizontal and are mostly now completely covered by turf and unreadable (left below).

There are a few other remains stacked by the perimeter wall, all having skull and crossbones on them (see below). The cemetery still has a very special feel and is very peaceful - a haven in the bustling and rather delapidated Mile End.

The Old Velho Sephardi Cemetery, as it is known, was created just over 350 years ago on the orders of the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, who, overruling his own council, officially readmitted Jews to England for the first time since their expulsion in 1290. It was opened in 1657 and closed in 1742. It was the first Jewish cemetery to be opened following the readmission of Jews to this country under Oliver Cromwell.

A particular feature of Sephardi cemeteries are the flat tombstones which I am told symbolize that all are equal in death - rich or poor, high or low. Abraham Fernandez Carvajal, the founder of the modern Anglo-Jewish community, is buried in the old Velho cemetery as as well as Haham David Nieto, one of the greatest Sephardic spiritual leaders (born Venice 1654 - died London, January 10, 1728) and the physician Dr. Fernando Mendes. This interesting article discusses the background of Carvajal and the early Sephardim in London; read here about David Nieto.

Above right, see an image of the decaying wall plaque listing leaders of the community.

Surely the skull and cross bones in a universal symbol for death and fleeting nature of life and has nothing to do with pirates who could not have lived and flourished in Mile End in the 1600s?

These symbols from an early Scottish Christian cemetery look very similar to the ones in the old Velho cemetery:

UK: London Cemeteries - Lost for good

Reminders of why recording cemeteries is so important are the Nuevo, Hoxton and Bancroft (Maiden Lane) cemeteries.

The first two were sold, the remains moved, the history lost, the tombstones buried or lost or whatever they do with them when they do these things; the latter has just fallen into to such a state that there are just a handful of tombstones remaining.

The remains from Nuevo cemetery were moved in 1974 to a small, out of the way cemetery in Brentwood.

Nuevo Cemetery remains moved to Brentwood
Credit: GenPals Cemetery Project)

Originally, plaques were erected in memory of each of the 7,500 individuals moved, who were buried 1734-1876. Over 140 years of history was lost.

However, no one seems to have thought of taking a few photos before the destruction of this part of the cemetery. Later burials remain in situ.

The story of Hoxton is similar, opened in 1707, closed in 1878 and sold in the 1960s.

A list of epitaphs written by Dyan Mendelssohn in 1929 are the only remaining records of those buried there.

No photos were taken of the headstones and memorials prior to its conversion into a playing field.

The remains were moved to West Ham Cemetery (above; photo credit: GenPals Cemetery Project), where, due to a shortage of space, some paths were dug up and the remains buried there.

Only a few small plaques mark the areas.

Click here for a short history of Hoxton Cemetery.

UK: GenPals Cemetery Project

Welcoming Gaby Laws and Angela Shire of GenPals:

Londoner Gaby Laws has been researching her family for more than eight years. The daughter of a survivor, her interest began by trying to find out what had happened to her family. This was combined with a love of history - she grew up above an antique shop - and a desire to be able to pass on, to her son, the stories her father could never tell.

Angela Shire's interest in genealogy was sparked by the discovery of a diary written in the late-19th century by her husband's great-grandfather. Her researches have led to world-wide contacts with fellow genealogists and taken her to Krakow and various cities in Holland. Early Anglo-Jewish Genealogy remains her main focus. She is committed to locating new sources and, where possible, making access to existing records as widely and freely available as possible.

It's just over a year since Angela Shire and I started GenPals.com but the idea had been brewing for sometime before that.

To remember the exact reason we both decided to do it, is quite hard to quantify. Hopefully, the mix of my enthusiasm and Angela’s knowledge, experience and vast databases of information makes for a a useful tool for genealogists tracing their ancestors in the UK.

Why do we spend our free time reading inscriptions, researching families and standing for hours at a time in cemeteries taking photos?

It began in the most innocent of ways, a researcher asked about getting a photo of their ancestor’s tombstone on a forum. The cemetery mentioned, was not far from where a friend lives, so I asked him if he would take a picture and it snow balled from there. Why stop at one photo?

For me, the loss of such valuable information became blatantly obvious on a trip to Dieweg Cemetery in Brussels. Everything had been arranged by a dear friend of mine, Jan Bousse. He had warned me of the state of the cemetery but it didn’t really sink in until we arrived there.

The Jewish Section of Dieweg Cemetery (Credit: GenPals Cemetery Project)

We walked down paths looking at stones, no doubt erected by loving families, but now worn, broken, fallen, completly covered in vegetation and appearing totally unloved. My own ancestors’ tombstones had to be ‘uncovered’ by the caretaker, it took days apparently.

Why are they all in such a state? I contented myself thinking that if it took me over five years to research my family and find where they were buried, then the same must apply to others. Add to the fact that many of the families of those buried at Dieweg were wiped out by the Holocaust and that may explain why these stones seem so forgotten.

We still laugh at the reactions of all the people in the hotel foyer on our return from Dieweg Cemetery. It really was a sight to be seen.

We hadn’t considered the problem of walking through to the lifts wearing mud splattered clothing, unusual hair adornments (twigs, leaves, more mud). It had rained and that along with crawling through the undergrowth did rather ruin our appearance. Those in the reception area were dressed for an evening out at the lovely local restaurants and there we were the mud-larks, we could ‘feel’ them staring and muttering.

I’m getting used to that - you only have to tell friends that you are going to photograph a cemetery to get a similar reaction.

Even when cared for, the headstones and monuments will decay, the memorials and epitaphs carefully worded by the families of each individual, the valuable information they contain, will be lost forever. So the work needs to be done – and that’s why!

GenPals Cemetery Project now contains over 2,000 inscriptions and headstone photos from cemeteries in the UK along with mini-family trees. A total of 5,500 individuals are currently recorded with more coming soon.

We have used numerous sources so that we could get to know each of the individuals listed, where they lived and what they did and have been delighted by the fabulous feedback received so far.

Completed cemeteries in London include Brady Street, Brompton (Fulham Rd), Edmonton Western section, Bancroft (Maiden Lane). Others are Aldershot, Sheppey, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Bradford, Stockton and many more.

You can search by using the name search facility or browse under headstones by name or headstones by cemetery.

We have also included some history for most of the cemeteries along with a variety of items of interest.