Jewish Rest Cemetery and Beth Jacob Cemetery Tombstone Inscriptions 2006

Compiled by Gail Ashbrook and Elizabeth C. Davis

The land for Jewish Rest (at the intersection of Summer Street and Albert Pike) was purchased in 1867 with the oldest existing tombstones dating from the 1870s. A stroll through this long, rectangular cemetery with its many shade trees and nandina bushes is a peaceful experience. From any of several benches, one can read the inscribed names of businessmen whose names have been familiar to several generations of local residents. Hebrew inscriptions cover older tombstones, leaving just enough space for names and dates in English. Recent markers have a line or two inscribed in Hebrew. Symbols which can be traced back to Old Testament times are both interesting and inspirational.

Jewish Rest and Beth Jacob cemetery are both managed by Congregation House of Israel. Beth Jacob is on Highway 7, four miles past the junction of Highways 5 and 7. Since the land was purchased in the mid-1940s, there have been approximately fifty interments, using four rows with a footpath.

The book contains maps, inscription lists by block and row, alphabetical indexes, an epitaph section, and a section with captioned photographs and brief notes.