Anshe Chesed Cemetery

The Anshe Chesed Cemetery is a historic Jewish cemetery located in Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.. It is located adjacent to the Vicksburg National Military Park, however it is set apart by a line of trees and has its entrance on Grove Street.[1] It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 10, 2014.[1][2][3]

Anshe Chesed Cemetery
LocationGrove Street,
Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi, U.S.
Coordinates32.3454°N 90.8539°W / 32.3454; -90.8539
Area10.5 acres (4.2 ha)
BuiltAugust 23, 1864
NRHP reference No.14000569
Added to NRHPSeptember 10, 2014

History
Anshe Chesed Cemetery in 2017

The site of the Anshe Chesed Cemetery was a Confederate States Army lunette wartime site that saw battle on May 19–22, 1863.[4] The land was sold and donated by the brothers Harris and Elias Kiersky, and was supported by the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Anshe Chesed of Vicksburg.[1] The Temple Anshe Chesed (1870–1969) was built six years later and located near the cemetery, but it no longer standing.[5] The Temple Anshe Chesed was the first synagogue built in Mississippi.[5]

There are over 1,100 marked graves and at least 46 unmarked graves in Anshe Chesed Cemetery which were moved from an old Jewish cemetery.[1] The history of the "old Jewish cemetery" is unknown.[1]

Jewish history of Vicksburg, Mississippi
See also: History of Vicksburg, Mississippi

When the town of Vicksburg was incorporated in 1825, with a population of 3,000, there were approximately twenty Jewish settlers, who had immigrated from Bavaria, Prussia, and Alsace–Lorraine.[1][6] The early Jewish population of men and women were business owners, community leaders, physicians, lawyers, and teachers in the city of Vicksburg.[1] In 1862, fifty Jewish families came together and formed the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Anshe Chesed in Vicksburg, and received a charter from the state.[6]

In the 1866 Vicksburg city directory, ninety Jewish families owned thirty-five businesses.[1] By 1905, there were 659 Jewish people in the city of Vicksburg, which was the peak population (4.44% of the city population).[1] As of 2014, only some twenty Jewish people were left in Vicksburg; this loss of Jewish population was due to many factors[1] and occurred statewide.

Other Jewish cemeteries in Mississippi that are listed in the National Register include Beth Israel Cemetery in Meridian; the Gemiluth Chassed Cemetery in Port Gibson.[1][7] The Natchez City Cemetery includes Jewish Hill, a section dedicated to Jewish burials; and other Jewish cemeteries in Mississippi are the Beth Israel Cemetery in Jackson, and the Hebrew Union Cemetery in Greenville.[1]

See also

References
  1. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Anshe Chesed Cemetery". National Park Service. 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  2. "Anshe Chesed Cemetery". National Register of Historic Places, Digital Archive on NPGallery.
  3. Turitz, Leo; Turitz, Evelyn (1983). Jews in Early Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-87805-178-6.
  4. Bishop, Randy (2010-10-22). Mississippi's Civil War Battlefields: A Guide to Their History and Preservation. Arcadia Publishing. p. 261. ISBN 978-1-58980-960-4.
  5. Surratt, John (August 1, 2021). "Windows from historic Vicksburg Jewish temple up for auction". The Vicksburg Post.
  6. "Looking Back: B.B. Club is but one branch of Vicksburg's Jewish roots". The Vicksburg Post. 2022-08-10. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  7. Sanders, William L. (2014-03-03). Carved in Stone: Cemeteries of Claiborne County, Mississippi. Dorrance Publishing. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-4809-0883-3.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service.

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