Mikveh Israel Cemetery

Mikveh Israel Cemetery is the oldest Jewish cemetary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The cemetary is not too large compared to your typical cemetary. The whole premises is less than 0.2 acres in size. The cemetary is a registerd historic site in Philadelphia and also a national historic site dubbed by the Independence National Historic Park. The cemetary is located in center city about four blocks south of Independence Hall.



The cemetary has a very interesting history. It was previously a burial ground for pirates and the family of Nathan Levy. It is said that Levy's ship, The Myrtilla, was responsible for transporting the Liberty Bell from England to Philadelphia! Unfortunately, in 1738, one of Levy's children died of illness. Instead of burying his child in unsanctified ground he asked John Penn, who was cheif of Pennsylvania's propriety government at the time, for a small piece of land with the intention of making it a family cemetary.



The leaders of Mikveh Israel and their family members were eventually buried in the cemetery very close to Spruce Street. Nathan Levy's tomb which has dated to 1753, bears the oldest readable writing on a tombstone in the cemetery. The dates and the names which are barely readable on the weathered old tombstones add dimensions to the story of the emerging American nation.



In July 1953, an Ordinance came about in the City Council of Philadelphia. This ordinance was aimed at establishing the Mikveh Israel Cemetery as a historic shrine. Since 1956, Mikveh Israel Cemetery has been a National Historic Shrine. The late congressman James Byrnes introduced in the House of Representatives a bill to make the Spruce Street Cemetery and Christ Church, located at Second and Market Streets, national historic sites. This is where Washington had worshipped. On July 23, 1956 the House passed the bill.



Website Used for Information:
Milgrim, S. (2004, August 14). Mikveh israel cemetery. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/mikvehisrael/index.htm

Photos taken by:
Gj Scott

Cedar Hill Cemetery

Cedar Hill was established in 1850 on March 25th. It is located in the Frankford neighborhood, which is in the lower Northeast section of the city and was founded in 1684 by German settlers.

Cedar Hill is a sprawling cemetery that has five notable people buried on its grounds.

The first of these is Alexander Crawford. Born in 1842, he was a sailor on the USS Wyalusing during the United States Civil War. He was awarded a medal of honor for his heroics and was buried at Cedar Hill in 1886. Second, is William Walker Foulkrod. Walker was born in Philadelphia in 1846 and rose to prominence as a U.S. Representative from the Pennsylvania 5th district. He died in office in 1910 and was then buried at Cedar Hill.

George Shoch is the third. He was born in 1859 and was a utility player for the Washington Nationals from 1886 to 1889. He also played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1891, the Baltimore Orioles in 1892 and the Brooklyn Grooms/Bridegrooms from 1893 to 1897. He died at the age of 78 and was buried at Cedar Hill in 1937. John Paul Verree is the fourth notable person and the second politician who now resides at Cedar Hill. Born in 1817 he was a U.S. Representative from the Pennsylvania 3rd district from 1859 to 1863. He died in 1889 and was then buried at Cedar Hill.
The fifth, and final, person of note buried at Cedar Hill is Sam White. He was a Major League Baseball play born in 1893. He played in only one game for the Boston Braves during the 1919 season. He died in 1929 and now rests at Cedar Hill.The cemetery has the option of listening to an audio historical guide at points throughout the grounds. Cedar Hill Cemetery is an interesting and unique asset to North Philadelphia.

Pictures by: Gj Scott and Sarah Virnig
Citations:

Author, Kestenbaum, Lawrence. (24 March 2009). “The Political Graveyard”. Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/PA/PH5.html

Author, Sports Reference LLC. (2009). “Samuel Lambeth White”. Retrieved from http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/whitesa01.shtml?redir

Author, Sports Reference LLC. (2009). “George Shoch”. Retrieved from http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/shochge01.shtml

Author, Morfe, Don. (27 Feb 2003). “Alexander Crawford” Retrieved from http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7217945