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Grave Reality

A cemetery for people once not allowed to be buried here

Photo: Susan Ogan

J

ews didn’t win the right to be buried in Massachusetts until 1844, and even then the state’s first legally authorized Jewish cemetery was relegated to then-distant East Boston. The Temple Ohabei Shalom Cemetery’s evolution reflects the expansion of the Jewish population in Boston. Among those buried there: Isaac Rosnosky, the first Jewish member of the state House of Representatives, elected in 1883. Marcus

Shhhh! Before 1844, deceased Jews
had to be shipped for burial to Rhode Island,
the West Indies, or even Europe.

Shhhh! The congregation’s second building is
now the Charles Playhouse. It later moved to Brookline, but not before a rift between German
and Polish members resulted in the secession
of the Germans to Temple Israel in Boston.


Shhhh! The first Jew in public office
was Godfrey Morse, who was elected to the
Boston School Committee in 1875. Leopold
Morse was elected to Congress in 1876.


Shhh who knew

One-fifth of the total cost of building the Bunker Hill Monument, or $10,000, was provided by a Jewish merchant and shipowner, Judah Touro.

Temple Ohabei Shalom Cemetery

140 Wordsworth St. at Horace Street
East Boston, MA, 02128

Find on a map|Get directions.

These lines serve the first Jewish cemetery. Click to find more secrets on your route.

120 Bus, Orient Heights/Blue Line

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