Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery (Old) (C08)
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Chesed Shel Emeth (“Kindness of Truth”) Society Cemetery 7570 Olive Boulevard University City, Missouri 63130 (314) 721-4658 Jewish Cemetery Established: 1888 Size: 20.69 acres Burials indexed: 17,105 (1888–2002) |
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| Photo taken by Phil Klasskin© 2011; used with permission. | Click on this map to see it georeferenced in a Google Maps interface. Map Courtesy of Chesed Shel Emeth Society |
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 38.6704327, Longitude: -90.3351559 Click here for a Google map.
The Chesed Shel Emeth Society was formed on 3 November 1888 by Russian Jews who had fled pogroms in their homeland. It was a “chevra kadisha,” literally a “holy society” for mutual assistance and especially for burial. The name, originally transcribed from the Hebrew as “Chased Shel Amas,” means “Faith in the Truth.” The society’s first goal was to buy a hearse, and by early 1889 enough money had been raised to begin the purchase of one by installments. A celebration was held at Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol, then located on North 7th between Cole and King, and the hearse was paraded through the streets of the neighborhood.
After the hearse was paid off in 1891, the society was able to purchase an acre and a half on the west side of Hanley Road at Olive Street Road on 3 May 1893. The congregation dedicated the ground on 5 May and a new fence and frame chapel on 16 July of the same year. The old gate to the original part of the cemetery can still be seen on Olive. It has a cut limestone arch inscribed in Hebrew. An adjacent 19.19 acres were purchased in 1904 but not dedicated until September 1926. A new cemetery was launched in 1967, when thirty acres were purchased at 650 White Road, near Olive Boulevard in Chesterfield. (See Chesed Shel Emeth, CO9)
Chesed Shel Emeth did not originally intend to have its own synagogue. It concentrated on providing free burials to all, treating rich and poor equally, so that indigent families need feel no shame at such a critical time. As the society succeeded at this goal, it was able to turn its attention to other needs, particularly a hospital, a senior citizens’ home and an orphans’ home. It supported Hebrew schools, both here and back in Russia and Poland. Finally in 1919, Chesed Shel Emeth moved into its own synagogue at Page and Euclid. A new University City building, at North & South and Gannon, was built in 1950. The congregation remained Orthodox in its philosophy but finally disbanded in 1996, when the building was sold to Shaarei Chesed Shul.
Source of Data for this Cemetery
Data transcribed from cemetery records by StLGS volunteers.
Cemetery Specific Data Notes
None.
Additional Resources
“New Jewish Cemetery in Chesterfield Offers Solution to ‘Complicated Issue'” in West NewsMagazine, April 2011.
General information on Jewish cemeteries and other resources in Missouri: https://iajgscemetery.org/usa/missouri-mo/
To access the JGS Cemetery Database records by name, please use the Search button on the top menu.
Last modified: 22-Jan-2024 07:10