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The Jewish Graceland Cemetery project began in the 1980s. Norman Schwartz provided the early inspiration, essential guidance, and much of the original work. JGSI volunteers spent many hours at the cemetery recording gravestone information and locations. This information was indexed and recorded in an off-line database which has helped many people over the years.
Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois
On Chicago's busy North side, a small plot of land is seemingly abandoned, returning to nature. The weeds grow high at Jewish Graceland, where only occasionally the noise of Clark Street disturbs the calm. This little graveyard posesses an aura of solitude unsurpassed anywhere in the Lakeview neighborhood.
"Jewish Graceland" is the collective name of four cemeteries, originally under separate management: [City Directory 1863, 1864]
- Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery
- Anshe Mayrev
- Cemetery of the Congregation of the Sons of Peace
- Chebra Kadisha Ubikar Cholm
There are no fences between these four cemeteries, and it is difficult to tell where the boundaries originally were. Jewish Graceland sits on Clark Street, a half block south of Irving Park road. Adjoining it to the north is Wunder's Cemetery, only slightly larger.
Hebrew Benevolent Society was established in 1851 - making it older than Graceland, Rosehill, Calvary, or Oak Woods. Within the City of Chicago, only Union Ridge and St. John's are older.
In recent years, these cemeteries have been poorly kept. Weeds grow high over uneven ground, and monuments lie where they fall. Some monuments have been vandalized, smashed beyond repair.
Jewish Graceland Cemetery was founded in 1851 by the Hebrew Benevolent Society. It is one of Chicago's oldest existing cemeteries, pre-dating Wunder's, Graceland, Rosehill and Oak Woods. It is the oldest existing Jewish cemetery in Chicago.
Originally four separate Jewish cemeteries, it was named "Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery". However, after the famous Graceland Cemetery opened one block north, local residents nicknamed Hebrew Benevolent "Jewish Graceland Cemetery", and the name stuck.
The first recorded burial is of a man named Isaac Rubel, who died in 1854. To date, there have been approximately 3,000 burials.
About 1/4 of the cemetery's headstones are toppled or broken due to acts of vandalism in the 1960s and 1970s, and many are too old and deteriorated to read.
Efforts have been made to restore the cemetery in recent years. In 1986, all of the legible headstones were recorded and archived by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois. Their list of burial records is now available online, along with a map of the cemetery:
There is no cemetery office on site. Gates 1 and 4 are owned by Doris Weiss-Evon. Gates 2 and 3 are owned and managed by the Hebrew Benevolent Society.
Cemetery Hours: Sunday-Friday, 8 AM - 4:30 PM. Closed on Saturdays.
Phone: 847-279-8115
Fax# is available upon request
E-mail: HBENSOCCOMCAST.NET