Jewish + Irish Cemeteries Were Discouraged by 19th Century Boston Puritans

Photo courtesy of Mass Moments

Ancestors of the early Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony discouraged Jews and Irish Catholics from burying their congregations in local cemeteries the first half of the 19th century.  Boston had long been known as a place where outsiders were considered with suspicion and hatred, due to their religion or ethnic backgrounds.

According to Mass Moments, a daily history log published by Mass Humanities, on April 29, 1844, a Jewish congregation in Boston "petitioned city officials to set aside a corner of an East Boston cemetery for their use.  When the city refused, the 40 congregants of Ohabei Shalom contributed five dollars each to purchase their own burial ground.

"Eight years later, they dedicated Boston's first synagogue. Located on Warren Avenue in the South End, it originally served the city's 125 Jewish families, almost all of whom hailed from German-speaking central Europe. 

"In the late nineteenth century, large numbers of eastern European Jews immigrated to the United States; Boston was soon home to over 20,000 Jews representing a broad range of religious, cultural, and ethnic traditions."  Read the entire story at Mass Moments. 

Courtesy of Charlestown Historical Society

A similar problem occurred in the Bay State with the Irish Catholic community twelve years earlier, according to the book, Irish Boston, which reported, "In May, 1832, Bishop Benedict Fenway sought to bury two small children at the recently purchased plot of land that would later become known as Bunker Hill Cemetery.  The Charlestown Selectmen refused the request, pointing to a law passed the previous year that prohibited outsiders from being buried in Charlestown. 

"Bishop Fenwick decided he would test the validity of the state ruling and went ahead and buried the children without the town’s permission. The matter went to a higher court, and ultimately the church was recognized as having the right to bury its dead on its own property."

Among the communities that made up the Massachusetts Bay Colony were Boston, Charlestown, Dorchester, Medford, Watertown, Roxbury, and Lynn, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

For information on Boston Jewish history at Global Boston.

Learn more about Boston Irish history at Global Boston, or visit Boston's IrishHeritageTrail.com.