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Peckham West: German Jews Immigrate to New Bedford, mid 19th century
In the middle of the 19th century, New Bedford saw a wave of German Jews immigrate. They were characterized as itinerant vendors who sold their wares from farmhouse to farmhouse. One of these early settlers was Leopold Morse who came to New Bedford from Tamworth, New Hampshire and later moved to Boston. There were enough Jewish residents here at the time to form the B’nai Israel Society in 1857 which purchased an eternal resting place at the Peckham West Cemetery on Mt. Pleasant Street.
To reach the Peckham West Cemetery from downtown New Bedford, drive up Elm Street to Cottage Street. Turn right on Cottage and continue North. Cottage runs into Mt. Pleasant after Durfee Street; continue on Mt Pleasant past the Holy Name Church, the Mt. Pleasant School and just before the Ashley Ford Car Dealership will be the cemetery on the left.
In the middle of the cemetery is the Jewish plot with approximately 16 gravestones. If you take the main driveway through the cemetery, it will be approximately 50 feet to the left, in the center. This 35 x 50 foot plot was deeded to the B’nai Israel Society in April of 1857. It served as the Jewish cemetery for the second half of the nineteenth century. The first person to be interred there was Zipporah Mindel Feibelman, daughter of Wolf Feibelman who came from Pozen, Germany. She was laid to rest on November 27, 1857.
The last person to be interred was Bashie Levine in 1899. A complete list of those interred here follows. This cemetery was superceded by the Hebrew Cemetery on Plainville Road, which was purchased in 1900. Both Tifereth Israel congregation and Ahavath Achim synagogue have plots for their congregants.
Thanks to the efforts of local resident Herb Seltzer, the Peckham West plots continue to be maintained by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford.
- Jacob Altman, son of Isaac
- Morris Bergman, 52 years
- Abraham Berkowitz, September 5, 1885, age 18 years
- Bloome Cohen
- Louis Cohen, born June 10, 1860, died December 18, 1898
- Abe Zalmon, Ben Rav David Behr (Eiskovitz), son of David Eiskovitz, died 1895
- Zipporah Mindel Feibelman, daughter of Wolf, died November 27, 1857 age 54 years (at right)
- Frume bat Rav David Ginzberg, age 49 years
- Hinda Leah Goodman, age 37 years
- Louis Grodzinski, October 4, 1885, age 13 years
- Salomon Herstoff, age 22 years
- Solomon J. (Levine), son of Falk Levine, died 1894
- Dorah Medof, October 1884, age 12 years
- Fannie Richmond, April 6, 1886
- Leo Salomonsky, February 26, 1892
- Abraham Semiansky, March 28, 1886
- Augusta Winebarg, 1862
- Simon Winebarg, born May 3, 1860, died April 20, 1861 (picture above)
- Lizzie Winasky, August 31, 1885, age 11 months
- Bashie Levine, 1899