Anshe Chesed Cemetery

Anshe Chesed Cemetery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Grove Street, Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi, U.S.
Coordinates	32°20′43″N 90°51′14″W / 32.3454°N 90.8539°W / 32.3454; -90.8539
Area	10.5 acres (4.2 ha)
Built	August 23, 1864
NRHP reference No.	14000569
Added to NRHP	September 10, 2014

The Anshe Chesed Cemetery is a historic Jewish cemetery located in Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.. It is located adjacent to the Vicksburg National Military Park, however it is set apart by a line of trees and has its entrance on Grove Street.^[1] It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 10, 2014.^[1][2][3]

The site of the Anshe Chesed Cemetery was a Confederate States Army lunette wartime site that saw battle on May 19–22, 1863.^[4] The land was sold and donated by the brothers Harris and Elias Kiersky, and was supported by the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Anshe Chesed of Vicksburg.^[1] The Temple Anshe Chesed (1870–1969) was built six years later and located near the cemetery, but it no longer standing.^[5] The Temple Anshe Chesed was the first synagogue built in Mississippi.^[5]

There are over 1,100 marked graves and at least 46 unmarked graves in Anshe Chesed Cemetery which were moved from an old Jewish cemetery.^[1] The history of the "old Jewish cemetery" is unknown.^[1]

When the town of Vicksburg was incorporated in 1825, with a population of 3,000, there were approximately twenty Jewish settlers, who had immigrated from Bavaria, Prussia, and Alsace–Lorraine.^[1][6] The early Jewish population of men and women were business owners, community leaders, physicians, lawyers, and teachers in the city of Vicksburg.^[1] In 1862, fifty Jewish families came together and formed the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Anshe Chesed in Vicksburg, and received a charter from the state.^[6]

In the 1866 Vicksburg city directory, ninety Jewish families owned thirty-five businesses.^[1] By 1905, there were 659 Jewish people in the city of Vicksburg, which was the peak population (4.44% of the city population).^[1] As of 2014, only some twenty Jewish people were left in Vicksburg; this loss of Jewish population was due to many factors^[1] and occurred statewide.

Other Jewish cemeteries in Mississippi that are listed in the National Register include Beth Israel Cemetery in Meridian; the Gemiluth Chassed Cemetery in Port Gibson.^[1][7] The Natchez City Cemetery includes Jewish Hill, a section dedicated to Jewish burials; and other Jewish cemeteries in Mississippi are the Beth Israel Cemetery in Jackson, and the Hebrew Union Cemetery in Greenville.^[1]

• List of cemeteries in Mississippi
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Warren County, Mississippi

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Park Service.

• Find a Grave cemetery profile