Volume #1, Issue #3, April, 1969
FIRST JEWISH COMMUNITY SITE
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1855
by Thomas Cohen
CALIFORNIA STATE HISTORICAL LANDMARK NUMBER 822, was dedicated amid colorful ceremonies on the morning of September 29, 1968, in the Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles. This first Jewish community site was formerly the sacred burial grounds established by the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles in 1855. The dedication was the culmination of research begun by Dr. Norton Stern in the fall of 1966, who was soon joined in this task by the writer of these lines. This joint research, by Stern and Cohen, was partially motivated by the fact that although the existence of this old cemetery was well-known, its exact location was not. An accurate and documented location was needed to proceed.
None of the known reference sources on Los Angeles Jewish history indicated the precise location of the cemetery other than that of the corner of Lilac Terrace and Lookout Drive. 1 This corner, a mile from the city hall, is just south of the Dodger Stadium in the Chavez Ravine. Subsequently it was realized that the land previously occupied by the cemetery is now being used by the Naval Reserve Armory.
To relocate the site of this first Jewish community property required a study of the history of the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles and a title-search through various official city and county archives. This was undertaken.
On July 2, 1854, a group of Jewish men met in Los Angeles to organize a benevolent society. The contemporary newspaper account states that:
The Israelites of this city formed themselves into a society under the name of the Hebrew Benevolent Society. At a meeting held on the 2d inst. the following gentlemen were elected officers of the Society: S. K. Labatt, president; Chas. Shachno, vice-president; Jacob Elias, secretary and treasurer; S. Lazard and H. Goldberg, trustees. 2
This organization was the first such group in Los Angeles and marked the beginning of community effort and cooperation. Our present vast and complex Jewish community structure of greater Los Angeles stemmed from this small beginning one hundred and fifteen years ago.
Solomon N. Carvalho accompanied Colonel John C. Fremont on his cross-country expedition of 1853, as an artist. Upon his arrival in June, 1854, he helped in the organization of the Hebrew Benevolent Society. In recognition of this, the following was adopted:
Resolved, unanimously, that the thanks of this meeting be tendered to Mr. S. N. Carvalho for his valuable services in organizing this society, and that he be elected an honorary member; also that these proceedings be published in the Occident.3
Carvalho had opened a studio on the second floor of the building in which the Labatt brothers, Samuel and Joseph, operated their store.4 Thus it was only natural that the Labatt brothers, one of whom was elected the first president, brought Carvalho to the initial meeting of the society.
The organization's purpose is stated in the preamble to its Constitution and By-Laws :
Whereas: the Israelites of this city, being desirous of procuring a piece of ground suitable for the purpose of a burying ground for the deceased of their own faith, and also to appropriate a portion of their time and means to the holy cause of benevolence unite themselves for these purposes, under the name and style of "The Hebrew Benevolent Socity" of Los Angeles. 5
On July 6, 1854, the society incorporated, ". . . for the purpose, among others, of owning and holding certain real estate to be devoted to burial purposes for deceased members of the Jewish faith." 6 The very next day, at the City Council session, the minutes record the fact that the Mayor said that the Council might designate a ". . . piece of public land for a graveyard for those belonging to the Hebrew Church." The Council indicated that this matter should come up properly by petition with an accompanying map. Jacob Elias, secretary and treasurer of the society, engaged Mr. George Hansen, a surveyor, to make a map of survey of a plot of land suitable for a cemetery. The survey was made on July 12, 1854. 7 At the July 14 City Council session, the society submitted a petition asking for land for a burial ground.
Later a request was forwarded to his Honor the Mayor and the City Council:
Gentlemen: A petition was handed to your honorable body . . . requesting the donation of pi(e)ce of ground to be used as a burial ground and other benevolent purposes, for the benefit of the Hebrew Benevolent Society of this place. Desiring to know your intention with regard to it, we beg leave to call your attention to the same. By order of the Board of Trustees, Los Angeles, September 20, 1854. Jacob Elias, Secty. 8
The city approved the request and title was ordered made out on September 22, 1854. Title was granted to the Hebrew Benevolent Society on April 9, 1855:
Between the corporation known as the "Mayor, Recorder and Common Council of the City of Los Angeles" . . . and .. . of the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles .. . in consideration of the sum of one dollar 9... do grant, convey and quit claim ...that certain tract of land. .. North 84 degrees West two hundred yards thrence North 42 degrees East seventy-five yards, thence South 48 degrees East two hundred yards, thence South 42 degrees West seventy-five yards10... as a burying ground for the Israelites forever. 11
The recordation took place on April 17, 1855.
After taking possession, enclosing the property was necessary. The grounds of the cemetery were on the gentle slopes of a hill with no adjoining neighbors. 12 An advertisement for the construction of a cemetery wall and gates was placed in the Los Angeles Star. 13
On June 17, 1869, the Common Council of the city approved the granting of additional land 14 to the Hebrew Benvolent Society for their cemetery. At the same time the society granted a portion of the existing cemetery 15 to the city for a street. This was approved by the Mayor and Trustees of the society 16 on June 25, 1869. The recordation on June 26, 1869, included the following: "... for the better regulation and uniformity of the streets ... and for better accommodations . . . in its cemetery ..." 17 The proposed street was to be located along the new eastern boundary of the cemetery.
From 1855 to 1869, the cemetery was not located with any adjoining land tracts and this mutual exchange would correct this. The location of the cemetery would be in line with the eastern boundary of the 35-acre lot No. 6 of Block 45. Some adjustments were made on the boundaries at this time. 18
The poor condition of the road leading to the cemetery brought a petition from the society 19 to the Mayor and Common Council dated March 13, 1873, stating "That the main and only entrance to said cemetery is on the promised street . . . (and) that said street be immediately opened . . . as agreed." 20 The petition also noted that the cemetery was now enclosed with a substantial picket fence, that it was laid out in blocks and avenues, that these avenues would be planted with trees and ornamented and that all this will be at considerable expense to the society. The petition called attention to the mutual deeds and covenants of June 25, 1869.
Sometime later, Mr. Maurice Kremer, then president of the society, sent a letter to the city concerning the street, "... so that vehicles can go to our cemetery with safety." 21 This was done because no satisfactory response was received concerning the petition of March 13, 1873.
In 1875, Samuel Meyer, president of the society, noted in a letter to the city of Los Angeles that the bridge ordered built by the Board of Public Works over the arroyo was not built. 22 And the street proposed in 1869 was never built, because of the hilly terrain.
In January, 1870, Mrs. Joseph (Rosa) Newmark organized the Ladies' Hebrew Benevolent Society. The officers were: Mrs. W. Kalisher, president; Mrs. Harris Newmark, vice-president; Mrs. John Jones, treasurer; Mrs. B. Katz, secretary; and Mrs. A. Baer, collector. It was this society's "function to prepare the dead for interment, and to keep proper vigil over the remains until the time of burial." 23
Care and upkeep of the cemetery was the responsibility of the Hebrew Benevolent Society until 1891. In January of that year, the Home of Peace Society was founded by Jewish women of Los Angeles, led by Mrs. Maurice Kremer. This group was established for the purpose of beautifying the cemetery and maintaining it properly and they took charge of the grounds. 24
We know that by the late 1890's, the board of Congregation B'nai B'rith included a cemetery committee. 25 Herman W. Hellman, president, wrote to the board of directors and members 26 on October 28, 1900, as follows: "The purchase of a new cemetery ground is called to the attention of the members and hope the new board will take this important matter into consideration." 27 In January, 1902, Congregation B'nai B'rith proposed
... to establish a Jewish cemetery in which Jews belonging to any congregation in Los Angeles can be buried at uniform prices; that this congregation will donate to the Hebrew Benevolent Society a piece or part of our cemetery in which to bury the indigent Jewish dead. 28
On January 28 the board recommended the purchase of thirty acres of land at $150.00 per acre. 29 A special meeting was called on January 30, which adopted the recommendations. One of these was that special consideration would be given to members of the Hebrew Benevolent Society, who were in good standing and members before January 1, 1902.
A map of survey was drawn in May, 1902, of the B'nai B'rith Cemetery30 on Whittier Boulevard to the east of Los Angeles. This cemetery contains about thirty acres of level ground while the old one had about 4.2 acres which was not level. The dedication of the new cemetery was held on May 18, 1902.31
On June 30, 1902, the Hebrew Benevolent Society filed a petition with the City Council asking that the city relinquish its reversionary interest in their cemetery property so that part of the land could be sold. The petition reads in part:
No attempt has ever been made to realize profit from the use of the lands conveyed to it by the city ; on the contrary, amounts received from parties using the same have been barely sufficient to defray the expense of care and maintenance. At the same time, the society has assumed the burden of burying such a number of objects of its beneficence as that at the present time upwards of one-half of the bodies in the cemetery are the remains of those, who, but for the work of your petitioner, would have been the objects of public charity. During the period of its existence your petitioner, in common with the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society, an auxiliary organization, has expended over one hundred thousand dollars for charitable uses, and takes pride in saying that through its efforts and expenditures, and the efforts and expenditures of the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society, the municipality has not been called upon at any time, to the knowledge of the officers of your petitioner, to render aid or assistance of any kind to any member of the Jewish faith, and the Jewish poor have not in any manner been a burden upon the city.
The growth of our city, the increase of population, and the development of the oil industry on the lands adjacent to the cemetery site, have tended to render the same unfit to be devoted to that purpose. It has become almost inaccessable, completely surrounded by oil wells, derricks and tanks, and brick yards and kilns, the smoke from which has so discolored the shrubbery and monuments that they have become black and unsightly.
The foregoing considerations have rendered it absolutely necessary that the members of the faith should procure a new site for the burial of their dead, which has been accomplished through the efforts of the Congregation B'nai B'rith, by the acquisition of land for that purpose without the limits of the city, to which site it is the desire of your petitioner that the remains buried in its present cemetery should be removed. Your petitioner, being without the necessary means with which to defray the expense of removing the bodies of the indigent dead buried at its present cemetery, has devised the plan of selling the real estate at present owned by it and devoting the means realized therefrom to that purpose. To do this it will be necessary that the City of Los Angeles relinquish its reversionary interest in the cemetery property, and your petitioner respectfully requests such relinquishment at the hands of your honorable body.
As the land will be entirely unsalable until the removal of all bodies is accomplished, no harm can come to the city from granting this request. The removal of the cemetery to a point without the limits of the city is exceedingly desirable to the municipality, and this can only be accomplished by enabling your petitioner to raise the funds therefor by a sale of the property. 32
The petition was signed by J. Schlesinger, president, and Victor Harris, secretary. The Land Commission on July 7, 1902, recommended to the City Council that the city relinquish its reversionary interests to the Hebrew cemetery property. 33 This was approved by the City Council on September 15, 1902, by a 6-to-0 vote. 34
The city ordinance relinquishing the reversionary interest included a quit-claim deed to the property. 35 This deed was recorded on October 27, 1902. 36
The first burial in the old cemetery had been in 1858 37 and by 1902, there had been over 360 burials. Markers and monuments of various kinds were used to locate the graves. Generally slabs of white marble, one to two inches thick were utilized. Old photographs reveal that some wooden markers were used. More elaborate monuments were made of granite and other stone. Many of these markers and monuments can be seen at the Home of Peace Memorial Park today. The B'nai B'rith Cemetery was called the Home of Peace Cemetery and later the Home of Peace Memorial Park. It is still owned and operated by Congregation B'nai B'rith, known now as the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
The task of removal began on November 18, 1902. 38 The remains of many of the well-known pioneer figures of the Los Angeles Jewish community were moved from 1902 to 1905 to the B'nai B'rith cemetery.39
Mr. S. S. Federman, president of the Hebrew Benevolent Society, prepared a petition for leave to sell real estate on October 19, 1905. The petition, filed with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, states that the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles,
...was organized and exists solely for benevolent purposes and not for profit ... (that) no burials have taken place for the past two years... (and) that a portion of the premises hereinabove described has never been used or utilized for burial purposes, and that such a portion of said premises the same is not required and is not in use for burial purposes, nor will same be required or used for such purposes, and it is for the best interest of this corporation that such land be sold ... (and that this land is) desired by the City of Los Angeles for the purpose of erecting and maintaining thereon a detention hospital, and that there is, at the present time, an opportunity to sell the same at a fair and reasonable price, to wit, the sum of two thousand dollars; that if such opportunity is not availed of the same cannot be hereafter sold at any fair valuation, because of the erection and maintenance by the city on premises adjacent thereto of its said detention hospital and pest house for the care and isolation of persons suffering from contagious diseases. 40
The petition was ordered granted October 27, 1905, and the judgment on November 6, 1905. 41
The City of Los Angeles lost no time in using this land, formerly a part of the Hebrew Cemetery. Plans were prepared for an eight-inch vitrified. 'sewer line which would run through the length of the property from the Pest House on the northwest to Bernard Street on the east. This sewer line would serve about ten buildings on the city property. 42
After 1902, several cemeteries were established for the purpose of providing burial according to the orthodox ritual. The Beth Israel Cemetery is owned by Congregation Beth Israel which was founded in 1892. 43 They bought their cemetery in 1906 and their first burials were in January, 1907. It adjoins the Home of Peace Memorial Park. On one occasion the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society paid the bill for two burials in the Beth Israel Cemetery, then indicated that no more such bills would be accepted. 44 This may have shown their preference for the B'nai B'rith Cemetery as they had close associations with Congregation B'nai B'rith. Some remains were moved from the old Hebrew cemetery to the Beth Israel Cemetery since there are at least nine graves with monuments inscribed before 1902.
The Chevrs Chesed Shell Emeth was organized on February 7, 1909, for the purpose of providing "proper burial for orthodox Jews" and for buying a burial ground. Their Mount Zion Cemetery adjoins the Home of Peace Memorial Park. 45 Congregation Agudas Achim Anshi Sfard organized on August 23, 1909, for conducting "religious services according to the orthodox Jewish ritual, (and) to buy . . . real property (for) cemetery purposes." 46 This organization changed its name to Congregation Agudas Achim in 1921. The Agudas Achim Cemetery also adjoins the Home of Peace Memorial Park. The congregation merged with Rodef Sholom-Etz Chaim Congregation in recent years and is now known as Judea Congregation.
The majority 47 of remains from the old cemetery in Chavez Ravine were moved to the B'nai B'rith Cemetery in May, June and July, 1910. They were all located in the Benevolent section of the new cemetery, as approved by the Board of Directors of the Congregation B'nai B'rith. 48 By the end of 1910, all removals were completed.
On January 19, 1916, the first joint meeting between the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society and the Hebrew Benevolent Society was held. In attendance were Mrs. Herman W. Frank, president, 49 Mrs. P. Lazarus, Mrs. V. Katze, Dr. S. Hecht, Mr. I. Norton, Mr. P. Stein .and Mr. A. Shapiro. 50 The purpose of the joint meetings, which were held for two years, was to combine both organizations into one.
In 1918, the amalgamated organizations created the Jewish Aid Society of Los Angeles. 51 The incorporators on May 29, 1918 were: Alexander Meyer, Rev. S. Hecht, M. N. Newmark, Dr. D. W. Edelman, Philip Stein, A. Shapiro, Mrs. H. W. Frank, Mrs. I. Eisner, Mrs. V. Katze, Mrs. Carl Stern, Mrs. Alexander Brownstein, and Mrs. H. H. Lissner. 52 Miss Dora Berres 53 was the first professional social worker brought into the Jewish community. She served as the executive secretary of the Jewish Aid Society of Los Angeles from 1918 to 1923. Other executives of this and succeeding organizations were Herman Blumenthal, Mrs. Lenore Livine, Mrs. Emma Shencup, Miss Freda Mohr (from 1932 to November, 1966), 54 and presently Theodore R. Isenstadt. The first president of the Jewish Aid Society of Los Angeles was Mr. Alexander Meyer, who held this office until 1934. 55
On April 12, 1928, the Hebrew Benevolent Society gave a grant deed to the Jewish Aid Society conveying title to the remaining cemetery property. This was done, though the Hebrew Benevolent Society had been defunct for ten years. It was considered unfinished business by the surviving trustees.56 Recordation was requested by the Title Insurance and Trust Company on April 27, 1928. 57
Emphasis of the times was on social and personal problems. Relief and aid were not the solution to these problems, so the name of the organization was changed in August, 1929. The new name was the Jewish Social Service Bureau. 58
For a short period in the 1930's the remaining cemetery property was leased out as a rubbish dump. 59 In 1938, the federal government proposed a Naval Armory adjacent to the vacant cemetery land. 60 This adjacent land included the portion purchased by the City of Los Angeles in 1905 from the Hebrew Benevolent Society. Arrangements were made and the city conveyed its land, by grant deed to the federal government. 61 On November 30, 1942, a "Us Pendens" action was taken by the federal government concerning the remaining vacant cemetery land. 62 On April 29, 1943, the Jewish Social Service Bureau, with the approval of the Jewish Welfare Federation Board, sold the remaining cemetery property to the federal government for $4,200.00. 63 Final judgment was on August 23, 1943. 64 This ended Jewish ownership of the cemetery property except for the subsurface oil, mineral and gas rights which are retained by the Jewish Family Service. 65 These oil rights still bring in a small amount of royalties annually.
The Jewish Social Service Bureau changed its name on August 15, 1946, to the Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. 66 It had been certified by the Family Service Association of America and in fact, became the first agency in the State of California to gain certification and full membership in the FSA. 67
On September 8, 1967, Dr. Norton Stern and this writer submitted a detailed three-page memorandum to the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, through Mr. Julius Bisno, associate executive director. This paper outlined the historical facts and enumerated the data collected, suggesting that the Jewish Federation Council would be the proper party to make application for a State historical marker for this first site of the Los Angeles Jewish community. In October the executive committee, and on November 14, 1967, the board of directors indicated their approval of the project. On November 1, a request was sent to the Board of Public Works, City of Los Angeles, asking permission to place the monument, if granted, on city land along Lilac Terrace in Chavez Ravine. This city land use was approved by the board on November 20, 1967. 68
In mid-December the application for a California Registered Historical Landmark was made out by Dr. Norton Stern and this writer, signed by Victor M. Carter, president of the Jewish Federation Council and sent to the California Historical Landmarks Advisory Committee at Sacramento. 69 This committee met at El Molino Viejo in San Marino on January 24, 1968, and unanimously approved the historical landmark. Julius Bisno and Dr. Stern appeared for the applicants.
The application had pointed out that three "firsts" were involved: (1). This was the first property owned and administered by the Los Angeles Jewish community; (2). The Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles was the first charitable organization in the city; and, (3), It was the first sacred Jewish burial place in Southern California. 70
It was on the issue of the second point, that in February, the State Park Historian asked for additional information. To conclusively prove that the Hebrew Benevolent Society was the first charitable group to be established in Los Angeles, and to clear the way for the wording which was to appear on the plaque to be placed on the site, Dr. Norton Stern under-took a special research project on this point. The results were submitted by letter sent to Julius Bisno on March 28, 1968, and submitted by him to the State Park Historian in Sacramento by telephone. Following this, plans were laid for preparation of the site and the date of dedication was set.
The historical research was greatly enhanced by photographs of the Hebrew Benevolent Society cemetery as it had been. Dr. Edwin H. Carpenter, western bibliographer for the Huntington Library, provided a photograph of the site taken from the Fort Moore hill in 1885. He also provided the lead to Mr. Everett G. Hager of San Pedro, who had four photographs taken within the cemetery about 1901. 71 Mr. William Mason, of the history department of the Los Angeles County Museum, supplied an 1890 photograph of the cemetery. Maps were provided by city and county departments and by the County Museum.
Mr. Morton M. Silverman of Malinow and Silverman, accepted the responsibility of preparing the site for the dedication. This was cleared, a foundation pit dug and a concrete base for the heavy granite monument was prepared. The Lodge brothers, Max and Sidney, of the Lodge Monument Company, donated the monument and affixed the bronze plaque fabricated by the state to it. 72
Planning and arrangements for the dedication ceremonies were under the supervision of Julius Bisno. Victor M. Carter, president of the Jewish Federation Council, officiated and addressed the gathering, followed by Dr. George Piness, president of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, with concluding remarks by Los Angeles County Supervisor Ernest E. Debs. Numerous community leaders including city, county and state dignitaries were present at the dedication, held on Sunday morning, September 29, 1968. About three hundred people attended, among whom were many descendants of pioneer Jewish families and students of Los Angeles Jewish religious schools. When Victor M. Carter unveiled the handsome bronze plaque, the following inscription was read by all :
Endnotes:
1. Samuel Reichler, "The History of Jewish Religious Life in Los Angeles," in MOUNT SINAI YEAR BOOK, 1946 (Los Angeles, 1946), p. 22; Los ANGELES CITY DIRECTORY, 1910, p. 1687; Samuel C. Kohs, "The Jewish Community of Los Angeles," in The Jewish Review, July-Oct. 1944, p. 89.
2. Los Angeles Star, July 8, 1854, p. 2.
3. Occident, Vol. 12, No. 6, September, 1854, p. 327.
4. Southern California, August 10, 1854, p. 3.
5. Constitution and By-Laws of the Hebrew Benevolent Society of Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles, 1855, reprinted, 1954, by the Southern California Jewish Historical Society), p. 3, original at Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
6. Los Angeles City Council Petition, No. 613, June 30, 1902, p. 1.
7. George Hansen, Field Survey Book, Vol. 2, Survey No. 37, at the Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
8. Los Angeles City Council Archives, Vol. 5, p. 717.
9. Land sold for one dollar an acre in 35-acre tracts in what is now the downtown business section, without much success from 1852 to 1854. See Cleland's A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA — The American Period (1926), p. 319.
10. Approximately 3.1 acres.
11. Los Angeles County, Book of Deeds No. 3, pp. 53-54.
12. Los Angeles County, Miscellaneous Records Book No. 32, p. 14.
13. Los Angeles Star, April 14, 1855, p. 2.
14. 1.8138 acres. See Los Angeles City Map No. 401, June 14, 1869.
15. 0.77662 acres. Ibid.
16. Henry Wartenberg, president; Maurice Kremer, vice-president; Samuel Meyer, M. Morris, and Wolf Kalisher, trustees.
17. Los Angeles County, Book of Deeds No. 13, pp. 296-299.
18. Los Angeles County Museum, History Department, Map of Hebrew Cemetery, June 14, 1869.
19. Signed by S. Lazard, president; S. Meyer, vice-president; S. Benjamin, I. W. Hellman, and H. Hershman, trustees.
20. Los Angeles City Council Archives, Vol. 9, p. 637.
21. Ibid., Vol. 9, p. 641.
22. Ibid., Vol. 9, p. 645.
23. Harris Newmark, SIXTY YEARS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (Boston and New York, 1930, 3rd edition), p. 409.
24. Ibid., p. 599, and M. R. Newmark "Welfare Organizations," in Jewish Community Press, April 15, 1938, pp. 92-113.
25. Congregation B'nai B'rith, Minutes, Nov. 4, 1897, K. Cohn, A. Edelman, Isaac Norton. Nov. 7, 1899, K. Cohn, M. Kremer, Leon Loeb, S. G. Marshutz, S. Prager.
26. Membership of Congregation B'nai B'rith was 151 at that time.
27. Congregation B'nai B'rith, Minutes, Vol. 1895-1909, p. 195.
28. Ibid., p. 237.
29. Ibid., p. 239.
30. Los Angeles County Engineer, Recorder's File 205.
31. M. R. Newmark, "History of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple," in SOUTH-WEST JEWRY, edited by J. L. Malamut (Los Angeles, 1957), p. 138.
32. Los Angeles City Council Petitions, No. 613, June 30, 1902.
33. Los Angeles City Council Minutes, Vol. 64, p. 198.
34. Ibid., p. 675.
35. Los Angeles City Ordinance No. 7522, new series, Book 25, p. 17.
36. Los Angeles County, Books of Deeds No. 1693, pp. 7-9.
37. A child named Mahler. See H. Newmark, op. cit., p. 104. Also, a Rachel Davis was interred in 1858. See Home of Peace Memorial Park records.
38. M. R. Newmark, "Welfare Organizations," op. cit.
39. Home of Peace Memorial Park records, see Section "A."
40. Superior Court, Los Angeles County, Case 49582, Book 2473, p. 297.
41. Ibid., and Los Angeles County, Book of Deeds No. 2603, pp. 128-130.
42. Los Angeles City Engineer, Map No. 11706, January, 1906.
43. Abraham Bensky, "History of Congregation Beth Israel" (Los Angeles, 1966), typescript, author's library.
44. Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society, Minutes, June 3, 1907, p. 124, at offices of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles.
45. Los Angeles County, Corporate Division C10421, Date of incorporation May 27, 1909.
46. Ibid., C10675, Date of incorporation September 2, 1909.
47. Two hundred and thirty-five. See Home of Peace Memorial Park records.
48. Congregation B'nai B'rith, Minutes, January 1902, Vol. 1895-1909, p. 237.
49. The office of president of the Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society was held
for long terms. Mrs. S. Hellman held the office from 1881 to 1902 and
Mrs. Wm. T. Barnett held it from 1902 to 1916.
50. Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society, Minutes, January 19, 1916, p. 37.
51. M. R. Newmark, "Welfare Organizations," op .cit.
52. California State Archives, expired corporation files.
53. Ladies Hebrew Benevolent Society, Minutes, July 12, 1916, p. 64.
54. M. R. Newmark, "Welfare Organizations," op. cit., and Freda Mohr, Interview, October 3, 1968, by N. B. Stern. Miss Mohr was with the agency from 1928.
55. M. R. Newmark, "Welfare Organizations," op. cit.
56. Philip Stein, M. N. Newmark, Alexander Meyer, and A. Shapiro.
57. Los Angeles County, Book of Deeds No. 8567, p. 46.
58. California State Archives, expired corporations files.
59. Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, Cemetery Lot file.
60. Los Angeles County Engineer, Map No. CSB 1402, Sheet 1, 1938.
61. Los Angeles County, Book of Deeds No. 18849, p. 383. Granted on September 27, 1940, recorded November 6, 1941.
62. Ibid., Book of Deeds No. 19639, p. 340, recorded Dec. 7, 1942.
63. Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, Cemetery Lot file.
64. Los Angeles County, Book of Deeds No. 20234, p. 356, recorded September 21, 1943.
65. Ibid.
66. California State Archives, expired corporation files.
67. Mohr, op. cit.
68. Correspondence from Julius Bisno to Dr. Norton Stern, letter from Bureau of Street Maintenance, adopted by Board of Public Works, City of Los Angeles, November 20, 1967. The location of the monument on the south side of Lilac Terrace, about 200 feet west of Lookout Drive, was suggested by this writer.
69. "Application for Registration of Historical Landmark," First Jewish Site in Los Angeles, sent December 20, 1967.
70. Ibid.
71. Showing the Baer monument, the Conrad Jacoby (1841-1900) and Dr. I. Glaser (1842-1899) stones, the Mendel Meyer (1842-1898) headstone and several wooden markers, and the Kaspare Cohn plot.
72. Other expenses involved in erecting the monument and for the dedication ceremonies were underwritten by a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation Council.
