Artifacts

The Barbed Wire The cemetery has been surrounded by a rusty, barbed wire-topped fence for as long as anyone can remember.  When Patrick Matthews singlehandedly took down that fence, he saved a small six-inch piece of that wire.  He handed it to Jim Wolfson the piece, with an unforgettable benediction.  "They used this to keep the Jews in the camps in World War II.  They used this to keep people out of this sacred place since the Nineteenth Century. Never again should we use this wire."  The new fence contains no barbed wire and never will.

 

The Beginning This is a photograph of the first page of the Wohltatigkeits Gesellschaft, the minutes and bookkeeping record of the Israelite Benevolent Socienty.  Notice that the first line reads, "Chambersburg, Pa., Sept. 27, 1840," which markes the official beginning of the Society.  The text is written in a high German dialect, and was translated by Egon Gartenberg in 1976.

 

Dues Were Paid The page on the left, also taken from the minutes and bookkeeping record of the Society, indicates that, on October 13, 1857, a number of people were recognized for paying their dues. The familiar names of Gerson Levi, who kept the record for many years, and Philip Arnold, who, with his wife Fani, were the original grantors of the cemetery property, appear on this page.  The amounts are in thaler, not dollars.

 

(Artwork to follow)       The Funeral Parlor Foundation We excavted in four places and found the four corners of a building that must have existed on a brick foundation.  A building on the property was referenced in the minutes and bookkeeping record in a recording of a discussion in 1863, as follows, "It was also decided that and the president so charged to either demolish the 'funeral home' or 'place of purification which is too small and build a bigger one or to build on a room..."

 

The Key We found this key while excavating in search of the foundation of the old funeral parlor that was referenced in the minutes and bookkeeping record book. It was very close to the foundation.  We also found what could be the backplate for the lock that this key fit.  It is possible that this key was used to open the funeral parlor door, as its style was that of the mid eighteenth century and it was found 1.5 feet below the surface and one or two feet from the foundation.

 

The Confederate Soldier's Marker The origin of this marker is unknown.  It appears to be too new to have been placed at the time of Isacc Burgauer's burial.  It may have come from a memorial foundation at Gettysburg.  It is use to demarcate the grave of a confederate soldier.  We also have four "Grand Army of the Republic" markers that were found near the the fences.  However, we have yet to authenticate the graves of four Northern Army veterans.

 

Gate Ornament This ornament, along with four others like it, were found in 1987 near the Washington Street fence.  They were once mounted on the fence but we have no idea where.  We found nothing in the area to indicate that this property was a Jewish cemetery.

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