Name/Title
Adath Joseph Temple, St. Joseph, MissouriEntry/Object ID
9999.CHU.37Tags
Further researchScope and Content
Adath Joseph Temple, St. Joseph, MO
The first burial was in 1843; oldest Jewish cemetery west of the Mississippi river; first location was Beck Road from 32nd Street to Shannon Lane; land deeded to the burial society in 1850s by Governor of Missouri, Robert M. Stewart of St. Joseph indicating the high esteem pioneers of the Jewish faith were held by fellow citizens of the Christian faith; the Cemetery began as a Jewish Burial Society and preceded the establishment of Congregation Adath Joseph to which the name was changed and it became Adath Joseph Cemetery; a complete bound volume of history is in the temple library and may be read there--but may not be removed from the building.
1859 Congregation Adath Joseph erected the synagogue at Sixth and Jule; in the beginning services were held in a hall on Felix street; 1857 a church building which stood upon the site of Hotel Donovan at Sixth and Edmond streets was purchased; later destroyed by fire; Rev. S. Kauffman was rabbi until 1875; succeeded by Rev. S. Gerstman, who served until 1879; next Rabbi was Rev. Isaac Schwab. There is also an orthodox congregation known as Shaare Sholem with a synagogue at Seventh and Patee streets built in 1900.
First location a rented hall on Felix; Cemetery started 1863; moved to corner 6th and Edmond 1865; 1868-1968 new building at corner of 6th and Jules; present location 17th and Felix.
Picture of Rabbi Louis Bernstein; born November 15, 1882, New Albany, IN; parents emigrated to United States in 1865; Rabbi attended public schools of Omaha; later Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, OH; accepted call from Temple Adath Joseph; he erected a new church at Seventeenth and Felix entirely free of debt.
St. Joseph News-Press October 5, 2008 picture of Temple Adath; picture of Ben Rich who runs the Rich Food and Liquor at the corner of 19th and Mitchell Avenue; he states there used to be at least 1,200 families and now there is less than 200 Jews in St. Joseph; the article lists the Jewish businesses located in St. Joseph; many Jews became peddlers, hucksters and independent business men; many obtained good educations and became doctors and lawyers; they always took care of their own; no one forced to rely on charitable organizations.
St. Joseph News-Press December 8, 2012; picture Marsha Rosenthal who is member of Temple B''nal Shoelem The other is Temple Adath Joseph; they are a religious minority; the stories are about their life as a religious minority; they have to take the things they have learned and make sure they are passed down; because a rabbi has more of a teaching role than a priest-like position, Jewish congregations can function without one.Lexicon
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Adath Joseph Temple, Jewish ReligionRelationships
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Person or Organization
Rabbi Louis BernsteinPerson or Organization
S. GerstmanPerson or Organization
S. KauffmanPerson or Organization
Ben RichPerson or Organization
Marsha RosenthalPerson or Organization
Isaac SchwabPerson or Organization
Stewart, Robert MResearch Notes
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ResearcherPerson
Leyton FurlongNotes
The cemetery land was sold to the Hebrew Benevolent Society by Governor Steward on November 29th, 1859. There were a few burials from that same year that predate the purchase in November, but there is no reliable evidence to suggest that the cemetery started in 1843.