Bull Street Cemetery was a

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of s ...

established in

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

Province of Georgia The Province of Georgia (also Georgia Colony) was one of the Southern Colonies in colonial-era British America. In 1775 it was the last of the Thirteen Colonies to support the American Revolution. The original land grant of the Province of G ...

, in 1733. Today, a memorial in the median of West Oglethorpe Avenue, at

Bull Street Bull Street is a major street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Named for Colonel William Bull (governor), William Bull (1683–1755), it runs from Bay Street (Savannah, Georgia), Bay Street in the north to Derenne Avenue (part of Georgia S ...

, erected in 1983 by the trustees of the

Mordecai Sheftall Cemetery The Mordecai Sheftall Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. It is one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in America. Located at the end of Coyle Street (a small turnoff of Cohen Street) in the Kayton/Frazier area of West Savannah, it i ...

, marks the former location of the cemetery. The cemetery contained around twenty graves when it was built over around a century after it opened. The memorial says: "Original 1733 burial plot allotted by

James Edward Oglethorpe Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social reform ...

to the Savannah Jewish Community." On November 3, 1761,

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

"conveyed a certain half lot of land in Holland Tything, Percival Ward, to David Truan." This land was at the northwest corner of today's Bull Street and Oglethorpe Avenue. Several

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

were interred here before the family cemeteries were established. To honor the services of Benjamin Sheftall, one of the original forty or so Jews who arrived in Savannah on July 11, 1733, South Broad Street (as Oglethorpe Avenue was originally known) was extended to include within its bounds the unmarked burial of Sheftall's mother.''Savannah's Old Jewish Burial Ground'', The Georgia Historical Quarterly, volume 34, no. 4 (December 1950), p. 267 The burial ground was closed in the first half of the 19th century, with some of the headstones that would otherwise have been discarded used as doorsteps at homes in the neighborhood.

Notable burials

* Abraham Minis (1694–1757), European immigrant to, and early settler of, Savannah * Perla Sheftall (died 1736), wife of Benjamin

References

External links

* {{Find a Grave cemetery, 2287362
"Original 1733 Burial Plot"
–

Historical Marker Database The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers and commemorative plaques in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer progra ...

1733 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Cemeteries in Savannah, Georgia Jewish cemeteries in Georgia (U.S. state) Cemeteries established in the 18th century 1820 disestablishments in the United States