JJCPF Trip Report

Jan 25 – Feb 1, 2025

Sites visited: Orange Street, Hunts Bay, St. Anns, Montego Bay, Lucea, Falmouth

Summary:

From Sunday, January 25th through February 1st the Jamaican Jewish Cemeteries Preservation Fund Board members conducted their annual field trip in Jamaica. The for the first two days was to install row markers at the Orange Street Cemetery in Kingston, to help with further documentation, and for everyone to locate graves in the field and to continue documentation. The following day would include a visit to Hunt’s Bay to plan for doing Ground Penetrating Radar with a technician from Texas. The next three days would be devoted to visiting Jewish Cemeteries on the North Coast and Elletson Road back in Kingston, to review current conditions and plans for ongoing maintenance.

Sunday – January 26, 2025 / Orange Street Jewish Cemetery, Parish of St. Andrew

Activities:

The focus for the day was to install row markers in both sections of the cemetery so visitors are better able to locate graves. The Spanish & Portuguese section is the southern section, and the Amalgamated & UCI the northern section. This task was completed by JJCPF, UCI, and volunteers with the exception of a few rows in the section to the south of the Mattar house, which requires additional research.

MONDAY – January 27, 2025 / Orange Street Jewish Cemetery, Parish of St. Andrew

Ongoing Documentation:

The Spanish & Portuguese section as per the K.K.S.A.  (Kaal Kadosh Shahar Ashamaim) burial register. After required bushing was completed Marina & Joe started the verification process in the Spanish & Portuguese section against the recently found KKSA burial register. Row 1 was challenging having been able to verify everything up to Grave # 59. There may be up to 74 burials in this row.  74 Graves in Row 2 and 72 Graves in Row 3 coincide with the register, even those with no tombstones or spaces that were not bricked, by measuring the areas.

Perimeter Stones Relocated from the North Street Cemetery

Toni, Ron-Di and Mickel worked on this section started by Rachel Frankel in 2024.

Repairs/Conservation Work

Mary, Tash and Larissa did repairs to a tombstone in the Amalgamated/UCI section

Tuesday – January 28, 2025 / Hunts Bay Jewish Cemetery, Parish of St. Andrew

A significant day at Hunts Bay consisted of JJCPF Board Members, UCI Board Members, JNHT Staff, and students from the University of the West Indies (U.W.I.) Department of History and Archaeology, with their lecturer, Dr. Lesley-Gail Atkinson Swaby. The main task at Hunts Bay was to demonstrate how to use a GPR machine. Although the machine needed servicing, Dan was able to conduct a lesson on the methodology of using the GPR in the field to an enthusiastic group. We are planning to revisit GPR in 2026.

Preparations for the Visit

Many thanks to Terry Hall Knight, Ron-Di Lacey, and Judy who ensured that the site was bushed.  It was only one week prior that they visited Hunts Bay to find it very overgrown. Thanks to Douglas for providing his tent for shelter.

Condition of the Site / the JHNT and the Red Stripe Factory

The site has deteriorated since we last visited in September 2022 to assess the damage done by fire in July 2022.

In clearing of adjacent land belonging to Red Stripe to conduct archaeological test pits they came up right to the borders of the cemetery. The land is no longer flat but appears ploughed as if preparing it to plant crops. Marina spoke with the Director of Estate Division for JNHT and was made to understand that JNHT did not find any graves and that a “No Objection Letter” had already been sent to Red Stripe regarding their project to build a solar plant.

Wednesday, January 29, 2025 / Visits to North Coast Cemeteries

Visits to four cemeteries were scheduled:

1. St. Ann’s Bay second Jewish Cemetery

2. Lucea’s second Jewish Cemetery

3. Montego Bay’s second Jewish Cemetery

4. Falmouth Jewish Cemetery

Second St. Ann’s Bay Jewish Cemetery, Parish of St. Ann

This cemetery is located on the Gully Road leading to Lime Hall, Higgin Town, It is the second of two Jewish cemeteries established in the town. The earliest known burial was in 1847 and the last in 1925. According to Andrade (Pg. 262), the earlier cemetery (disused at that time) was located on the main street in the centre of town at the back of a shop premises belonging to the late H. Gordon Tennant. There were at least 3 dozen graves belonging to deLeon’s, Cohen’s, Hart’s and others.

When CVE recorded the site back in 2016, Joe deLeon and Marina Delfos Harris tried to locate the whereabouts of the earlier cemetery but understood from a resident that it had been destroyed a number of years prior to make way for a shopping development.

We recently discovered that a survey map existed for the site.  Therefore, the survey conducted in 2016 would not have been a complete one.  There seems to have been at least 24 burials but Andrade (Pg 210) only mentioned 13.

Judy Bruce had worked to get of the St. Ann Municipal Corporation (formerly the St. Ann Parish Council) CEO, Jeniffer Brown to come to the site and speak with us. Also meeting us there was Mrs. Cynthia Graham a senior citizen associated with the St. Ann Refurbishment Committee, and who also served as the head (Secretary Manager) of St. Ann Parish Council many years ago.

The site was very overgrown and is also used as a dump but not as bad as in previous years.  Judy will be looking at the feasibility of getting it cleaned up. The Municipal Corporation seems to be willing to partner somewhat in maintaining the site.  Further discussions are needed.

Second Lucea Jewish Cemetery, Parish of Hanover

Located beside the Anglican Parish Church on the road leading to Negril, this burial ground is one of two Jewish cemeteries that existed in the town. The earlier one was just west of the town centre on Glenmore property, which was located on Cressy Lane with at least 7 known burials, the earliest in 1733 and the last in 1822.

 The remaining cemetery was established in 1833, a gift from the Vestry according to Andrade (Pages 214 & 215), who indicates that we should refer to the Minutes of the House of Assembly of 1830. 

The first known burial is 1834 and up until 2023 the last burial was in 1884. Despite the cemetery being closed, approval from some authority was given for the burial of a young man, whose family owns a hotel in Negril.

The cemetery seems to be maintained on a regular basis, and it seems to be visited often based on the number of stones laid on his tomb.

However, the nearly 200-year-old brick wall is collapsing in many areas, some of it due to the passing of Hurricane Beryl on the south of the island in July 2024 as per Oshane Robinson, a resident of Lucea, who met us there.  Oshane formerly worked at the JNHT and is now working at OPM – Office of the Prime Minister).

When CVE recorded the site in 2014, the gate column had a piece of marble with “JEWS BURIAL GROUND LUCEA 1833” engraved on it.  It was hacked out some time after and thought to have been lost forever, but a fragment was found in one of the trees during this site visit.

Mary recommended that a GPR scan of this cemetery would provide information on whether there are burials in the empty spaces.

 Thursday, January 30, 2025 / Visits to North Coast Cemeteries

Second Montego Bay Jewish Cemetery, Parish of St. James

This cemetery is located on the Hip Strip also known as “Bottom Road” and for historic reference has been officially known as The road to Falmouth (Andrade), Gloucestershire Avenue, and Jimmy Cliff Boulevard as of 2019

It is the last public Jewish cemetery established in Jamaica and the second of two in the town. The original cemetery, which no longer exists, was located on Union Street in the downtown district, with the earliest burial recorded in 1733 and the last in 1899. The first burial in this cemetery was in 1900, and the most recent the ashes of Pat and Geoffrey de Sola Pinto who died in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Members of the Hart and de Sola Pinto family try to keep the cemetery maintained on a regular basis.

There has been talk for a number of years that the Municipal Corporation (Parish Council) would like to turn it and the adjoining Christian cemetery into a parking lot.

CVE surveyed this cemetery in 2007, producing a map and inventory.  They recorded 21 burials, 2 unknown and 1 illegible. We will check with Rachel for survey forms and photographs to get Montego Bay up on Cemify but a new map will need to be created.

Falmouth Jewish Cemetery, Parish of Trelawny

This cemetery has been maintained by Marina Delfos Harris since 2011, initially by donations received from descendants of families buried there, and then from funds received from tours conducted 2013 – 2020.  Since 2023 maintenance has been covered from one donation received by JJCPF specifically for Falmouth, and the latest donation in December 2024, directly from JJCPF to cover costs for 4 months. 

As Falmouth is a UCI property, Marina has submitted a proposal to the UCI Board for this site to be added to the list of cemeteries maintained by UCI.

The site continues to be kept in good shape though some of the tombstones require restoration work.

The ackee tree at the back of the cemetery that used to offer shade during tours, came down during Hurricane Beryl in July 2024.

Spencer May, UCI Board Member, lives near to Falmouth and has an interest in becoming involved with the maintenance of this burial ground.  The JJCPF Board will be updated once Marina and Spencer meet to discuss further.

Friday, January 31, 2025 / Elletson Road Jewish Cemetery, Kingston

We arrived at Elletson Road with the knowledge that only the section with the tombstones would be bushed out. Unfortunately, only 1/3 of that section had been bushed out.

The cemetery continues to deteriorate and if it is not kept maintained, it is a signal to the community that it is not really of any importance to anyone and  the memory of the souls buried there.

What ought to remain in the minds of us all, is that this cemetery may have to be reopened for burials once the plots at Orange Street have been exhausted.

Shabbat Service

·        As per tradition, we attended the Friday Shabbat Service at Sha’are Shalom Synagogue.

·        Toni had the honour of lighting the candles and Joe spoke on our activities during the week.

·        Diane had to sit out as she unfortunately took a fall after lunch and twisted her ankle.