The Curious and Compelling Coming Street Cemetery

Anita Moise Rosenberg and Randi Serrens

As an interesting way to end my April Fool's day, I traveled with my FYE class to Jewish cemetery on Coming St. There, we were led by Randi Serrens and Anita Moise Rosenberg. When we first walked into the cemetery, we stood and talked about the history of the cemetery.

Rosenberg said, "the cemetery was originally made of three cemeteries" and she held up a map of the entire cemetery. Now, the cemetery has been combined with those three sections to create the beautiful cemetery that it is today.




The cemetery was established in 1762 and is the oldest Jewish burial ground in the South. Most of the graves date back to the late 18 and early 19 centuries, however, there are a few revolutionary soldiers buried in the cemetery.


Based on looks, the Jewish cemetery looks very similar to the other cemeteries we have visited throughout this semester. The gravestones were gracefully carved and had many of the same symbols as a lot of the graves in the other cemeteries.

Pebbles placed on a headstone 

One of the more peculiar differences was the way they placed pebbles on top of the gravestones. One reason for the stones could be to keep the soul of the person buried in place. In thought, the pebbles weigh the soul down. Another reason could be because the stones are everlasting. Unlike flowers, stones never die.







An interesting story Serrens told us about was the story of the two little boys who are buried together in the cemetery. The two little boys have their own fenced-in plot and a conjoined headstone. Serrens said, "the two boys died within a few months of each other." The boys had apparently died of yellow fever.

The plot of the two little boys