How to Find a Burial in
Alan Greenberg, alan.greenberg@mcgill.ca
See
below: The Baron de Hirsch and Back River Memorial Gardens Cemetery data are now
on the web!!!!!
Finding out when and where a
person was buried is often a critical next-step in genealogy. Unlike most other
North American cities, the vast majority of Montreal synagogues were (and are)
Orthodox. As a result, locating a burial not only gives you the date of death,
but in most cases, the tombstone will also have a Hebrew inscription including
the father’s name. There is also a possibility that a family member has
arranged for permanent care or is currently paying for annual flowers to be
planted, and that his or her name is on file with the cemetery. This tutorial
will step through your options in locating a Montreal burial and, as a result,
finding family.
Cemeteries
All Montreal Jewish cemeteries
were located on farmland, outside of the city limits. In all but one case,
these areas have now become developed, residential areas. Prior to the 1950’s,
there were only five Jewish cemeteries in use in Montreal, with two of them
used for the vast number of burials.
The Baron De Hirsch Affiliated Cemeteries (formerly United
Hebrew Cemeteries) was established in 1892. The Baron De Hirsch (BdeH) includes
a large number of sections affiliated with synagogues and private burial
societies. The cemetery has in the order of 50,000 burials. The BdeH has a
computer-based database and will respond to e-mail, telephone, fax and
paper-mail-based requests. E-mail is the recommended method. Note that the
computer-based list does not include the headstones which have Hebrew-only
inscriptions. It may not include burials for which a headstone was never
erected or where the headstone inscription is no longer readable. Their contact
details are – Address: 5015 de la Savane,
The
Back River Memorial Gardens is a few years older than the BdeH, but is smaller.
It too is composed of several sections affiliated with synagogues and burial
societies. The Back River Cemetery (as it is called) is managed by the BdeH.
When BdeH receives a query (above), they will also check the Back River records
(the same qualifications about missing entries mentioned above also apply). However, the records of the
The other three early
cemeteries in Montreal are operated by Montreal’s three founding synagogues.
All three are adjacent to each other on the slopes of Mount Royal in the centre
of the Island of Montreal.
The Spanish and Portuguese -
Shearith Israel was Montreal’s first synagogue and for many years its only
Sephardic one. Note however, that many of its members may well have been
Ashkenazic. Their records are moderately complete. Tel: 514-737-3695
(synagogue).
The Congregation Shaar Hashomayim
was Montreal’s second synagogue, founding in 1846 as the English, German and
Polish Congregation. Tel: 514-937-9471, Fax: 514-272-6010.
The Temple Emanu-El (now the
Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom following a merger) was formed as Montreal’s first
(and still only) Reform Synagogue. The cemetery is segregated but physically
part of the (largely Christian) Mount Royal Cemetery. Tel: 514-279-7358, Fax:
514-279-0049.
In the 1950’s, as the Jewish
population moved into the suburbs, there was a need for new synagogues and
therefore new cemeteries. Several new cemeteries were concecrated in the
outskirts of Montreal, each used by a number of the new synagogues as well as
for expansion for older synagogues or burial societies.
Eternal Gardens Cemetery, Tel:
514-695-1751
Kehal Israel Memorial Park,
Tel: 514-684-3441, Fax: 514-421-2272.
Mount Pleasant Cemetery - Beth
Israel, Tel: 450-661-7016.
Funeral Homes
In recent years, almost all
Jewish funerals have been conducted by Paperman & Sons Inc., with some going
back as far as 1913. They have a computerized database for later funerals. In
some cases, they have “Burial Permits” which are roughly equivalent to
traditional death certificates in content. However, privacy laws may make it
difficult to obtain these. Contact information - 3888 Jean Talon St. W.,
Montreal, QC H3R 2G8 Tel: 514-733 7101, Fax: 514-733 1775, E-mail:
information@paperman.com, www.paperman.com.
Beth Olam Levayah operated
from December 1997 to October 2001. Records for 550 funerals conducted by Beth
Olam Levayah are available from parent company, Service Corporation Inc. (SCI).
Contact: Mr. Harold Laxer - Tel: 514-342-8000 or 1-888-342-6565, Fax:
514-342-6910.
Chesed Shel Emes, 935 Beaumont
Ave., Montreal, QC, Tel: 514-273-3211. Serves Hasidic community.
Prior to the existence of
Paperman & Sons, but extending to recent years, funerals were often
conducted by non-Jewish funeral homes. In particular, the Spanish &
Portuguese used the services of Joseph Wray and the Shaar Hashomayim worked
with William Wray. The Temple Emanu-El had similar arrangements. These two
firms have since merged into the Wray, Walton & Wray Funeral Home. ,
1459 Towers, Montreal, QC H3H 2E2, Tel: 514-483-2320, Fax: 514-938-4242,
Contact: Mr.
Kevin MacDonald. Records of Joseph Wray Funeral Home, established 1907, include
many Jewish burials pre-dating the founding of Paperman's. Pre-1995
records are not computerized. Information in their records varied over
the years with the newer ones having more complete data. The records are
organized variously depending on the year and which company conducted the
service. An extract or copy of the Burial Permit may be available. There
is no charge for this service for requests for one or two records.
Park Maintenance Corporation
manages the Kehal Israel Memorial Park and Eternal Gardens cemeteries and has
some indices. Contact info - 460 Isabey, St. Laurent, Quebec H4T 1V3; Tel:
514-738-5356, Fax: 514-738-3244.
Note that there is a synagogue
in Montreal called the Chevra Kadisha – the traditional name for the group
providing Jewish funerals. However, although they originally had plans to
perform these rituals, it never materialized, and they have no funeral-related
functions or records (other than those related to their own synagogue’s
cemetery).
Newspaper Obituaries
Starting in the 1940s (and sometimes before), most Jewish deaths were announced
with paid obituaries in the Montreal Star and/or the Montreal Gazette. Until it
went out of business in 1979, the Montreal Star was more typically used, but
the time of death and the funeral schedule also influenced where the
announcement was made (the Star published in the afternoon, and the Gazette in
the morning). Note that newspaper
obituaries will very often include the names of children, grandchildren,
brothers and sisters and occasionally parents. Locating obituaries is easy
once you have the date of death, but will typically require local
Other resources
The Jewish Genealogical
Society of Montreal holds more than 70,000 vital records for the period from
1842-1942. These records do include some (but not many) burial records. The
records sometimes give little more information than the name of the deceased
and the date, but at times provide a wealth of information. http://jgs-montreal.org/vital/.
If you know the year of death,
the Quebec government can issue a formal death certificate, but for deaths
prior to 1994, the certificate has virtually no usable genealogical data on it.
http://www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/English/Death.htm.
The government will not normally accept genealogy as a valid reason for
ordering a death record.
Death records more than 100
years old are held by the Quebec National Archives. They do not offer a
research service, and all research must be conducted in person or by hiring a
local researcher.
Cemeteries
Baron de Hirsch Affiliated Cemeteries
5015 de la Savanne
Montreal, Quebec
Tel: 514-735-4696
Established:
1892
Directions:
The cemetery is located on de la Savanne between Mountain Sights and Lindersley
Avenues (just west of the Decarie Expressway (15) and south of the Trans Canada
Highway (40).
Note:
Formerly called United Hebrew Cemeteries
Estimated
burial count: 55,000 (52,200 known names – the rest unmarked or un-recorded)
(click image for full-page printable PDF)
Back River Cemetery -
Corner
Berri and Sauve
Managed
by Baron de Hirsch (see above)
Established:
c 1890
Estimated
burial count: 5,500
Directions:
The cemetery is located north-east of downtown Montreal north of the Trans
Canada Highway (40) and east os St. Laurent Blvd. The older section is
between Berri and Lajeunesse north of Sauve. The newer section is on the
west side of Berri south of Sauve.
(click image for full-page printable PDF)
(Congregation)
Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery (founded 1846)
1250 Chemin de la Foret
Outrement, Quebec H2V 4T6
Tel: 514-937-9471 #111
Fax:
514-272-6010
Directions:
The Cemetery is located on the slopes of Mount Royal. de la Foret is a small, dead-end
street just of
Estimated
burial count: 6,000
Spanish
and Portuguese - Shearith Israel (founded 1768)
Chemin de la Foret
Outrement, Quebec
Synagogue
Tel: 514-737-3695
Directions:
The Cemetery is located on the slopes of Mount Royal. de la Foret is a
small, dead-end street just of of
Temple Emanuel Cemetery
1297 Chemin de la Foret
Mount
Royal Cemetery Tel: 514-279-7358
Mount
Royal Cemetery Fax: 514-279-0049
Synagogue
Tel: 514-937-3575
Directions:
The Cemetery is located on the slopes of Mount Royal. de la Foret is a
small, dead-end street just of of Mount Royal Blvd. The cemetery is
within the larger (primarily Protestant) Mount Royal Cemetery. Enter through
the gates at the end of the street, keep to the left after the entrance
area. The designation on the cemetery map is D3.
Elm
Street,
Tel:
450-695-1751
Directions:
Take Trans Canada Highway (40) to Exit 50 (St. Charles Road). Turn left
(south) on St. Charles Road to Evergreen Drive (last street on right before
Highway 20 underpass). Turn right on Evergreen Drive to Elm Avenue.
Left on Elm Avenue past station to cemetery.
Sections:
|------------|
1. Beth El
|
9 | | 2. Beth Zion
|
| 4 | 3. Reconstructionist - Congregation Dorshei Emet
|
2 | | 4. Shaare Zedek
|
| | 5. Shaare Zion
|
| | 6. Temple Emanu-el / Beth Sholom (2 sections)
|
6 | 3 | 7. Spanish and Portuguese
| | | 8.
Communaute Shepharde du Quebec
| 7 |
| includes: Association des Juif Iraniens,
| | 6
| Centre Communautiaire Juif, Hekhal
Shalom,
|
| | Or
Hahayim, Or Sepharad, Or Shalom,
|
5 | 1 | Petah Tikua
|
| |
|------A-----|
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Street entrance
MONTREAL:
4189
Sources Road,
Tel:
514-684-3441
Fax:
514-421-2272
Directions:
Take Trans Canada Highway (40) to Exit 55 (Sources Road). Turn right
(north) on Sources Road. Cemetery is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km).
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F P U ##
T E M D O R H
K B # |
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I G L C
JA## N
Q
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> Street entrance
# Road
A Baby Section
B B'nai Brith
C Congregation Beth Aaron
D Congregation Beit Abraham #1
E Congregation Beit Abraham #2
F Congregation Beth Israel
G Congregation Beth Ora
H Congregation Beth Tikvah
I Congregation Chevra Kadisha
J Congregation House of
K Congregation Rodeph Shalom
L Congregation Shilo
M Congregation Yetev Lev
N Congregation Young Israel of
O Gan Shalom
P Hebrew Protective Association
Q Jewish Assitance
R Jewish War Veterans
S Labour Zionist Alliance (FARBAND)
T Masonic Lodge - Habonim Hahofshi
U Slumber Haven
5505
bas
Tel:
450-661-7016
Established:
about 1959
Directions:
Take the Laurentien Autoroute (15) north. Exit on Highway 440 East.
Exit at Montee St. Francois. Turn left at stop sign, go over hill until
Bas St. Francois (about 2 miles, 3 km). Turn right on Bas St.
Francois. Cemetery is about 1/2 mile (3/4 km) on left.
Note:
Mount Pleasant is a multi-demoninational cemetery. The Jewish section is
immediately past Mausoleums at entrance.
|
# |
|
^ # ^ |
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16 # 16 | 1. Zawiercie & Vicinity Relief Society of
Mtl
| # | 2.
Krakower Society
| 15 #
| 3. Les Amis de France et de Belgique
|
# | 4. Yishitzer Young Men's Sick Benefit
Assoc.
|
# 14 | 5. Lodzer Farband of Montreal
|
# 13 | 6. Chelmer Society
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#######| 7. Young Israel of Val Royal
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# 12 | 8. Beth Israel -
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10 # 11 | 9. Radomer Mutual Aid Society
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# 9 | 10. Knights of Pythias
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#######| 11. Zaglembie Association
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# 8 | 12.
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6 # 7 | 13. Young Israel of Chomedy
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4 # 5 | 14. King Edward Benefit
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3 # | 15. Congregation Shaar Shalom
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2 # | 16. Non-Jewish sections
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1 # |
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# |
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# |
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|------A------|
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Street entrance
Copyright © 2005 by Alan
Greenberg, Montreal. All rights reserved