Mikveh Israel Cemetery was originally a private burial ground for the family of Nathan Levy. In 1738, one of Levy's children died. Rather than bury the child in unsanctified ground, he applied to John Penn for "a small piece of ground" with permission to make it a family cemetery. This property was at the corner of 9th and Walnut Streets, the present site of the Walnut Street Theatre. Two years later, Nathan Levy secured a larger plot from the Penn family at the present location of Mikveh Israel Cemetery. This was meant to be a permanent burial ground for the entire Jewish community of Philadelphia. Levy was buried there upon his death in 1753. The cemetery in 1740 was a 30' x 30' plot. In 1752, Nathan Levy received an additional grant of land north of the first plot. In 1765, John Penn granted Mathias Bush an adjacent piece of ground for burial purposes. By that time, the burial place was managed by the Sephardic synagogue Congregation Mikveh Israel, founded in 1740 and still active in the 21st century. In 1791, the Congregation appointed trustees for the burial ground, and in 1793, the Levy family recognized the right of the Congregatin Mikveh Israel to the Spruce Street Cemetery. However the dissensions among the descendants of the buried still disputed the right of ownership, until April 14, 1828, when the Legislature passed an act giving the burial ground to the Jews of Philadelphia, with the names of the trustees affixed to the petition. After the purchase of the Federal Street Cemetery, the burials on Spruce Street had almost ceased, the last recorded one being Hetty Pesoa, July 3, 1886.
Burials
Many distinguished Americans are buried in Mikveh Israel Cemetery. They include:
Nathan Levy, a merchant, he was the founder of the Jewish community of Philadelphia and established first Mikveh Israel Cemetery. Born in New York City, he moved to Philadelphia at a young age where he would engage in business with David Franks, under the firm name of Levy & Franks, this being the first Jewish business-house in Philadelphia. Levy's ship, Myrtilla, was long reputed to have transported the Liberty Bell from England to Philadelphia in 1752.
Haym Solomon, Polish-born patriot and financier of the American Revolution, arrived in New York in 1772, joined the Sons of Liberty, one of George Washington's personal friends, captured and sentenced to death by the British in 1776, used his knowledge of German to convince his Hessian jailer to escape with him to Philadelphia, where he arrived penniless.
Michael Gratz, signed the Maryland's Resolution of Non-Importation of 1765 to protest the Stamp Act, and, with his brother Barnard Gratz, encouraged the opening of the West to settlement.
Rebecca Gratz, daughter of Michael Gratz, noted for her philanthropy, regarded as the model for the character Rebecca in Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, and the first Jewish female college student in the United States.
Benjamin Nones, born in France, he served on the staffs of both General Washington and General Lafayette. While still a private under Count Pulaski, he received a letter of commendation in 1779 written by Captain Verdier, a splendid testimonial to his courage. He fought in almost every action in the Carolinas. Nones became a Major of the Hebrew Legion of 400 men attached to Johann de Kalb’s command. Several years after the war, he was appointed an interpreter of Spanish and French for the United States government.
John Moss Philadelphia merchant, shipping magnate, and civic leader.
At least 21 Jewish soldiers of the Revolutionary War, and others from the War of 1812 and the Civil War, are interred in the burial grounds, including: Coshmon Pollock, the patriot from Georgia who fought in the siege of Savannah during the Revolution; Jacob I. Cohen, who fought in Pulaski's South Carolina campaign; Joseph Phillips, Benjamin Phillips, Abraham Mitchell, and Elias Pollock, veterans of the War of 1812.
The cemetery ceased to be a regular place of burial in 1886 except for the interment of Josephine Etting in 1913, Fanny Polano Elmaleh, wife of Reverend Leon H. Elmaleh, in 1966, and Reverend Leon H. Elmaleh in 1972.
