Project number: [JOWBR, USA-03996]

____________________________

The cemetery office does not seem to have any system for numbering the rows and graves, so I have adopted the following system. The old section is located between paths 18 and 20. When facing the plot from path 18, the row furthest to the left is row 1, the next row over is row 2, and so on, until the row furthest to the right, which is row 7. In addition, there are two graves which are located in the back, along path 20. Within each row, the individual plots are numbered from left to right, when facing the headstones. The new section is located in plot C-3 on the left. When facing the entrance to the plot from path 3, the row furthest in the back is called row 1, the row in front of that is called row 2, and so on until row 10, which is the row closest to the front. In addition, there is a row along the right side of the plot, and a row along the left side of the plot (that's the row we missed). Again, within each row, the individual plots are numbered from left to right when facing the headstones. The Meshbisher U.V. was founded in 1894, and disbanded in 1951. At that time, the remaining plots were divided up among the surviving members, while widows of members (only men were defined as members) were given one plot each. Some of these members may have used the graves for relatives by marriage that did not have Mezhibozh roots, or even sold the plots to total strangers. But the graves from 1951 and earlier are probably all occupied by people who were born in Medzhibozh or its vicinity, or whose father or husband was born in Medzhibozh or vicinity. Row 1 of the old section, plots 1 to 31, consists of children's graves. The children's graves from before 1917 are mostly missing headstones. The surviving headstones are small, made of limestone, and very worn. The legible ones often do not have patronymics or elaborate inscriptions, just first and last names in Hebrew or Roman letters, and are not always in the order given on the cemetery plan, which evidently was based on a written list, not on the headstones. Or perhaps some of these stones fell down and were put up again in the wrong place. The order given here for the children's graves is that of the cemetery plan. In the new section, in almost all cases, especially from the 1950s and later, adjacent graves with the same last name are double headstones, and are members of the same family, usually husband and wife. I have not specifically marked them that way under the column for "Spouse's Name." Even when not double headstones, they are probably members of the same family in all cases in the new section. This is in contrast to the old section, where men and women were buried in separate rows, usually more or less in chronological order. For headstones from the 1950s and later, terms like "beloved wife" are often used even for widows; this was not generally done in the 1930s and earlier. Thus “wife” or “husband” listed under “Comments/Notes” means that the person was married at one time, but may have been widowed. I have made entries under "Age at Death" only if that information is given on the headstone. When I have information on age at death from death records, I have only included it under "Comments/Notes" since it is likely to be less reliable.