Solomon & Mary Block’s memorial stones, Camden

Solomon and Mary (Levinson) Block

I found records at Findagrave.com that Solomon Block and Mary Levinson Block (my great great grandparents) and Lena Grace Block, a younger sister of “Bumpa”, were buried at Jewish Rest Cemetery in Camden, Arkansas. (Also see International Jewish Cemetery Project). I was particularly interested in cemetery burial records, particularly for Mary L. Block who had passed in Chicago, Illinois but was buried in Camden, Arkansas six months later (see this).

The Jewish community in Camden disappeared almost a century ago and all the surviving children of Solomon and Mary had left Camden by 1900, based on US Census records . I called a local funeral home and learned Jewish Rest Cemetery was being maintained (also it is fenced in and locked) but found no more information. Thinking the State of Arkansas kept records, I called and found they have no authority over inactive cemeteries; but was directed to the county clerk’s office. Although the clerk had no specifics, the person there gave me a name of someone (who actually lived in Pine Bluff but did business in Camden) and she knew the landscaper, Four Seasons Landscaping in Camden, which does all care for Jewish Rest Cemetery except mowing. They sent me these photos of the Solomon & Mary Levinson Block and the Lena Grace Block memorials.

Solomon and Mary (Levinson) Block

Solomon and Mary (Levinson) Block

Lena Grace Block (1869-1871)

Solomon and Mary Block memorial stone (center)

Lena Grace Block (1869-1871)