B'nai Gemiluth Chesed Cemetery: {10259} Though Titusville is in Crawford County, the cemetery is actually in Venango County. Titusville is on the very edge of Crawford County. West side of Old Rte.8, 2.1 miles south from Titusville, PA, the cemetery with 355 graves was used by B'nai Gemiluth Chesed. Burials date from at least 1878, possibly earlier. The iron sign over the driveway entry says "Jewish Cemetery". There is another sign above the iron fence, which surrounds this small place: "Presented by Abraham Marks to Congregation/Bnai Gemuluth Chesed/1892." The 1954 address was B'nai Gemuluth Chesed Congregation, 218 North Martin St., Titusville, PA. The congregation is no longer in existence, though the building remains. Titusvillians worship at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Oil City since few Jews are left in Titusville. The iron gates at the cemetery entrance stolen a few years ago turned up in a pawn shop in Los Angeles (honest). I don't know if they got them back, however the cemetery is now marked by a beautiful brick structure on either side of the driveway with plaques naming the cemetery. Actually, three cemeteries exist within the site, the largest being B'nai Gemeluth Chesed of the Titusville shul. A walkway separates it from the Oil City graves to the south. On the north side of the driveway, surrounded by an iron fence and locked, is B'nai Zion Cemetery. Source: Gerry Swetsky; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
B'nai Zion Cemetery: B'nai Zion was a Reformed congregation that existed in Titusville in the 1870's. According to my records, largely German Jews used it. The synagogue did not fare well and closed about 1890. A church maintains the building nicely today. I do not know who maintains the cemetery, but it appears well tended. Source: Gerry Swetsky, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
74 burials. Source: Ada Green,
Oil City Tree of Life Jewish Cemetery: 144 burials; Source: Ada Greenblatt, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , who did not compiled the data. The Titusville cemeteries were catalogued by Gerald P. Swetsky of Milton FL. All of this material was sent to her by Sally Ryan Costik, Curator of the Bradford Landmark Society, 45 E. Corydon Street, Bradford, PA 16701. She wrote that the Titusville plot summaries were given to her society by a Canadian woman who was researching her family in both Bradford and Titusville. She wrote that both Bradford and Titusville were closely related to the oil production industry.