Welcome to the Rodef Shalom Cemetery

Henry Tarkoff (1891-1914) was an Eastern European Jewish immigrant and a student at the Pennsylvania State College in State College, Pennsylvania. Henry died while working at the college’s foundry and was buried in the closest Jewish cemetery to the college, the Rodef Shalom Cemetery in Bellefonte.

Fannie Schmidt (unknown-1895) was a German Jewish immigrant who settled in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, around 1871. In Philipsburg, she operated a dry goods store, Fannie and Rosa Schmidt, later known as F. & R. Schmidt’s, with her sister, Rosa Schmidt. Fannie died in Philipsburg and was buried in the Rodef Shalom Cemetery.

Mathilde Lyon Grauer (1858-1942) was a French Jewish immigrant who settled in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, with her parents and siblings in 1870. She worked at her family’s dry goods store, Lyon & Co., as early as 1896. Her and her husband, Louis Grauer, began managing the business in 1901 after the death of both her father and older brother. Mathilde and Louis are both buried in the Rodef Shalom Cemetery.

Maurice Baum (1883-1956) was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to German Jewish immigrants. He eventually moved to State College, Pennsylvania, where he managed a branch of his brother’s clothing business, Sim the Clothier, and worked in the motion picture business. In the early twentieth century, Maurice had a monopoly on the motion picture business in State College with his ownership of the Cathaum Theater, Nittany Theater, and Pastime Theater. He was buried in the Rodef Shalom Cemetery within the Baum family plot. 

Martin Fauble (1844-1910) was a German Jewish immigrant who settled in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania around 1863. In 1887, he opened a clothing store in Bellefonte, the Rochester Clothing House, later Fauble’s and M. Fauble & Son. Martin served as a director of the First National Bank in Bellefonte. Martin, his wife, and a few of his children are buried in the Rodef Shalom Cemetery.

Jacob Marks (1857-1930) was a Russian Jewish immigrant who settled in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, after the owners of a Bellefonte dry goods business, Lyon & Co., solicited him to work as a clerk at their store. Jacob clerked for Lyon & Co. for approximately 29 years. In Bellefonte, Jacob also owned owned real estate and served as a landlord. He was a veteran of the Spanish American War and was buried in the Rodef Shalom Cemetery.