HFBA 's clients have primarily come from among the impoverished , from the margins of society or from immigrant communities . Early in its history , they were victims of disease epidemics , occupationally hazardous conditions , poor medical care , lack of proper sanitary conditions and high infant and mother mortality rates . In its annual report from 1900 , HFBA 's directors wrote , " What little they may have had quickly vanished for doctor 's services and medicines , and even their belongings were pawned by them to obtain the wherewithal to save their loved one from the grim monster-death . " In the early years of the organization 's existence , the majority of burials were of small children . In 1911 , HFBA provided burials for 22 young victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire . Bodies were shipped from Manila during the Spanish – American War and at least one soldier 's body arrived from New Guinea in the South Pacific during World War II . Large immigrant groups , such as Holocaust survivors and refugees from the former Soviet Union have also been prominently represented in HFBA 's cemeteries , including Victor Ourin and Aaron Kuperstock , well-known Russian poets . Those who have needed HFBA 's help over time have ranged from Mel Brooks ' grandparents , and inmates from Rikers Island and Sing Sing prisons
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
Hebrew Free Burial Association