The first Jewish congregation, Tree of Life, was originally organized in New Brighton in April 1864, about 15 years after the first Jewish families settled in the Beaver Valley area. In 1904, there were about 25 families and they had no permenant rabbi. However one member of the congregation, Raphael Steinfeld, was a rabbi schooled in Europe. He is probably buried here, but there is no stone for him.
According to the book "History of Beaver County" by Rev. Bausman, "There is a Jewish cemetery in New Brighton called The Tree of Life. The ground was donated by Raphael Steinfeld. This cemetery is used by Jews of Beaver and Lawrence County."
Through the years, the Tree of Life Cemetery was abandoned in the deep woods of New Brighton. With no heirs, it was forgotten by all except a few of the elders of the Agudath Achim Congregation of Beaver County. A few remembered where the old cemetery was located. About 8 years ago, when they found their way through the woods, they were confronted with a damaged, overgrown and forgotten cemetery. Most of the stones were toppled over and thrown down the hillside. Only a few were legible. The damaged and illegible stones were buried. Only 3 original stones remained. The names were taken from those damaged stones and placed on a new monument designed by Rome Monument Company and placed in the center of what remains of the cemetery. The land was cleared and seeded with grass seed. A 10-foot tall fence with a locked gate was placed around the 4 monuments. On both sides of the new monument are the well-preserved stones that belong to the Steinfeld family. That is why it was renamed Steinfeld Cemetery. History forgot that the land was originally called Tree of Life Cemetery and that the first Jewish congregation in Beaver County was called Tree of Life.
Other names from historical sources related to Tree of Life Synagogue: Rabbi Wilkofsky, Rabbi Greene, (on-going research).

The cemetery is difficult to locate in the woods and it is easy to get lost. It is surrounded by private land with no right-of-way easement.