Lois Sernoff wrote:

I am researching a very large family PUDLIN. On several of the records of
the original immigrants, they have place of origin listed as Moscow, Russia.
This led to some skepticism on my part. However, others give place of origin
as Belioff - with various spellings.

I have found a town called Belev, in "Where Once We Walked" and the
Jewishgen Communities Database, which is located 146 miles SSW of Moscow and
133 km NE of Bryansk.

Is this place within the Pale of Settlement? If not, how likely was it to
have Jewish occupants?

Belev is located in Tula region.

According to Russian Jewish Encyclopedia town's Jewish population was as
follows:

Year 1863 - 46 Jewish residents
1910 - 87
1923 - 203 (1.9%)
1926 - 238 (1.8%)
1939 - 154

In 1910 town had synagogue and Jewish cemetery

Best,

Alexander Sharon
Calgary, AB