My grandfather, Michael Goldsmith/Goldschmidt/Goldschmied told his grandchildren that he had been conscripted into the Russian Army (1900-04) and that he ran away , i.e. went AWOL) in about 1903-04.  I have not been able to figure out how to verify this.
Researching Goldsmith, Goldschmidt, Goldschmied from Volochisk, also Wolfzahn
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Karen Adelman
karengadelman@...