From English dictionary. Relative probably worked making clothing.

1.   clipper - an instrument for cutting or trimming small pieces off things.

The changed-surname-to-avoid-the-Tzar’s-Army story was common among eastern European Jewish immigrants. As with any story heard from our relatives and/or ancestors it’s always important to remember that genealogy/family history is a research discipline. Our job is not to accept the story as told, but to use it as a jumping off point for further research. Does the story make sense in terms of what we know about our family, the time period and place of the activity, and what we have been able to determine through research?

From 1804 through 1893, several Russian government edicts were explicit that Jews were to adopt hereditary surnames and keep them in perpetuity – no exceptions, except (sometimes) for those who were baptized and/or in the military. It is clear that many Jews early in the century reacted with indifference to adoption of permanent surnames. The Russians seemed to reissue variations of the edict several times in the 19th century. By the second half of the century these rules were enforced.

In terms of historical context of the adoption/conscription story, adoption, as we understand it today, did not exist for Jews in the Russian Empire. Jewish children taken in by others could not be formally adopted and their names, under the vast majority of circumstances, could not be changed from what they had been at birth (see: Paull and Briskman, www.surnamedna.com/?articles=history-adoption-and-regulation-of-jewish-surnames-in-the-russian-empire ).

With regard to Jewish attitudes and actions towards conscription, it does depend on the time period. But Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern’s research into archival records [Jews in the Russian Army, 1827-1917 (2009)] shows that by the 1880s Jews responded positively to the draft.

All this being noted, I do not doubt that some Russian Jewish people at some times and places tried to find a way around conscription. If the story about adoption/conscription was true, one would expect to see some court records of Jews caught in the act. I hope that those who have the skills to access eastern European archives look for such records. Thus far, I have not seen any reports of them.

I have a similar story adoption/conscription story in my family from Volhynia Gubernia. Four brothers. The original name was Utchenik. The others took Garber, Reznick and Lehman (or, more likely, Lederman).  I did not think much of this story until I figured out, via analyses of the paper trail and DNA test results (Y and autosomal), my great grandfather Avraham Abba Garber (born ca. 1864) had a full brother named Levi Yitzkhak Liderman (b. ca. 1850s). (I hasten to add that I have DNA tested two members of an Utchenik family and found no relations thus far.) I reported on this research in Avotaynu 31:2 (Summer 2015). I will also be presenting a live talk in the virtual 2020 IAJGS Conference that includes this case as an example (“Memory and Mystery: Breaking Down Family Lore”). At this point, I cannot say why the name change occurred - only that it did. I resist adopting the explanatory story lest I succumb to confirmation bias.

There is no doubt it became more and more difficult for Jewish people to change surnames in the Russian Empire as the 19th century progressed. If we do find a name change, it is critical that we do not jump to explanations that may defy history, context and logic. I implore those who find interesting cases to do the hard work of dis/proving them before adopting what may be apocryphal explanations.

Emily Garber

Phoenix, Arizona

I have the estate inventory of an ancestor who died in 1832 in a small village in Hessen-Nassau. The inventory lists several obviously Jewish books (eg. "ein Judisches Gesetzbuch").  It also lists "2 Osterbücher."  I know that this term today means springtime children's books and/or secular books somewhat related to Easter themes such as bunnies and generally neutral in terms of religious content.  My question is what this term might have meant in 1832. I have a hard time believing it refers to today's version especially since this person was elderly and children were out of the house.  And, there were only two such books.  There were only one or two of any of the books in the house.
Could Osterbücher have meant haggadah for Passover?  Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Michael Rubin
Boston, MA USA
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This database is described as the “largest tombstone database in the world“ which is simply not true. 

The search interface relegates NAMES to one of the last search parameters and the names do not appear in the results tables!  You cannot see the names unless you click on each individual link. Most of the search parameters are not needed by the vast majority of researchers.

They do not offer any kind of soundex, phonetic, fuzzy etc searches – only exact spelling (but I think wildcards work). 

There appear to be only 353 records in the database, not 61,000 (it IS a beta system).

Hopefully they will enhance and improve this.

Michael Tobias
Glasgow, Scotland

#5

In Rissin:

196

Состоялось в городе Люблин 30-го мая (11-го июня) 1897 года в 6 часов вечера, явились евреи Берех Тухман, домовладелец, 34-х лет и Шлема Монк, служащий, 57-и лет, жители города Люблин, и объявили, что сего дня, в 5 часов по полудни, в городе Люблин, в доме #638 умерла Райса-Маша Вайсблех, восьми дней от роду, дочь Мордки и Хаи, жителей города Люблин. Настоящим удостоверяю о кончине Райсы-Маши Вайсблех. Сей акт объявляющим прочитан и ими подписан.

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Translate into English:

Held in the city of Lublin on May 30 (June 11), 1897 at 6 p.m., Jews Berech Tukhman, a 34-year-old landlord, and Shlema Monk, an employee, 57 years old, residents of the city of Lublin, appeared and announced that today, at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, in the city of Lublin, in house # 638, Rice-Masha Weissblech died, eight days old, the daughter of Mordka and Hai, residents of the city of Lublin. I hereby certify the demise of Rice-Masha Weissblech. This declaration declaring read and signed by them.

Signature Signature Signature Signature