Dear Genners,
Ostrovsty a shtetl at the shores of Lake Peipus in Pskov area is probably
the birth place of my great grandmother at about 1860, family name
SANDER / SANDLER / SANDERS. Does anyone have information of that shtetl, how
to get in touch with eventual archives or researcher on the spot?

Best regards,

Catharina Eriksson Falk
e-mail catharinaerixon@spray.se

Dear Genners,
Ostrovsty a shtetl at the shores of Lake Peipus in Pskov area is probably
the birth place of my great grandmother at about 1860, family name
SANDER / SANDLER / SANDERS. Does anyone have information of that shtetl, how
to get in touch with eventual archives or researcher on the spot?

Best regards,

Catharina Eriksson Falk
e-mail catharinaerixon@spray.se

"Steve Orlen" <sorlen@email.arizona.edu> wrote:

In a letter written >from a relative in England circa 1900 the writer says,
in reference to a woman having left her husband: "Now she went to his
lodge & he sends her every week 5 shillings." Were there Jewish "lodges"
in London around that time? I would guess it wasn't a chevra, because the
man wasn't religious. I doubt he was a Mason, because he was somewhat
disreputable.

Are you sure this doesn't read lodgings - which would make more sense?

I think that this would be the equivalent of what Americans would call a
"rooming house".

He would have had his own room - or possibly been sharing.

--
Nick Landau
London, UK

COHNREICH (Anklam, Germany Krajenka, Poland) ATLAS (Wielkie Oczy (near
Lvov/Lemberg), Poland) WEITZMAN (Cracow), WECHSLER(Schwabach, Germany),
THALHEIMER (Mainbernheim, Germany), KOHN/WEISSKOPF (Wallerstein and
Kleinerdlingen,Germany), LANDAU (only adopted
on leaving Russia/Belarus or later)/FREDKIN (?)
(Gomel, Mogilev, Chernigov, Russia/Belarus)

"Steve Orlen" <sorlen@email.arizona.edu> wrote:

In a letter written >from a relative in England circa 1900 the writer says,
in reference to a woman having left her husband: "Now she went to his
lodge & he sends her every week 5 shillings." Were there Jewish "lodges"
in London around that time? I would guess it wasn't a chevra, because the
man wasn't religious. I doubt he was a Mason, because he was somewhat
disreputable.

Are you sure this doesn't read lodgings - which would make more sense?

I think that this would be the equivalent of what Americans would call a
"rooming house".

He would have had his own room - or possibly been sharing.

--
Nick Landau
London, UK

COHNREICH (Anklam, Germany Krajenka, Poland) ATLAS (Wielkie Oczy (near
Lvov/Lemberg), Poland) WEITZMAN (Cracow), WECHSLER(Schwabach, Germany),
THALHEIMER (Mainbernheim, Germany), KOHN/WEISSKOPF (Wallerstein and
Kleinerdlingen,Germany), LANDAU (only adopted
on leaving Russia/Belarus or later)/FREDKIN (?)
(Gomel, Mogilev, Chernigov, Russia/Belarus)

I am presently trying to compile information on my grandparents JACOB LEVI
(1843-1898)and HANNAH LEVI(SHERESHEVSKY) (abt 1847-1934) who emigrated >from
Prussia to America in 1875. They had 3 children born in Prussia (Amelia b.
1864, Herman b.1868,and Fannie b.1869) and 3 children born in
America/Chicago (Mose 1875-1923, Mena 1876-1946, and Michael b. 1878). The
family initially settled in Chicago, but moved to St Paul/Minneapolis
between 1880-1890, where they lived for many years.



Although I am still searching for information on Jacobs's father, Hannah's
father was

MOSES SHERESHEVSKY and her mother was Anna, both >from Prussia.



The early family members listed homes as Prussia, however they all spoke
Russian and

After 1900 listed Russia rather than Prussia as their homeland on census
documents.

I am not sure if this narrows down their area of homeland or not-I would
appreciate any information on location of Russian speaking portion of
Prussia or any guidance on how to gather more data on earlier Levi or
Shereshevesky relatives in Prussia.

Also have been unable to find any immigration records for Chicago around
1875-are these available ??



Thanks in advance for any assistance

Steve Levy

bonita springs florida

I am presently trying to compile information on my grandparents JACOB LEVI
(1843-1898)and HANNAH LEVI(SHERESHEVSKY) (abt 1847-1934) who emigrated >from
Prussia to America in 1875. They had 3 children born in Prussia (Amelia b.
1864, Herman b.1868,and Fannie b.1869) and 3 children born in
America/Chicago (Mose 1875-1923, Mena 1876-1946, and Michael b. 1878). The
family initially settled in Chicago, but moved to St Paul/Minneapolis
between 1880-1890, where they lived for many years.



Although I am still searching for information on Jacobs's father, Hannah's
father was

MOSES SHERESHEVSKY and her mother was Anna, both >from Prussia.



The early family members listed homes as Prussia, however they all spoke
Russian and

After 1900 listed Russia rather than Prussia as their homeland on census
documents.

I am not sure if this narrows down their area of homeland or not-I would
appreciate any information on location of Russian speaking portion of
Prussia or any guidance on how to gather more data on earlier Levi or
Shereshevesky relatives in Prussia.

Also have been unable to find any immigration records for Chicago around
1875-are these available ??



Thanks in advance for any assistance

Steve Levy

bonita springs florida

Greetings all,

I have added material to the new "Education and Research Center" of my
virtual Museum of Family History. I display sample records and give some
explanation of what information they have to offer us. This is a work in
progress, one of the many projects I am working on concurrently. I wanted to
announce this before the conference, hoping it will be of interest and use
to some of you. The records that I speak of are those used in the United
States, for the most part those issued in New York City or New York State.
They are:
Vital Records: Birth, Marriage and Death Records (including Burial-Transit
Permits)
City Directories
Brooklyn Board of Elections Voter Registration Records
World Wars I and II Draft Registration Cards (see Al Jolson's WWI draft
registration card!)
World War II Army Enlistment Records
Certificates of Arrival
HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) Cards
Naturalization Records
Military Naturalization Records
Women and U.S. Naturalization Laws (Married Woman's Act of 1922/Repatriation
Act of 1936)
New York City Building Photos 1939-41/Historic Town Maps

The page with links to all the above is
www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/erc-gfh-records.htm .

Also, recall that I have maps to the overall cemetery grounds for most of
the Jewish cemeteries in metro New York and New Jersey on my site, in case
you need them. It is usually best to search for what you're looking for on
my site by visiting the Site Map; also the Updates page periodically to see
what's new.

This past month I have also added:
-- a main town index page for Zamosc, Poland
--more photos of Holocaust memorials in Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and the
Ukraine
--a web page of the memorial erected by the Yiddish Theatrical Alliance at
Mt. Hebron Cemetery, dedicated to the Yiddish actors lost during the Shoah.
--a few small features:
--"Coney Island: The Early Days and How We Got There"
--"What's in a Name?"--try to match up the birth names of famous Jewish
actors and actresses with the names they went by in the entertainment
industry.
-- "It Was the Best of Times..." about my maternal grandparents >from
Brooklyn in the late 1930s, the invasion of Poland by Germany, the Evian
Conference, and the 1939 New York World's Fair.
--more pre-war family photos in the "Postcards >from Home" exhibition, >from
Poland and Belarus.
--"Zayde" by Elaine Rosenberg Miller, a story about "the power of memory,
childhood, and post-Holocaust Jews in transition."

Update on the new searchable cemetery databases:
--Next is Mt. Ararat Cemetery in Pinelawn, New York. This cemetery has no
society plots, but it should be useful to some as it holds some 50,000
burials. Their website and searchable database should be up and running
fairly soon. I will announce it here when it is online. The last searchable
database to be constructed will be the one for Mt. Judah in Ridgewood, New
York, though you shouldn't expect it for a couple of months, maybe less. I
know of no other cemeteries who are currently constructing or have plans to
build their own website or searchable database.

I hope all those who will be going on one of the cemetery jaunts next week
will have called or somehow contacted the cemetery before going there and
will have gotten all the information they need, etc. before they get there.
For some I know this isn't possible, but it will certainly make it less
stressful on both you and the cemetery office workers if you do so. Imagine
if everyone who will arrive there by van asks the cemetery office for
assistance at the same time. You could be waiting there for twenty or thirty
minutes before you're ready to visit a gravesite--and that's if they're not
busy with others in need of help or a funeral/unveiling.

So far the weather forecast for New York City is good for this time of year,
80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit for a high, high 60s for a low, with no
significant rain in the forecast. We will all keep our fingers crossed for
good weather throughout.

See you at the conference.

Regards,
Steve Lasky
New York
www.museumoffamilyhistory.com

There were many Jewish Friendly Societies whose branches were called
'lodges'. They were, so I understand, a peculiarly British institution, and were in
effect mutual assistance organisations, providing relief to members and their
families who had fallen on hard times.

Harold Pollins
Oxford, England
---

Greetings all,

I have added material to the new "Education and Research Center" of my
virtual Museum of Family History. I display sample records and give some
explanation of what information they have to offer us. This is a work in
progress, one of the many projects I am working on concurrently. I wanted to
announce this before the conference, hoping it will be of interest and use
to some of you. The records that I speak of are those used in the United
States, for the most part those issued in New York City or New York State.
They are:
Vital Records: Birth, Marriage and Death Records (including Burial-Transit
Permits)
City Directories
Brooklyn Board of Elections Voter Registration Records
World Wars I and II Draft Registration Cards (see Al Jolson's WWI draft
registration card!)
World War II Army Enlistment Records
Certificates of Arrival
HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) Cards
Naturalization Records
Military Naturalization Records
Women and U.S. Naturalization Laws (Married Woman's Act of 1922/Repatriation
Act of 1936)
New York City Building Photos 1939-41/Historic Town Maps

The page with links to all the above is
www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/erc-gfh-records.htm .

Also, recall that I have maps to the overall cemetery grounds for most of
the Jewish cemeteries in metro New York and New Jersey on my site, in case
you need them. It is usually best to search for what you're looking for on
my site by visiting the Site Map; also the Updates page periodically to see
what's new.

This past month I have also added:
-- a main town index page for Zamosc, Poland
--more photos of Holocaust memorials in Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and the
Ukraine
--a web page of the memorial erected by the Yiddish Theatrical Alliance at
Mt. Hebron Cemetery, dedicated to the Yiddish actors lost during the Shoah.
--a few small features:
--"Coney Island: The Early Days and How We Got There"
--"What's in a Name?"--try to match up the birth names of famous Jewish
actors and actresses with the names they went by in the entertainment
industry.
-- "It Was the Best of Times..." about my maternal grandparents >from
Brooklyn in the late 1930s, the invasion of Poland by Germany, the Evian
Conference, and the 1939 New York World's Fair.
--more pre-war family photos in the "Postcards >from Home" exhibition, >from
Poland and Belarus.
--"Zayde" by Elaine Rosenberg Miller, a story about "the power of memory,
childhood, and post-Holocaust Jews in transition."

Update on the new searchable cemetery databases:
--Next is Mt. Ararat Cemetery in Pinelawn, New York. This cemetery has no
society plots, but it should be useful to some as it holds some 50,000
burials. Their website and searchable database should be up and running
fairly soon. I will announce it here when it is online. The last searchable
database to be constructed will be the one for Mt. Judah in Ridgewood, New
York, though you shouldn't expect it for a couple of months, maybe less. I
know of no other cemeteries who are currently constructing or have plans to
build their own website or searchable database.

I hope all those who will be going on one of the cemetery jaunts next week
will have called or somehow contacted the cemetery before going there and
will have gotten all the information they need, etc. before they get there.
For some I know this isn't possible, but it will certainly make it less
stressful on both you and the cemetery office workers if you do so. Imagine
if everyone who will arrive there by van asks the cemetery office for
assistance at the same time. You could be waiting there for twenty or thirty
minutes before you're ready to visit a gravesite--and that's if they're not
busy with others in need of help or a funeral/unveiling.

So far the weather forecast for New York City is good for this time of year,
80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit for a high, high 60s for a low, with no
significant rain in the forecast. We will all keep our fingers crossed for
good weather throughout.

See you at the conference.

Regards,
Steve Lasky
New York
www.museumoffamilyhistory.com

There were many Jewish Friendly Societies whose branches were called
'lodges'. They were, so I understand, a peculiarly British institution, and were in
effect mutual assistance organisations, providing relief to members and their
families who had fallen on hard times.

Harold Pollins
Oxford, England
---

This topic brought up by Fraida Cohen of NY has resulted in a flurry
of postings. Harold Pollins has already addressed the question of
biblical first names in England and as he says, they are definitely
no marker for Jewish families. {Fraida wrote: I find a number of
POULTON families having members with Jewish-sounding given names.}

To my comment: <I cannot find Minnie and John POULTON in any census
after their marriage in 1890.> Fraida then wrote: <I find a Minnie
Poulton in the 1901 UK census and one in the 1910 census in
the USA.>

Anyone who studies censuses knows that one has to pinpoint the right
*Minnie* - there are lots of Minnie POULTON in 1901 but I have not
yet found the right one who matches the profile of *our Minnie nee
Holrie in Warsaw". That is not all - I have not even found father
Albert POULTON and the young POULTON family in the much earlier
censuses. Nor have I found Caroline HOLRIE and her brother Hyman
after 1891.

from Ottawa Harry Dodsworth writes: <This is a very confusing family

-deaf and dumb registered for two different people and different
first names for Mrs HOLRIE - Hyman (grandson, 1881 census or son,
1891 census).>

That first name change in different censuses is common too. Hyman's
status is puzzling. But mistakes do happen as this family probably
did not apeak English in 1881 shortly after their arrival in London.
The 1891 cenus is more likely to be correct.

I am more interested in the original name of the HOLRIE {HOROWITZ
perhaps?] family >from Warsaw - who never bothered to naturalise for
20 years - and where the lost family members were in the 1840s
[POULTON} and 1901 [POULTON and HOLRIE], including young Hyman HOLRIE
born in Warsaw in 1878 and his sister Caroline [who may, or may not
be, deaf and dumb]. I have found a possible candidate for Hyman
though - and in 1901 he is naturalised, repairs watches, lives alone
at 173 Deptford High Street [right age and area] and is called
HARRIS. I really wonder if he changed his name again? Only a hunch
... And Caroline may be in an institution as her father has moved in
with his daughter Minnie?

Celia Male [U.K.]

This topic brought up by Fraida Cohen of NY has resulted in a flurry
of postings. Harold Pollins has already addressed the question of
biblical first names in England and as he says, they are definitely
no marker for Jewish families. {Fraida wrote: I find a number of
POULTON families having members with Jewish-sounding given names.}

To my comment: <I cannot find Minnie and John POULTON in any census
after their marriage in 1890.> Fraida then wrote: <I find a Minnie
Poulton in the 1901 UK census and one in the 1910 census in
the USA.>

Anyone who studies censuses knows that one has to pinpoint the right
*Minnie* - there are lots of Minnie POULTON in 1901 but I have not
yet found the right one who matches the profile of *our Minnie nee
Holrie in Warsaw". That is not all - I have not even found father
Albert POULTON and the young POULTON family in the much earlier
censuses. Nor have I found Caroline HOLRIE and her brother Hyman
after 1891.

from Ottawa Harry Dodsworth writes: <This is a very confusing family

-deaf and dumb registered for two different people and different
first names for Mrs HOLRIE - Hyman (grandson, 1881 census or son,
1891 census).>

That first name change in different censuses is common too. Hyman's
status is puzzling. But mistakes do happen as this family probably
did not apeak English in 1881 shortly after their arrival in London.
The 1891 cenus is more likely to be correct.

I am more interested in the original name of the HOLRIE {HOROWITZ
perhaps?] family >from Warsaw - who never bothered to naturalise for
20 years - and where the lost family members were in the 1840s
[POULTON} and 1901 [POULTON and HOLRIE], including young Hyman HOLRIE
born in Warsaw in 1878 and his sister Caroline [who may, or may not
be, deaf and dumb]. I have found a possible candidate for Hyman
though - and in 1901 he is naturalised, repairs watches, lives alone
at 173 Deptford High Street [right age and area] and is called
HARRIS. I really wonder if he changed his name again? Only a hunch
... And Caroline may be in an institution as her father has moved in
with his daughter Minnie?

Celia Male [U.K.]

First, thank you for your response.

John Poulton is recorded as POULTON on the GRO marriage index.
It was not unusual for couples to give the same address on marriage
certificates; I wouldn't draw any conclusion >from this.

That's an interesting bit of information.

The family is certainly confusing. On the 1881 census, Harris Holrie
is listed as Deaf and Dumb. His wife was recorded as Eva.
On the 1891 census there is no record of a handicap for Harris but
a daughter Caroline (33) is listed as Deaf and Dumb. Harris's wife
is listed as Hannah.

Yes, the family is quite confusing! It seems as if the family members change
names almost as often as they change clothes!

The following family members are listed in the 1881 census: Harris, head;
Eva, wife; Mary, daughter; Annie, daughter; Minnie, daughter; Hyman,
grandson.

In the 1891, the family members are listed: Harris, head; Hannah, wife;
Caroline, daughter; Minnie, daughter; Hyman; son.

Between censuses, Eva's name changed to Hannah (unless Eva died or Harris
divorced her and he remarried in the ten years between the censuses). Mary
is gone, Annie is gone and Caroline has appeared and Hyman went >from being
Harris' grandson to his son.

I also noticed what you are saying about the listing of different family
members as deaf and dumb in the 1881 and 1891 censuses.

The daughter, Mary, was listed in the 1881 census as married and I am
assuming that Hyman, who is listed initially as a grandson, is her son. And
I also noted that in the 1891 census, Mary is no longer listed. Would the
census takers make note if a person was divorced? Where is her husband?
Later, Mary is not around and Hyman is listed as a son. Could Mary have
gotten remarried and left her son with her parents? Could she have passed
away?

Harris Holrie died in the December quarter of 1903 (GRO Index).

I have a copy of his death certificate. He was living with his daugher,
Annie, and son-in-law, Louis Braham at 124 Victoria Dock Road at the time.
Their children were: Sarah, Sidney, Lilly and Caroline. It's possible that
Caroline was named after her aunt Caroline who died somewhere between the
1891 and 1901 censuses.

If Hyman (grandson, 1881 census or son, 1891 census) was born
in Warsaw in 1878 and moved to England with the whole family,
it would appear they moved to England between 1878 and 1881.

I hadn't thought of that, but you are right! But I wonder why Hyman is not
found after the 1891 census.

Thanks again for your input.

Fraida Cohen
New York

First, thank you for your response.

John Poulton is recorded as POULTON on the GRO marriage index.
It was not unusual for couples to give the same address on marriage
certificates; I wouldn't draw any conclusion >from this.

That's an interesting bit of information.

The family is certainly confusing. On the 1881 census, Harris Holrie
is listed as Deaf and Dumb. His wife was recorded as Eva.
On the 1891 census there is no record of a handicap for Harris but
a daughter Caroline (33) is listed as Deaf and Dumb. Harris's wife
is listed as Hannah.

Yes, the family is quite confusing! It seems as if the family members change
names almost as often as they change clothes!

The following family members are listed in the 1881 census: Harris, head;
Eva, wife; Mary, daughter; Annie, daughter; Minnie, daughter; Hyman,
grandson.

In the 1891, the family members are listed: Harris, head; Hannah, wife;
Caroline, daughter; Minnie, daughter; Hyman; son.

Between censuses, Eva's name changed to Hannah (unless Eva died or Harris
divorced her and he remarried in the ten years between the censuses). Mary
is gone, Annie is gone and Caroline has appeared and Hyman went >from being
Harris' grandson to his son.

I also noticed what you are saying about the listing of different family
members as deaf and dumb in the 1881 and 1891 censuses.

The daughter, Mary, was listed in the 1881 census as married and I am
assuming that Hyman, who is listed initially as a grandson, is her son. And
I also noted that in the 1891 census, Mary is no longer listed. Would the
census takers make note if a person was divorced? Where is her husband?
Later, Mary is not around and Hyman is listed as a son. Could Mary have
gotten remarried and left her son with her parents? Could she have passed
away?

Harris Holrie died in the December quarter of 1903 (GRO Index).

I have a copy of his death certificate. He was living with his daugher,
Annie, and son-in-law, Louis Braham at 124 Victoria Dock Road at the time.
Their children were: Sarah, Sidney, Lilly and Caroline. It's possible that
Caroline was named after her aunt Caroline who died somewhere between the
1891 and 1901 censuses.

If Hyman (grandson, 1881 census or son, 1891 census) was born
in Warsaw in 1878 and moved to England with the whole family,
it would appear they moved to England between 1878 and 1881.

I hadn't thought of that, but you are right! But I wonder why Hyman is not
found after the 1891 census.

Thanks again for your input.

Fraida Cohen
New York

Stan:
No quarrels with what you say, but a few additional points:

--One need not have lived somewhere to have a name >from that place. A
visit would have been sufficient--or perhaps even a business trading
with that place. A cheese merchant might well have taken such a surname
in hopes of improving business!

--There's a place in the former East Prussia that was called Preussisch
Holland, nowadays Paslek in Poland. Some HOLLAENDERs probably come >from
there; why not an AMSTERDAM(ER) or two? (There's also a SCHOTTLAND up
around there somewhere. Schmuyle is my darling, my darling...)

--The presence of Yiddish words in slang does not necessarily mean that
East-European Ashkenazic Jews lived where the slang is spoken. The old
surviving slang expressions are often >from underground/criminal argot
('Rotwelsch' in German); and people who used it--not unlike Jews in the
old days--were far more mobile than most other people. (Not that Jews
were lowlifes; but many of them did a lot of traveling for business,
etc.--and they weren't serfs.) Accordingly the language got around too.
Yiddish per se wasn't spoken in most of Germany
either--"Jewish-German" of one flavor or another was used--and words

from there, and those imported by travelers >from the East, came into use

in far more places than had Jewish communities large enough to affect
the language of their neighbors. In short: words have longer legs than
people do.

Onward!

Roger Lustig
Princeton, NJ

Stan Goodman wrote:

On Wed, 9 Aug 2006 14:18:06 UTC, mtseligmann@theverybest.com (Michele
Seligmann) asked:

I am looking for the origin of family name AMSTERDAM - My grandfather
was Abram ( Adolf ) - at time of war living in Krakow. I know the
my family goes back at least up to my great grand father - Is there a
Sephardic connection ??

The obvious answer, which I'm sure you have considered and discarded for
good reasons, is that he, or earlier forebears, lived in Amsterdam before
migrating to Poland. You haven't said why this is an inadequate explanation.

There were many sfaradim in Holland after the 15th century, seeking a haven

from the Spanish Inquisition, and your family may have a heritage >from them.

But it isn't true that all Dutch Jews were Sfaradim at any time in history
-- witness the considerable representation of Yiddish in Dutch slang.

Stan:
No quarrels with what you say, but a few additional points:

--One need not have lived somewhere to have a name >from that place. A
visit would have been sufficient--or perhaps even a business trading
with that place. A cheese merchant might well have taken such a surname
in hopes of improving business!

--There's a place in the former East Prussia that was called Preussisch
Holland, nowadays Paslek in Poland. Some HOLLAENDERs probably come >from
there; why not an AMSTERDAM(ER) or two? (There's also a SCHOTTLAND up
around there somewhere. Schmuyle is my darling, my darling...)

--The presence of Yiddish words in slang does not necessarily mean that
East-European Ashkenazic Jews lived where the slang is spoken. The old
surviving slang expressions are often >from underground/criminal argot
('Rotwelsch' in German); and people who used it--not unlike Jews in the
old days--were far more mobile than most other people. (Not that Jews
were lowlifes; but many of them did a lot of traveling for business,
etc.--and they weren't serfs.) Accordingly the language got around too.
Yiddish per se wasn't spoken in most of Germany
either--"Jewish-German" of one flavor or another was used--and words

from there, and those imported by travelers >from the East, came into use

in far more places than had Jewish communities large enough to affect
the language of their neighbors. In short: words have longer legs than
people do.

Onward!

Roger Lustig
Princeton, NJ

Stan Goodman wrote:

On Wed, 9 Aug 2006 14:18:06 UTC, mtseligmann@theverybest.com (Michele
Seligmann) asked:

I am looking for the origin of family name AMSTERDAM - My grandfather
was Abram ( Adolf ) - at time of war living in Krakow. I know the
my family goes back at least up to my great grand father - Is there a
Sephardic connection ??

The obvious answer, which I'm sure you have considered and discarded for
good reasons, is that he, or earlier forebears, lived in Amsterdam before
migrating to Poland. You haven't said why this is an inadequate explanation.

There were many sfaradim in Holland after the 15th century, seeking a haven

from the Spanish Inquisition, and your family may have a heritage >from them.

But it isn't true that all Dutch Jews were Sfaradim at any time in history
-- witness the considerable representation of Yiddish in Dutch slang.

I am presently trying to compile information on my grandparents Jacob LEVI
(1843-1898)and Hannah LEVI(SHERESHEVSKY) (abt 1847-1934) who emigrated >from
Prussia to America in 1875. They had 3 children born in Prussia (Amelia b.
1864, Herman b.1868,and Fannie b.1869) and 3 children born in
America/Chicago (Mose 1875-1923, Mena 1876-1946, and Michael b. 1878). The
family initially settled in Chicago, but moved to St Paul/Minneapolis
between 1880-1890, where they lived for many years.

Although I am still searching for information on Jacobs's father, Hannah's
father was

Moses SHERESHEVSKY and her mother was Anna, both >from Prussia.

The early family members listed homes as Prussia, however they all spoke
Russian and

After 1900 listed Russia rather than Prussia as their homeland on census
documents.

I am not sure if this narrows down their area of homeland or not-I would
appreciate any information on location of Russian speaking portion of
Prussia or any guidance on how to gather more data on earlier LEVI or
SHERESHEVESKY relatives in Prussia.

Also have been unable to find any immigration records for Chicago around
1875-are these available ??

Thanks in advance for any assistance

Steve Levy

bonita springs, florida

I am presently trying to compile information on my grandparents Jacob LEVI
(1843-1898)and Hannah LEVI(SHERESHEVSKY) (abt 1847-1934) who emigrated >from
Prussia to America in 1875. They had 3 children born in Prussia (Amelia b.
1864, Herman b.1868,and Fannie b.1869) and 3 children born in
America/Chicago (Mose 1875-1923, Mena 1876-1946, and Michael b. 1878). The
family initially settled in Chicago, but moved to St Paul/Minneapolis
between 1880-1890, where they lived for many years.

Although I am still searching for information on Jacobs's father, Hannah's
father was

Moses SHERESHEVSKY and her mother was Anna, both >from Prussia.

The early family members listed homes as Prussia, however they all spoke
Russian and

After 1900 listed Russia rather than Prussia as their homeland on census
documents.

I am not sure if this narrows down their area of homeland or not-I would
appreciate any information on location of Russian speaking portion of
Prussia or any guidance on how to gather more data on earlier LEVI or
SHERESHEVESKY relatives in Prussia.

Also have been unable to find any immigration records for Chicago around
1875-are these available ??

Thanks in advance for any assistance

Steve Levy

bonita springs, florida

Dear Cousins,

Stan Goodman writes: "It does seem strange that Samuel took it upon
himself to anglicize the forename of a parent who was in Poland and
therefore not in need of anglicization, but we know little of Samuel
and his proclivities."

This odd practice was not uncommon in the States. In a number of
obituaries, I found family members who hadn't immigrated given
American names. In one case, Chana became Anna, and her husband
Raphael was written as Robert. Who knows why, though I can imagine a
number of possibilities.

Best, Steve Orlen
Tucson, Arizona

I am looking for information on these relatives of
Freda KHASID who were in Jonava at some point before
the Holocaust. Freda wrote about herself in the Janova
Yizkor book.

She was the youngest of 2 daughters of Rebe Israel
Yakov. She had a brother Alter who was an artist and
sculptor and taught at the Yavne school in Jonava.
Freda's sister married the son of Rebe Shimon and she
had 4 sons. Her brother Alter married the daughter of
Rebe Shmirl Stern, Libe Chana and had 2 twin girls.

If anyone recognizes any of these names please
contact me.

Sincerely,
Yehudah ben Shlomo
U.S.A.