Sometimes, writers receive unexpected payoffs when their words spur readers into action. My article describes what happened when a cousin I never knew read my memoir, BECAUSE OF EVA: A Jewish Genealogical Journey. It's in the Fall 2020 issue of DOROT, Journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society of New York.

LINK -

Susan J. Gordon
sjgwed@...

ZBARAZ, SKALAT, BUDAPEST, LVOV
Bialazurker, Lempert, Schoenhaut

I have been asked to give a presentation on doing Jewish Genealogy in
Belarus. Has anyone got any ideas besides Belarus Research Division,
FamilySearch and my handout from Yuri Dorn and a handout from the
Center for Jewish History. Anyone created a PowerPoint presentation
or an outline I can look at. Besides the Avotaynu Guide to Jewish
Genealogy are there any books specific to Belarus? I have a 250 book
Jewish Genealogy Library for the OCJGS organized on shelves in my
garage. I use the Library of Congress Classification.

Michelle Sandler MLS
Westminster, California
President
Vice President of Programming
Publicity
LIbrarian
OCJGS

Arkady,

I have provided you with two reliable sources of the village existence in the past, and yes it was located just 9 km distance from Krzemieniec. Krzemieniec is original Polish name of Ukrainian Kremenets, this is also identified in my previous reply. BTW, Kolosova is still there, and still in Kremenets region:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolosova,_Kremenets_Raion

Alexander Sharon
JGFF

A friend helped me find this place via an old website:  http://radzima.net/ru/map/kalyskovka-347.html

There is the link, but I am not sure what to make of it - or what to get out of it.  Still though, the place existed at one point  that much is clear.
--
Arkady Kamenetsky

The USHMM Registry of Holocaust Survivors is not available online for privacy reasons.  Please email resource-center@... to request a search for a name or for the names of survivors from particular places.

Megan Lewis, reference librarian
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

These are three photos from a series of high-definition photographs obtained from town residents/for identification.
If you are able to recognize someone/please contact me privately using the 'Private' button below.

Location: Vilna/Dieveniskes/Divenishok/Dziewieniszki/Jevenishok/Devenishki/Dzievianiski/Smorgon/Smarhon/Smorgonie/New York

Year: about 1928-30

Comment: The main focus of these three photos is a Reykhl of unknown maiden surname, married to a KOPELEV, LEVY, LEVINE (see middle postcard below): Reyhkl was a close friend of Blumeh (MOVSHOVITSH) BERKOVICH (BERK) in the Dieveniskes and then moved to Smarhon to marry. These are photos sent by Reykhl to Blumeh who was still in Divenishok and about to immigrate to New York. The writing on the back of the photos is translated and included below. The family is seeking to identify Reykhl's maiden surname and the surname of her husband as well as the two other friends in the third photo.

A) Portrait of Reykhl

Written on Reverse: “Smorgonie [1928] For memory to friend Bluma from Reykhl// Be well and live long and remember me always.”

NOTE: Reykhl had married in Smarhon and had moved there.

B)

This is the wedding of ‘Reykhl’ in Smorgon. From this we know that her married name is Reykhl Lev (or Kopelev/Levy/Levine/etc…)

reverse of this photo:



Translation Attempt (note there are two writers on the card, presumably the bride and groom):

“In the middle is me with the groom/around us parents and brother with sister-in-law. I'll do ...[couldn't decipher 2 words]. The others are not known [to you]. [2^nd writer] Dearest friend!  These were photographed on the day of the wedding. Number 1 is me.If you don't like me [how I look] I'll be very upset. The girls around - is like...[word cut off]. your friend Ch. [signature] Kopelev... [1^st writer again] The 3 children are Gitta Leah/Chaya Minke/brother and Emanuel[?? end cut off]  For memory to Blumele on the day of my wedding your friends R. and Sh. Lev”

C) Reykhl and friends in Dieveniskes

sitting viewer’s L to R: Unkown A; Breyneh Rudnik; standing viewer’s L to R: Reykhl; Unknown B (possibly a Rudnik cousin to Breyneh)

 

Written on reverse: “[writer 1 on reverse/in rhymes] Remember me at all times/even when you’ll be too far... for Blumele from Reykl. Smorgonie [1928] [writer 2 on same card] For memory to Blumele before her departure to America/Breyne” The family and I are also seeking to identify Unknown A and Unknown B from this photo, in addition to Reykhl's maiden surname.

Adam Cherson

ABRAMS, ABRAMSEN, ALEXANDER, ALPARD, APOLLON, ARONSON, CHERSON, BALTER, BARON, BASEN, BELIKOFF, BENSINGER, BENYA, BERMANN, BIMBLICH, BINAKONSKI, BLETZ, BRAUDE, BRAUR, BROCHSTEIN, BUELTEL, COHEN, DAVIS, DE SHIELDS, DARSKY, DOCTOR, DOLGINOFF, DRIZEN, ELKAN, ENOS, FAMILANT, FINKEL, FRASER, FRIEDMAN, FUQUA, GETZ, GLAZER, GOLDSETIN, GOLDWASSER, GOLDWATER, GORDON, GOULD, GRODINSKY, GROW, GUTKIN, HANZLIK, HATCHER, HOECHSTETTER, HOCHSTEIN, HORWITZ, JACOBS, JACKSON, KALMANS, KARP, KATZ, KOHLENBERG, KUPFER, LABOVITZ, LANZET, LASOF, LEININGER, LEVY, LEWIS, LIPMAN, LOUGHRAN, LUBETSKI, MATZ, MELMED, MIELZINER, MITTELSTAEDT, NELSON, MINK– California/Florida/ Massachusetts/ New Jersey/New York/Pennsylvania/Texas/Australia/England/Ireland/Israel/Spain/Venezuela/Vilna/Svir/Lida/Voronova/Konvalishki

 

Stephen's suggestion is excellent.  As one of my heroes, Jessica Mitford, once said: "You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty."  This is a situation in which one can do both.  
--
Erika Gottfried
Teaneck, New Jersey

Others have answered your main questions excellently and in detail.  To those answers let me add an observation and a question: "Chicago" appears on this index card.  What might this mean? If it has any significance it might open up a fruitful direction for research.
--
Erika Gottfried
Teaneck, New Jersey

Nicholas -  were your great grandparents from Grodno and that is why you looked there?  Or does Grodno have records from many cities in Belarus?  I have some relatives that were from near Minsk, a town known as Uzlyany, and I am wondering where to search.
Alan Moskowitz

Ellen,

Yes those online sources come from exactly one man, his son Nosson.  They are just copied from one place to the next - and even the spelling changes from book to book.  Which is utterly confusing.
Book about his father spells it Kalushkove (he contributed the research) and the Godol book written by Nosson spells it Kaliskovkeh.

it also does not help that we are all Kamenetsky and yet several times he mentions the family circa 1890 as Kamenecki...I have no idea when it changed, but clearly in the 20th century at some point they all became Kamenetsky.



--
Arkady Kamenetsky

On Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 11:03 AM, Alexander Sharon wrote:

Kołosów

Alexander, 

Interesting so this town no longer exists?  Ellen who replied to this thread is not aware of any such thing in Kremenets district - I assume this is the same Kremenets?
 
--
Arkady Kamenetsky

On Tue, Oct 13, 2020 at 06:38 AM, <ryabinkym@...> wrote:

Kalinkovichi

That seems unlikely due to distance.  Way too far from Dolginovo.  My family seemed to travel between Kaliskovkeh and Dolginovo with great ease around 1900 - even getting to Minsk was a great ordeal.
 
--
Arkady Kamenetsky

Try Kalinkovichi, near Mozir in Belarus.  It's a small City.
Michael Ryabinky

Sunday, October 25
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* If joining from outside the US/Canada, please confirm the time difference. In some countries daylight saving time ends on October 25.

Zoom webinar live!

Dear Gesher Galicia Members and Friends,

Please join us for the Joint Program of Gratz College and Gesher Galicia. We invite Gesher Galicia members (worldwide) and non-members to explore the intersection between history and genealogy.

The Battle for Jewish Rights
Speaker: Dr. Andrew Zalewski

The current calls for social justice, accompanied by unrest and political turmoil, bear similarities with the story of the battle for Jewish rights in the Austrian Empire in 1848. During the talk, we will witness discourse on the streets of Vienna and Lemberg; hear reactions to the idea of Jewish emancipation; glance at the first Jewish newspaper in Galicia and learn more about the various controversies.

For further details about the topic and the speaker, please click on the link below. Pre-registration is required.
https://www.gratz.edu/event/gratzhome-webinar-battle-jewish-rights

Upon registering, you will receive an email from Gratz College—please save it and join the meeting 10 minutes in advance to avoid technical difficulties.

This presentation is a part of the collaboration between Gesher Galicia and Gratz College. Founded in 1895, Gratz is the oldest independent and pluralistic college for Jewish studies in North America.

We look forward to “seeing” you!

Dr. Steven S. Turner
Gesher Galicia, President
--
---
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS.
Send all inquiries to info@...

2 upcoming Webinars that may well be of interest. 

I have no connection with either, but felt they would be good info for many in this group.

Both are free the day of.  The first is likely to be free for 7 days following, the second will probably take a week to be posted, but once posted is also usually free for another week. But I recommend trying live if you can.

 

https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar_details.php?webinar_id=1292

 

I am attaching an e-mail I sent to the Czech National Archives asking about the above family members.

The reply to my e-mail gives four links and explains that Jewish vital records are digitised and available on the National Archives website.

Link number 4 is fine and I have downloaded the document.

When I click on links 1, 2 and 3, I get the message: Safari Can’t Find the Server.

I have tried the website for the Czech National Archives but records do not come up when I try searching.

Can someone advise on the use of the website - or can someone see the records and send them to me.

I expect it is very easy if you know how.

Thank you.
Carol Jean Weightman

No one can touch them, including you. To update you need to submit a whole new gedcom file.
In the past you were allowed one gedcom file per member, which can include multiple trees, I don't think this has changed.

Stephen Schmideg
Melbourne, Australia