<I wrote to my husband's mtDNA matches in hope of finding some connections and have found none. As far as we know the whole family came >from Russia as far back as early 1800s. To my amazement most of

#general

<I wrote to my husband's mtDNA matches in hope of finding some connections and have found none. As far as we know the whole family came >from Russia as far back as early 1800s. To my amazement most of

#general

There has been much discussion of marriage at a young age, especially for women. Stories are particularly strong in the Khasidic community. I agree that the answer is likely to depend on the culture o

#general

There has been much discussion of marriage at a young age, especially for women. Stories are particularly strong in the Khasidic community. I agree that the answer is likely to depend on the culture o

#general

Zalman asked about a JewishGen DNA project. Full information can be found at www.familytreedna.com. This is one of several commercial companies that do testing and keep databases that Gary Mokotoff, i

#belarus

Zalman asked about a JewishGen DNA project. Full information can be found at www.familytreedna.com. This is one of several commercial companies that do testing and keep databases that Gary Mokotoff, i

#belarus

Bob Kosovsky questions the proposition that when surnames were taken, a person often took a surname related to the place where he was living. All true. I pondered this for a while some years ago. Then

#belarus

Bob Kosovsky questions the proposition that when surnames were taken, a person often took a surname related to the place where he was living. All true. I pondered this for a while some years ago. Then

#belarus

Idel is a man's name, a variant of Yuda, so one might look for the usual names beginning with J like Julius etc It looks like you are looking for Eydl, most commonly written Eidlya in Cyrillic, which

#general

Idel is a man's name, a variant of Yuda, so one might look for the usual names beginning with J like Julius etc It looks like you are looking for Eydl, most commonly written Eidlya in Cyrillic, which

#general

I think of three possibilities: 1. The town might not have had a court rabbi, so did not keep its own records. Its records would be in those of a nearby town where they were kept. 2. The town might ha

#general

I think of three possibilities: 1. The town might not have had a court rabbi, so did not keep its own records. Its records would be in those of a nearby town where they were kept. 2. The town might ha

#general

It is a variant of the given name Lipman, >from the German meaning "beloved man". In my experience with Ukraine, not a terribly common name, and the shortened form of Lipa occurs most, then Lipman, th

#general

It is a variant of the given name Lipman, >from the German meaning "beloved man". In my experience with Ukraine, not a terribly common name, and the shortened form of Lipa occurs most, then Lipman, th

#general

If you saw both Girm and Girsh with the same surname, this is the given name Girsh, one of the most common given names. It is very easy to mistake the Russian script m, sh, and t if they are written c

#belarus

If you saw both Girm and Girsh with the same surname, this is the given name Girsh, one of the most common given names. It is very easy to mistake the Russian script m, sh, and t if they are written c

#belarus

Laura, You need a copy of Alexander Beider's A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names (Avotaynu 2001). I am not familiar with all these names, but Baylah (or as it is usually written in Cyrillic, Beilya

#belarus

Laura, You need a copy of Alexander Beider's A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names (Avotaynu 2001). I am not familiar with all these names, but Baylah (or as it is usually written in Cyrillic, Beilya

#belarus

<On a 1930 US Census sheet, which is in very neat printing, the place of birth is listed for several people as "ss Russia".> If twins, they might have been born on the boat S.S. Russia. Bert Herbert L

#general

<On a 1930 US Census sheet, which is in very neat printing, the place of birth is listed for several people as "ss Russia".> If twins, they might have been born on the boat S.S. Russia. Bert Herbert L

#general