Notation on a couple of documents:marriage certificates and census lists a village in ‘Russia’ as either Cholnie or Kolny. By verbal history, this family is either from Kyiv or Minsk; however, no specific proof. Any thoughts or specifics would be greatly appreciated. Scott Bolhack
While I can’t be sure of the town, I would ignore the towns mentioned by family unless it’s smaller than the major ones like Odessa, Kiev,…. The best place to find the closest name is in the Petition for Naturalization. Which leads you to the arrival manifest and often the departure manifest. I think sometimes families pick a large city to make it simple for the listener to understand. My paternal grandparents said Odessa and Kiev. Research said not quite. Sometimes it’s accurate
