From: Raphael and Bella Bloom <rbbl@inn.co.il> Dear Eilat, #grd-59: #grd-60: |
From: Joan Shrager <jshrager2@comcast.net> Hello, I live in Pennsylvania, USA. My grandfather and his family were from Berdichev. He came to America in 1907. His name was originally Meyer Litvok. He was the eldest son of the town’s kosher butcher, Aaron Litvok or Litwak. The family consisted of Yacob (Jack), Mottel (Max), Schmerel, Bassi (Bessie), and Ruchel (Rose). His mother was "Sossa Toube"? Spektor who died at an early age when her children were very small. Family lore has it that Rabbi Itzhak Elchanon Spektor was my grandfather's mother's father or possibly Uncle. I am very interested in learning if indeed we are related to Rabbi Spektor as my cousins(children and grandchildren of my grandfather's siblings) and I were told when we were little. Most of us are in our 60's and 70's now and the voices from Berdichev are only in our hearts. I am now past 75 and would love to pass this information on to my sons and grandsons. I'd be most appreciative if you could point me in a direction. Thanks,
Rabbi Yitzhak Elchanan Spector |
I have been searching jewishgen and scoured most of the internet, but still cannot say with certainty which “Kosovski” family I come from. My family does have a Moshe (actually Moshe Aharon) that was father to Nochum (aka Nokhum, etc.). Nochum was said to be born in Schuchin, Grodno (from my research), though married in Lita (per his marriage record). He was married to Meyta Sarah Kaplan. Notably Nochum also became sick before his 20s and was given the additional name of Chaim (Nochum Chaim) and often went by Chaim after that. I know that Nochum was a brick layer when he came to the U.S., which is what lead me to believe he may have been one of Moshe (movsha) Kosovski’s children. However, the one thing I know for certain is that our family are cohanim. And I have a mesora that we were the only cohen family in our town by the name of Kosovski (actually we were told we were the “only ones in Grodno...” but Grodno is large). Yet, I saw on a notice of Movsha Kosovski’s death (1937) that it does not indicate he is a Cohen (which would be traditional). This leads me to believe he was not a Cohen, and therefore I am not related through him. I am wondering if you have any other ideas or people you may have come across with a similar background. Sincerely, Noah Kay |
Liz Elsby wrote ( facebook)
Library card from the Tarbut school in Grodno. Tarbut was a Zionist network of Hebrew-language educational institutions founded in 1922, when the first Tarbut conference was held in Warsaw. It operated kindergartens, elementary schools, secondary schools, teachers' seminaries, adult education courses, lending libraries and a publishing house that produced pedagogical materials, textbooks and children's periodicals.My dad's first cousins both went to the Tarbut school, his cousin Naomi advancing to the Tarbut teacher's seminary. |
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It was a great joy for me to recently discover your site, http://www. eilatgordinlevitan.com/grodno/ grodno.html All of my grandparents were either from Grodno or nearby and the wealth of information which you share is deeply appreciated. Much to my surprise, I found a connection! Photo #grd-49 Moyshe Kosovski is apparently my relative. My mother always spoke of her cousin, Sylvia Sidney and how they played together as children... my mother played the violin and Sylvia would dance to her music. My mother's maiden name was Estelle Singer..her father was William Singer (who left the pogroms of Grodno with his family, first emigrating to London and then years later to New York) and my Mother's mother, Regina Gussie Kaplan, was also from the region and emigrated to New York. Frankly, there is still some confusion as to how my mother and Sylvia were related.. whether from the maternal side, the paternal side, or from Sylvia's stepfather's side.. I do not know, and would love to discover the answer. Coincidentally, my brother once lived across the street from her in Connecticut but was too modest to impose on her and introduce himself. Additionally, I discovered an entry from Ruth Marcus regarding Sylvia on http://eilatgordinlevitan. com/kurenets/k_pages/kosovsky. html I do hope that you can supply this information to Ruth Marcus, and any additional information that you might be able to with me would be treasured. MY sincere and heart felt thanks for all the wonderful information you so generously share with us all. Sincerely, |
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From: Danny Kaplan <dannykaplan@gl.com> Hi, My Grandfather Moshe Kaplan (1925-1983) studied in Grodno Yeshiva before joining the Mir Yeshiva in Shanghai later moving to Toronto. Any help or direction would be very helpful. Thanks |
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From: Larry DiGeronimo <larrydige@yoo.com> Hello, I stumbled across your web site while researching my ancestry and trying to find any information on my great grandfather, Jacob Gornitzky, born 1874 in Grodno Russia, arrived in the USA in 1905 and married to Bessie Copleman, it looks like you've done some research, I currently know absolutely nothing about this man nor my Jewish ancestry and would certainly appreciate any input you might have on this family. Thank you |
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Thank you for the reply. We have no specific information, only that my ancestor Morris Smazhanovits arrived in the US from Grodno in the 1880's. According to the Dictionary of Jewish Surnames, the family name Smazonovich (and spelling variants) is found exclusively in the towns of Volkovysk and environs, which is a town that was in Poland at the time that Morris Smason emigrated, but is now in Belarus. The district town was Grodno, and there was a building owned by a Smazanovich from 1893 to 1915 based on local city directories, but no resident named Smazanovich was listed during that period. On Wed, Oct 24, 2018, 12:54 PM eilat gordin <egl.comments@gmail.com> wrote: From: Avi Smason <smason.avi@gmail.com> I was very surprised to come across the name "Misha Smazhanovits" in the caption of photo #grd-40 at the site below. http://www.eilatgordinlevitan.com/grodno/grodno.html Do you have any information about the source of this photo? Many thanks,
(Left to right) Fima Malets, Shapiro, and Misha Smazhanovitsh, posing outdoors. The picture is either from Yivo in New York or from the ghetto fighters in Israel. Could you tell me something about your relative? |
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