Descendants of David Louis (Liba) Kantor

1 David Louis (Liba) Kantor b: in Trisick, Latvia d: Mar 1980 in
Brakpan, South Africa

. +Chaia Waner b: 18 Aug 1902 in Shavel, Lithuania d: 12 Dec 1990 in
Johannesburg, South Africa

...... 2 Betty Kantor b: 01 Apr 1923 in Shavel, Lithuania

.......... +Morris Kowalsky b: 1916 m: 1945 in Brakpan, South Africa
d: 03 Dec 1992 in Johannesburg, South Africa

...... 2 Barney Kantor b: 1924 in Shavel, Lithuania d: 21 Jan 2001 in
Johannesburg, South Africa

.......... +Ediline Herman b: in Boxberg, South Africa

...... 2 Harry Kantor b: Jun 1926 in Shavel, Lithuania

.......... +Dora Muskat b: 01 Aug 1935 in Johannesburg, South Africa

...... 2 Mary Kantor b: 16 Jul 1933 in Brakpan, South Africa d: 21 Feb
2003 in Johanesburg, South Africa

.......... +David Pincus b: 20 May 1927 in Leslie, South Africa m: 19
Feb 1956 in Brakpan, South Africa

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Births - 1882 and 1910 - 1939.
Marriage and death - 1922 - 1939.
Some years may be missing.

If sufficient funds are contributed, every effort will be made to
have the vital records translated. To be a qualified donor a
minimum contribution of $100 is required.

On www.litvalsig.org click on BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR. You
can make your contribution on the secure site using your credit
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is for the Siauliai VRT.

While you are doing it, you could pay your 2008 dues ($36) at the same
time. For US Citizens, contribute prior to January 1 and receive a tax
deduction for 2007.

Howard Margol
President, LitvakSIG

LitvakSIG (litvaksig@lyris.jewishgen.org) is hosted by JewishGen

LitvakSIG is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. Contributions to
LitvakSIG
may be made online at http://www.litvaksig.org/HTML/donate.htm and
are tax-deductible as provided by law. Contributions may also be
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contribution.

Geri Levine (geri@levinecorp.com)

Yoffe:Kaplan

On the 13th of March, 1910, at Smaldeel, ORC, by the Rev. Mr. Frysch, Annie, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. N. Yoffe, late of Kelem (Kelme), Russia (Lithuania), to Samuel, third son of Mr. Yossel Kaplan, of Schawel (Siauliai), Russia (Lithuania). Both of Kroonstad

I'm searching for descendants of a LEIBOWITZ family who lived in New York City.
They appear in all the Federal Censuses 1900-1930.

The parents were:
Rubin LEIBOWITZ, a tailor, born in Russia, in 1865, died in New York, 11 Feb 1931.
He was married in Russia in 1888 to: Dora (Shifra Dvora) HAIFER (HEIFER or GEYFER), born Russia 1865, died New
York, 19 Sep 1952. Dora's family were from Siauliai (Shavel) in Lithuania.
I have a photo of Ruben and Dora's gravestone at Ozone Park.

Their children were:
1. Joseph LE BOW or LEBOW, born Manhattan 1891. Jow was an electrician. In 1917 he
was living in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota and was married. By 1920 he was back in New
York and single. He remarried in 1922 to Hattie Weiss. Joseph and Hattie are buried
in Union Field Cemetery dying on 28 Jul 1969 and 22 Apr 1960 respectively. The
inscription on Joseph's stone does not indicate whether he had any family. Hattie
Weiss was the daughter of William and Betty (Minnie) and had siblings Herman,
George, Gertrude, Murray, Max, Bernard and Helen.

2. Anna (or Anita) LEIBOWITZ, born New York 1893. She was bookkeeper. Her
whereabouts after 1930 are unknown.
3. Victor Le Bow or Lebow, born Brooklyn 1898. He was associated with the Ringling
Circus and according to the Social Security Death Index died in Brooklyn in 1973.
4. Julia (Vivian or Jean), born Brooklyn 1905. Operator of a Dictaphone in 1930.
Her whereabouts after 1930 are unknown.
5. Lawrence (Laurence or Larry) Leibowitz, born Brooklyn 1910. Family legend states
that he married. According to the Social Security Death Index he died in 1969.
6. There were 4 other children who died young, Samuel and Lillie among them.

I am at a loss as to how to trace this family further and would greatly appreciate
any suggestions.

With kind regards,

Paul Cheifitz
Cape Town, South Africa

The discussion of cousins reminds me of one of my research goals: to
find out if I am actually related to the sculptor/medalist Victor David
BRENNER. He was the sculptor of Lincoln on the Lincoln Head penny; you
might have his work in your pocket right now. His initials, VDB, appear
on the bottom of Lincoln's shoulder, very tiny.

My grandmother always said that he was a cousin of hers, and I don't
think she meant landsman. My grandmother was Hannah (GOLDBERG) ABRAMS.
Her parents were Hyman GOLDBERG and Dena Zlota MARCUS of Chicago.
They were from Shavel (now Siauliai) Lithuania. So was Victor D. BRENNER.

VDB came to New York in the early 1900's. Made enough money to go to
Paris to study with a famous medalist. Came back, attracted Teddy
Roosevelt's attention, and TR asked him to design Lincoln for the penny.
He married, but had no children. He died in the 1920's in New York.
His obit says he was survived by some brothers and his mother who was by
that time also living in New York.

I have many more details about his life in the US, but not the ones I
want about his life in Lithuania. If anyone wants to know more, or has
any connections to that Brenner family, please contact me.

Jody Ames
.com

Researching: GOLDBERG, MARCUS (Shavel, Lith); REINER, GOLDBERG (Kobrin,
Savitsk[?], Antopol, Pruzany, Bel); PERLMAN (Riga?); ABRACHAMOWIRZ
("Russia/Poland")

A list of military draftees for years 1904 to 1916 from the shtetl Linkuva
has been posted to the Panevezys District Research Group's Shutterfly website. The list of 1349 lines of data consists of a draftee's registration number, surname, given name, father's name, relationship to the head of household, sex (all male), and age. On selected lines there are additional comments which most often list the actual date of birth, and occasionally some other pertinent fact about the named individual.
The list is organized by family groups including the heads of households and the sons. This may offer limited use as a representative census of males eligible for military service in the Russian military during
this period.

While the figures for Linkuva, a relatively small town, may not be
representative of the Pale of Settlement as a whole, it is interesting to
note that in 1904, the year before the Russo-Japanese War and the Russian
Revolution of 1905, the number of draftees was only 14. In 1907, the number
was 146. The yearly average for ten years (1907-1916) was 133, ranging from
a low in 1908 of 103 to highs of 174 in 1910, 160 in 1913 and 156 in 1914,
presumably in expectation of mobilization for the coming war.

Prior to 1827, Jews were ineligible to serve in the Czarist military and
instead were taxed as an alternative to military service. This was a matter
of law as a result of which, nevertheless, led to characterizing Jews as
cowards unwilling to fight for their country. The change in 1827, authorized
by Czar Nicholas I, was intended to educate and assimilate Jews into Russian
culture, teach them useful skills and crafts and encourage them to become
loyal and useful citizens. At the time, Russia was following the trend in
other countries that had previously restricted Jews from military service.
In Russia, military service was considered the most effective educational
opportunity for the masses.

The required period of service for draftees, initially, was 25 years, and if they were married their male offspring became the "patrimony" of the
military and were required to attend special schools for the children of
soldiers (the so called "cantonists"). Although the normal age of
conscription was between 18 and 25, for Jews the age limits were 12 to 25.
The Jews (through the Kahals) were usually required to supply four
conscripts for each thousand subjects. The efforts of the Kahals were to
recruit "non-useful" Jews, which tended to exempt middle class families and
guild members and concentrate on single Jews: heretics, beggers, outcasts
and orphans. To complete unfilled quotas, "khapers" (usually non-Jewish
catchers) were employed to dragoon otherwise ineligible candidates, some
even as young as age 8. During the Crimean War (1854-1855) the quotas of
Jewish recruits was substantially increased to a much greater extent than
for non-Jews. Draft of children was outlawed in 1856, but did not
end until 1859.

In 1874, under Czar Alexander II, there was a major reform of the
conscription laws which resulted in shortening the term of service to 6
years, broadening the pool of eligible recruits and instituting a new system
of exemptions.Between 1874 and 1892 more than 174,500 Jews were drafted.
Between 1874 and 1914, the proportion of Jews in the military
(5% in 1907) was greater than the proportion of Jews to non-Jews in the
general population (4%).

After the Russo-Japanese War, beginning in 1906 there was considerable
anti-Jewish sentiment in the Duma debate about the loyalty and discipline of Jewish soldiers. The Linkuva data show that beginning around 1907, the
conscription of Jews increased substantially. A statute adopted in 1912,
approved and legalized all of the previously adopted discriminatory
anti-Jewish practices and regulations. However the service for Russia of
around 300,000 Jewish soldiers in World War I did not seem to be
substantially affected. After the February Revolution of 1917, the
provisional government cancelled all anti-Jewish regulations and Jews then
even became eligible to become officers.

Two versions of the List have been posted: one in alphabetical order and one by year.

The Panevezys District Research Group is open to anyone who makes a contribution of at least $100 to help finance the work of the Group.
Qualifying contributors are entitled to receive all new record translations for at least 18 months before they become publicly available on the All Lithuania Database (ALD).

Contributions in smaller amounts, of course, are always welcome. All
contributions are used to pay for translations of original records and can be made on-line at www.litvaksig.org/contribute. For any further information please contact me.

Shavuah tov and
Regards,
Bill Yoffee
Panevezys District Research Coordinator
kidsbks@verizon.net

The database and discussion group of LitvakSIG (litvaksig@lyris.jewishgen.org) are hosted by JewishGen

LitvakSIG is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. Contributions to LitvakSIG may be made online at www.litvaksig.org/contribute and are
tax-deductible as provided by law. Contributions may also be mailed to LitvakSIG, Inc., c/o Eden Joachim, 41 Country Club Lane, Pomona, NY 10970. Contribution forms may be faxed to 845-623-1708. Please specify town (for vital records) or district research group (and town of interest) for other types of records, and include your e-mail address with your contribution.

I am trying to find out any ancestors for my paternal great-grandmother
Sheina Esther Glass. She was born in Uzventis, Lithuania in 1856, and
married Abram Leib Aron, also from Uzventis, in 1876.  Her father was
Velvel/Vulf Glass.  They also lived in Siauliai, Lithuania.  In 1890
they were living in Riga, Latvia, where my grandmother was born.  They
emigrated ~ 1900 and went to London for several years.  From there they
went to Philadelphia, PA, USA.  I know she had a brother called Charlie
Glass when he lived in the US.

Through FTDNA testing of my Aunt, we have learned that she and our ancestor
Sheina Esther Glass has/had a rare maternal DNA of H1F, mostly found in
Finland.  My Aunt has several matches from Finland in the FTDNA Family Finder
database, with whom I have been corresponding. My Aunt also shows as 100%
Jewish in FTDNA.  One match in particular seems to have some Jewish
heritage, going back in to the 1600's in Sweden, and the 1800's in Finland.
This Swedish/Finnish Jewish heritage comes as a complete surprise to us.

Although I have an extensive family tree for Abram Leib Aron (my
great-grandfather), I know very little about Sheina Esther Glass's family.
I haven't been able to find out much on the Litvak sites, so I'm wondering
if anyone can help me look for more sources.  Thank you for any help you
can provide me. If it is of a personal nature regarding the family, please
respond privately.  If it's general resources that would be helpful to
others, respond publicly, please.

Alison Greengard
Lakewood, Colorado,USA

Researching:  GLASS (Uzventis, Lithuania; Siauliai, Lithuania)
ARON/AARONS (Uzventis, Lithuania; Siauliai, Lithuania; Riga, Latvia; London
England; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
GREENGARD (Virbalis, Lithuania)
KAPLAN (Slonim, Belarus; Baranovichi, Belarus)
WESEN (Ciechnow, Poland)
FILUT (Ciechanow, Poland)
ARON (Alsace, France; Paris, France; New Orleans, LA, USA)
ALFENNE (Metz, France; Rouen, France; Nantes, France; Ghent, Belgium;
Brussels, Belgium)
FRIBOURG (Paris, France)
MAREX (Metz, France)

Ellen Cassedy: Historic wounds never heal

Posted by editor on 5/28/12 •

Litvak-American writer Ellen Cassedy has spent a decade exploring the Holocaust in Lithuania. Her memories from visiting the country of her ancestors has recently been published in a book “We Are Here. Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust”. The task of facing the difficult truths of the past is not finished, and will never be finished, not in Lithuania nor anywhere else, says Cassedy in an interview for15min.

- What is your connection to Lithuania?

- I trace my Jewish roots, on my mother’s side, to Rokiškis and Šiauliai. My grandfather came to America from Lithuania in 1911, escaping the czarist draft. Some of my family members perished in the Holocaust in the Rokiškis region. Other family members were confined in the Šiauliai ghetto; some died and some survived.

One uncle who survived the Šiauliai ghetto immigrated to New York, and I grew up with him. Another uncle returned to Lithuania and was deported to Siberia in 1950.

When I visited Lithuania, I was the first in my family to set foot on Lithuanian soil in nearly half a century. I went to Lithuania to connect with my Jewish roots – but my journey soon expanded into an exploration of how Lithuania as a country is engaging with its “Jewish roots,” its Jewish past.

- Writing your book, you have researched the Holocaust in Lithuania. How was it different in Lithuania than in the rest of Eastern Europe? How significant was the contribution of local population?

- Historians agree that the Jews of Lithuania were massacred with a swiftness and thoroughness that was unusual even for that time. It was the German invaders who issued the orders, but in most cases it was members of the Lithuanian “White Bands” who pulled the triggers.

In the three major Lithuanian cities, tens of thousands of Jews were confined in ghettos – and these severe restrictions on the Jewish community were largely administered by ethnic Lithuanians.

The problem of “competing martyrologies” is difficult. If people feel their own suffering is not receiving enough recognition, it can be difficult for them to attend to the suffering of others.

By the end of the war, only 6 percent of Lithuania’s 240,000 Jews remained alive.

- Most of your book is dedicated to the present, though. How are Lithuanians dealing with the Holocaust?

- How does a country scarred by genocide move forward into the future? This question became the heart of my stay in Lithuania and the heart of my book.

One of my most moving encounters took place in my ancestral town of Rokiškis with an old man who had witnessed the persecution of the Jews in 1941. What he saw had tormented him all his life. He wanted to speak to a Jew before he died. I agreed to be that Jew. My time with him was profound – even life-changing for me.

I was surprised, even sometimes shocked, when I met people in Lithuania who seemed not to know much about the Holocaust. At the same time, I was inspired by the extraordinary people I met who have dedicated themselves to exhuming difficult truths and extending hands across cultures. They are the heroes of my book.

- What do you think about Holocaust education in Lithuania?

- The Holocaust education programs I was most impressed by had several attributes in common. They posed questions, rather than supplying answers. They did not force people to repent, but instead invited them to design their own vehicles of remorse. They emphasized the glories of the Jewish past along with the destruction, to help people understand the enormity of what was lost and thus to mourn.
I talked with two women who designed curricula for the International Commission to Evaluate the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes. They told me that if Lithuania is to mature as a nation, Lithuanians must ask themselves rigorous moral questions about the Holocaust. “Our goal,” they said, “is to transform ourselves from a society of bystanders into an active civil society.”

I talked with a leader of a non-profit organization called the House of Memory, which helps schoolchildren talk with their elderly family members about the lost Jewish world.

I talked with a young gentile woman at the Jewish museum who showed me the discussion questions she was writing for high school students:

– What do you think of Albert Einstein’s saying, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing”?

– Have you ever been in a situation where someone needed your help and you didn’t provide it? If so, why did you behave like others, rather than following your conscience?

– Is there a connection between your answers and the behavior of people during the war?
These efforts call on people to talk with one another, because all of us are needed in the difficult dialogue that must take place.

- As you are rather sympathetic towards Lithuanian efforts in your writings, you yourself have been criticized by people who think that the country is only paying lip-service to fighting antisemitism and accepting the past. Do you think these reproaches are fair?

- Lithuania has done a poor job of bringing former Nazi collaborators to justice. The government’s questioning of several elderly former anti-Nazi Jewish partisans for possible war crimes offended many people around the world. I’ve been distressed to see swastikas painted on Jewish gravestones, and to see prejudice periodically exploding on Internet sites.

At the same time, I’ve been cheered to see that when such incidents occur, some in Lithuania – Jews and non-Jews – have spoken up to condemn them. I feel that those of us outside Lithuania have a role to play, too. When we believe things are going astray, we should speak up. And when we see things going right, I believe we should be vocal in our support.

- What are your views on the so-called ‘Double Genocide’ concept, which suggests a certain parity between Nazi and Soviet crimes?

- The problem of “competing martyrologies” is difficult. If people feel their own suffering is not receiving enough recognition, it can be difficult for them to attend to the suffering of others.

I have great respect for the work of Saulius Sužied?lis, the Lithuanian-American historian who has done groundbreaking research on the Holocaust. He emphasizes that Lithuania must make Jewish history integral to Lithuanian history as a whole; must recognize that the Holocaust constituted the major killing in 20th century Lithuania; and must face the participation of ethnic Lithuanians in that killing. He has called for political leadership and sincere dialogue between people of disparate heritages.

- Is there anything else that Lithuania should do – that it is not doing – in order to truly come to grips with the Holocaust?

- The task of facing the difficult truths of the past is not finished, and will never be finished – not for Lithuania, not for any of us.

During the most terrible times in the mid-20th Century, solidarity was often difficult if not impossible. For people who personally experienced those times, it may be difficult or even inappropriate to move on beyond hatred. But for the successor generations, my dream is that we’ll be able to find ways to honor our diverse heritages without perpetuating the fears and hatreds of the past. I hope we can connect ourselves to one another and appeal to one another as fellow beings with the capacity for moral choice.

I once saw a billboard on a street in Vilnius that said “Who, if not you, will determine the future of Lithuania? Become socially active!” It will take the efforts of all of us to achieve that better future.

- Do you know if there are plans to publish your book in Lithuanian?

- Yes! “We Are Here” will be published in Lithuanian this year by the Media Incognito publishing house. Visit my website, www.ellencassedy.com, for news about “We Are Here.”

1.Sonia Zybowsky was born in Anikst, Lithuania in 1896 to Ieshaiahu and Mina. Prior to WWII she lived in Wilno, Poland. During the war she was in Wilno, Poland. Sonia was murdered in Wilno, Poland. This information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by her nephew.

2.Rafael Lewit was born in Anikst, Lithuania in 1888 to Yeshayahu and Mina. He was married. Prior to WWII he lived in Klaipeda, Lithuania. During the war he was in Siauliai, Lithuania. Rafael was murdered in 1945 in Muldorf, Germany. This information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by his son Yerachmiel of Haifa.

3. Chiena Lewit nee Kadeshevitz was born in Anikst, Lithuania in 1896 to David and Rakhel. She was married to Rafael. Prior to WWII she lived in Memel, Lithuania. During the war she was in Siauliai, Lithuania. Chiena was murdered in 1944 in Stutthof, Camp. This information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by her son.

4. Zoltan Zybowsky was born in Poland.. Prior to WWII he lived in Wilno, Poland. During the war he was in Wilno, Poland. Zoltan was murdered in Wilno, Ghetto. This information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by his nephew.

5. David Lewit was born in Panevezys, Lithuania in 1921 to Rafael. He was married to Luba nee Shibovski. During the war he was in Wilna, Poland. David was murdered in Wilna, Ghetto. This information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by his brother.

6.Liuba Lewit nee Shibovski was born in Vilna, Poland in 1921 to Sonia. She was married to David. Prior to WWII she lived in Vilna, Poland. During the war she was in Vilna, Poland. Liuba was murdered in Vilna, Ghetto. This information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted by her cousin.

7. A report regarding the contribution of rafael levit to the Chalutz in Memel by giving jobs (jobs creator) to hundreds of Chalutzim in training.

The following list has been translated and is available on the Siauliai
District Research Group (DRG) web site:
Siauliai Uyezd - WWI Deportees returned from Russia.

This is one of the most exciting lists I have ever received due to the
wealth of information included for most of those listed.
Name
Father's Name
Age or date of birth
Place of birth
Date expelled from Lithuania - May, 1915
Exact date of return from Russia
Address they returned to
Also, in some cases, the following information is recorded
Occupation
Photo in file
Died in Exile
Number of family members
Other additional information

If those researchers with a connection to the Siauliai Uyezd do not get
excited over this list, I do not know what it will take to get them
interested. Some will say they are not interested because their family
left before WWI. However, their entire family did not leave. Usually,
siblings, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, etc. remained.

Additional records for Siauliai, and the Siauliai District, can be
translated if enough funds are available. If you are a part of the
Siauliai DRG, please dig down and see if you can make an additional
contribution to the district. Any amount will be very much appreciated.
If you are not yet part of the Siauliai DRG, you need to contribute $100
and gain access to thousands of records for the district.

Go to www.litvaksig.org/contribute Scroll down to District Research and
choose Siauliai. While you are there, you may also wish to pay $36 dues
and become a member of Litvak SIG for 2013.

Howard Margol
Litvak SIG Coordinator for Records Acquisition

My mother's much older first cousin Ida WEINTRAUB was born in Shavli,
Lithuania in 1903.

She was married in Lithuania to Meyer KUPERSHMIDT , born Aleksotas,
Lithuania in 1905 and in 1935 they migrated to New York where her parents
Rabbi Misha Ber WEINTRAUB and his wife Bluma COHEN were living. With them
was their son, Leib KUPERSHMIDT, born 1928 in Kaunas.
Ida died in 1981 under the name Eda KUPERSMITH.

Leib KUPERSMIDT changed his name to Larry KUPERSMITH or COOPERSMITH.  I
would like to find him or his family.
Meyer KUPERSHMIDT was a journalist. I would like to know in which newspapers
he wrote in Lithuania and then the USA.
Any other information on them will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jules Feldman
Yizreel, Israel

UCL Institute of Jewish Studies IJS AUTUMN 2013 LECTURE SERIES
Extra event Monday November 18th

BOOK LAUNCH of Ruta=92s Closet by Keith Morgan
A Lithuanian Holocaust memoir co-written with survivor Ruth Kron Sigal

The ghetto of Shavl in Lithuania had very few Holocaust survivors and
has received little attention.

The ordeal of the Kron family - Ruta, her parents, Gita and Meyer, and
her little sister Tamara - started in 1941. Their life in the small
town of Shavl was upended when the Nazis invaded, and forced them and
their Jewish neighbours into a squalid ghetto. Here, the Krons' story
unfolded in a litany of terror.. Inside the ghetto, Ruta and her
sister clung together in the old closet in which they had been hastily
hidden, and prayed that nobody would discover them=85

Ruta's Closet is not only an exploration of a dark chapter in recent
history, but also a celebration of the few people who risked their
lives to save a persecuted group....under threat of his own death,
brought food to the starving Kron family and others. The tales of
heroism and bravery here are numerous and triumphant.

A timely reminder that the persecution of minority groups still rages
on throughout our world, Ruta's Closet is testament to her
heartbreaking story and her legacy - a vital lesson for future
generations.

Ruth Kron Sigal was born in Lithuania in July 1936. After the Second
World War she moved to Canada with her family, where she died in
December 2008, shortly after the completion of Ruta's Closet.

Keith Morgan was born in January 1954 in Blackpool, England. He began
his career as a reporter for his hometown newspaper in 1975, and moved
to Vancouver, British Columia, in 1980, where he currently writes for
The Province and Vancouver Sun newspapers.

Lecture 6.45pm  Pearson lecture theatre (G22), Pearson Building NE entrance
Turn left as you enter UCL main gate and follow the outside of the
building to the corner

University College London
Gower Street
London  WC1E 6BT
PLEASE REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE
https://rutasclosetevent.eventbrite.co.uk/

Institute of Jewish Studies
www.ucl.ac.uk/ijs              ijs@ucl.ac.uk
020 7679 3520

Saul Issroff

From: Sara Manobla
I am researching my Gandfather's journey from Zagare  to Swansea (Wales,
UK) via Antwerp and Hull in February 1890. I have just now  looked again at
the residence permit dated 1 February 1890 which was issued by  local police
to Grandpa when he arrived in Antwerp.  This lists his travel  document as a
Russian military passport, issued in Siauliai on 31 December 1884.  Does
anyone know the significance of a Russian military passport?  Are  there
records available for this period that can be searched? >>

Did you  obtain the residence permit from an archive in Antwerp or, from
some other  source?

I will check with the Lithuanian archives and enquire about  Russian
military passports. If I find out any information of importance, I will
post it on the digest.

Howard Margol
Litvak SIG Coordinator for  Records Acquisition

I had found in the spreadsheet on the Siauliai Shutterfly site records of internal passport applications by my father, his parents and siblings. Hoping that I would be able to obtain copies of documents of the nature of those described as accompanying such applications, I completed what appeared to be the least inappropriate of the application forms downloaded from the Lithuanian State Archives website, giving my father's name, the record number, the passport number and the date, signed and scanned it and emailed it together with a copy of my Australian passport as proof of my identity. I undertook to pay the amount to the relevant bank account if they advised me of the cost.
I received a very prompt reply, stating that "for the search we must to have precise information. Please complete the following application and return it to the Lithuanian Central State Archives. Maybe You have a possibility to scan the signed request and to send it to the Archive?" The attached application requires information such as "Realty owned before 1940 (indicate - land, forest, buildings); Address of realty (street, house #, town  village, district, county)", as to which I have no information, but which the documents accompanying the passport application might reveal. It also calls for details of the place of residence of the family at the time of the 1942 census. My father left Lithuania in the 1920s and I do not know whether any members of the family survived to 1942. Can anyone advise me what to do next to obtain the contents of the files listed in the Internal Passport database?

Thanks,

Harold Luntz.

A female member of my LEVITAN family from Shavel married a man named KLAFF
from Shavel in the early-to-mid 1800s. I am interested in hearing from
anyone who may have a connection to KLAFF or CLAFF families from Shavel.

I am aware there was a very large family whose branches spelled it CLAFF
after immigrating to England, the States, and elsewhere. I believe I am
connected to a CLAFF family who eventually lived in the Boston=,                                       Mass=
Massachusetts area beginning in the late 1800s - father Isaac CLAFF
(1837-1915), mother Rebecca, and 12 children. I believe Isaac had a
sister living in New York City at the time who married a man named
KAUFMAN.

There is some information about these families online, but I would like
to communicate directly with those who are researching them to confirm
the connection and other details.

Thanks,

Joe Lonstein=
East Lansing, Michigan

if anyone can give me any further information about what happened
to these people?

Girsh KAPLAN born 1848 in Siauliai (Shavli), Shavli, Kovno, 1848 (and died
there), Son of Izrael KAPLAN
married
Feiga Rasha BRENER born 1862, daughter of Khaim and Khana Dina BRENER
They married in Pakruojis in 1885. Feiga was probably born there. I think
she was my relative.
Girsh was a widower from Siauliai when they married.
I believe he came from a well-to-do, property owning family in Siauliai
(Shavli),

I haven't found any children for them, deaths, burials etc.

Wendy Freebourne
art@wendyfreebourne.com
Researching: BRENER Pakruojis, also KAPLAN Siauliai (Shavli)/Pakruojis,
RUBINSHTEIN Zarasai/Pakruojis, INDIKH Kedainiai/Pakruojis, BRENER Birzhai,
Ponevezh, Kovno, Lithuania

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--
Eilat Gordin Levitan

The Great Grand Parents Ber and Leah Zaksas lived in Varnia before Siaulia
I would like to know more about this picture (when taken) the young man in row second from top , second left to right looks like my Grandfather
http://www.eilatgordinlevitan.com/siauliai/siau_pix/front/050606_4_b.gif
Also a few other faces in other pictures look like relatives
I have a few pictures to contribute too.

Thanks ,Robert Zacks (Zaksas) Naples Florida   
392072763

Boris Dov Shliapobersky 
Place of Burial:
Lithuania
Birth:
circa 1883 
Šiauliai (Shavli), Šiauliai, Lithuania
Death:
1935 (52) 
Lithuania
Immediate Family:
Son of Israel Shliapobersky
Husband of <private> Shliapobersky (Pagirsky)
Father of Aryeh Liova Shliapobersky-Livni and Ilya Shliapobersky-Livney
Eilat 

Aryeh Liova Shliapobersky-Livni 

Place of Burial:
Israel
Birth:
March 3, 1913 
Shauliai, Lithuania
Death:
September 17, 1959 (46) 
Tel-Aviv, Israel
Immediate Family:
Son of Dov Shliapobersky and <private> Shliapobersky (Pagirsky)
Husband of Rachel Elazarit Livni
Father of Daphna Livni and Eran Livni
Brother of Ilya Shliapobersky-Livney

Ilya Shliapobersky-Livney 
Place of Burial:
Evergreen Cemetery, Tucson, Pima, Arizona, United States
Birth:
March 12, 1915 
Siauliai, Lithuania
Death:
August 15, 1963 (48) 
Tucson, Pima, AZ, United States (myocardial Infarction)
Immediate Family:
Son of Dov Shliapobersky and <private> Shliapobersky (Pagirsky)
Husband of Darlene Streicher
Father of Mara Protas; Sheree Livney and David Livney
Brother of Aryeh Liova Shliapobersky-Livni

Mordichai (Motel) Lawre (Larwe)

Gender: Male
Birth: 1860
Unknown
Death: June 13, 1942 (82)
Siualiani, Lithuania (Shavel Ghetto)
Immediate Family:
Son of Eliahu Dov Katz and Chaya Basia Basia (Bertha) Larwe
Husband of Sara Rivka Larwe
Father of Dora Larwe; Chaim Lawre; Anne (Hannah) Lawre; Isaak Larwe and Sheina Larwe
Brother of Annie Katz; Henry (Chaim Eleazer) Katz; Samuel (Schmuel Aaron) Katz; Eva Katz; Gertrude (Gert) Katz and 2 others

The oldest of Elie Ber and Chaya's eight children, Mordechai or Motel was a tanner and very close with his uncle, Chaim Frenkel. Frenkel was extremely rich and the owner of the largest leather tannery in Russia before the First World War. Frenkel was apparently married to one of the sisters of Shlomo, the father of Elia Ber. ( it could not be, dates are impossible- they were connected in another way to the generation of Eliahu Dov Katz as much younger)

Mordechai moved to Shavel/Shiauliai from Vilkomir in the eighties and helped establish Frenkel's leather tannery, eventually one of the largest in the Russian empire. Mordechai became the supervisor of the tannery. When Mordechai's brothers asked him to join them in going to America, he answered that he is well established and happy. He was eventually the president "Gabbai" of a synagogue and well respected in the community.-