So – I am working on a full treatment of our family story, but since I’ve uncovered some amazing new (well, really old actually), I wanted to share with the family what I’ve found. Of course, I did not make these discoveries by myself. A fellow named Igor (or “Iggy” as he prefers) has access to and is able to translate copies of primary sources – various census (“Revision Lists”) and other lists and records from the old Russian Empire. So, I asked him to look at a few specific list, and he recommended a few more, and – there they were. The Sklars and Kopelows – our Sklars and Kopelows. These amazing first-hand records confirmed much that we already knew, but most importantly (for our little family history project) filled in some holes, colored in several outlines, and provided some real surprises. And led to other records and other surprises.
Let’s start with the Sklar family. We knew that our family was from Kagarlyk (as it was called in Russian, Kaharlyk in Ukrainian, Karlik in Yiddish) in the Kiev Gubernia (Province) of the Russian Empire. And there they were in the April 1875 census returns. Iosel Shklyar (that’s how Iggy transliterated the name from the Russian), 36 years old, our patriarch, the man from whom each of us Sklars in our family tree is descended. And there was his wife, Genya (a new name for us – the matriarch is no longer nameless).
So there was Iosel (Yosef), son of Gersh (there is no “H” in the Russian alphabet, so Hersh is Gersh, just as Henryk is Genrikh, Helena is Galina, etc.). So now we have a new patriarch, Gersh Shklyar. And there was Genia. And there, too, in that census, was their eldest child, son Gershko (a little aside – on every side of my family tree there are Gershkos; it must have been a very popular appellation for young Hershes throughout the Yiddish speaking world), 15 years old. And their youngest, Gershon, 1, was there too.
Now the really interesting part; the family was in Kagarlyk on a passport (#330) issued by Igumen city hall. Igumen – Minsk, Belarus. They were living in Kagarlyk, but came there from the Igumen region, near Minsk, in what is today Belarus. This was an astounding discovery for us family-history types. In terms of the larger picture of life within the Pale of Settlement, this was not a unique event – people were much more mobile than we imagine today. But for us specifically, this was an amazing discovery. And a fortuitous one, too, since many of that region’s records have been translated and posted to accessible sites. In short order, I had in front of me a translation of the 1850 Russian Empire Revision (census) list for Belarus, and in particular the town of Lapichi (today Lapichy Лапічы, Belarus), region of Igumen, Minsk Gubernia. And there they were (again). From this we learn not only where they lived prior to Kagarlyk, but much more about them – birth and death dates, and many more names. Iosel’s father Gersh was listed as the lawful head of the household (the unfortunate fact that he had died in 1848 was noted as well). Being a Russian document, his father’s name was noted, and it was - - - Iosel. So now we have yet another “new” Sklar patriarch, Iosel, the grandfather of Iosel. We also now have a new matriarch, Rokhlya (daughter of Peysakh), the wife of the elder Iosel. And we also discover more branches of the family tree. We here are all descendants of Iosel (born 1837) and Genya (born 1838), through their son Gersh, and through is son Iosel and his wife Genia. But our Iosel had siblings. Rivka (born 1842) and Yankel (born 1839). There was another sister, Malka (born 1830), but she took some digging to find, since she was married and living in another household. Interestingly, there was an addendum compiled to the 1850 Revision (census), and here we find young Yankel living with Malka and her husband’s family. The husband was Shmerka Shapiro (born 1824), and they had a son, Abram (born 1850). Through this list we learn the names and ages of Malka’s in-laws, adding another line to our family tree. And that would be the end of our new discoveries, except fortunately, the 1858 Revision list has also been translated and posted, which was another goldmine of information.
By 1858, Iosel (son of Gersh) is now the legal head of the household. His wife Genya is still listed as well, and we learn that her father’s name was Aron (no doubt my own great-grandfather was named for him). His brother Yankel is back as a legal resident of the household, but it is noted that since 1852 his “whereabouts are unknown.” And we learn that the couple have a 1-year old daughter, Tamara. Of course, we know that in two years they will have a son Herschel (Gersh), and 14 years after that another one, Gershon, and 4 years after that another son, Aron. What we do not (yet) know is what happened during those intervening years, other than the 220 mile (or so) move southeast to Kagarlyk.
From the 1858 census we do learn one more (sad) fact, and that is Malka’s son Abram had died in 1857.
We have now been able to take our family tree back generations further than I had thought possible, and add new branches and names and dates and details, as well as other routes to take to investigate further. But we are not quite done yet….
The 1811 Revision list for the Minsk Province has also been translated. And there we find, living in the town of Novy Sverzhen, Minsk Gubernia, Yusel (that’s Iosel, father of Gersh, grandfather of Iosel, great-grandfather or our various immediate ancestors), head of the household, born in 1785. And being a Russian document, it lists his father (who is either deceased or living elsewhere), who is named Yankel. It is not specified, but he was likely born somewhere between 1745 – 1765. For me, this Yankel is my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Wow.
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