I am looking for my cousins Vilmantis Juozapavicius. My father his uncle was Henrikas Juozapavicius. My brother Henri and I live in Adelaide South Australia.
The last we heard he was married with a little girl.
Any information would be great.
Hi Paul,
Responding to your answer to my posting:
"Let me know you email address and I can send you the birth register for Anthony Krutulis.
It shows that his parents were married in Oniski or Aniski in Poland on 29 May 1898. This means Lithuania as all Lithuanians were regarded as Poles in Scotland. I am not sure about Victoria's maiden name as it seems to be different to Petrusky. The handwriting is difficult to interpret.
regards Paul".
BRAINES / BRAYNES / BREINES - my father family name
by
Hi,
Looking for any clue or conection to my fathers' family - BRAINES OR BRAYNES/BREINES from RAMYGALA / RAMIGOLA (Panevezys, kaunas).
His parents + sisters lived in RAMYGALA until WWII began.
My father, JOKHEL / JECHIEL (born 1913), left to learn in high school ("ort" - carpentry)in PANEVEZYS. He got married there & bore 3 children.
During war he lost All his family & after the war he started a new life with my mother.
I'm looking for any trace of him, his family from RAMIGALA AND/OR his wife and childern.
Thank you, nati.
Re: BRAINES / BRAYNES / BREINES - my father family name
by
Nati,
The spelling of the surname is quite atypical because of the ending, "-es". All Lithuanian nouns including names have certain endings corresponding to different meanings that, in English, use propositions. The ending "-es" is only found in the second declension, nominative plural, possessive case singular or accusative/objective case plural. If the ending is correct to the surname, it would have to mean one of the following:
Braines, nom. pl., as in the phrases "the Braine family" or "the Braines" as in the "the Smiths" or "the Johnsons". The nominative singular ending would be "-e".
Braines, possessive singular, as in the phrase "the son of Jonas Braine", "Jono Braines sunus".
Braines, accusative plural, as in the phrase "there is a book about the Braine [family]", "apie Braines yra knyga".
except for the nominative plural, the ending, "-es", would only be found in a sentence or phrase whereas most of the time when we are speaking of a name spelled according to Lithuanian spelling rules we use the nominative singular. In this case, it would be Braine.
So I think that either the name has been modified from something else or it has been mis-read or mis-transcribed from some other spelling, or it is from a non-Lithuanian original.
In a search of the current online phone book for Lithuania using the initial letters "brain-", there is one, Brainskas; using "brein-", there is also only one, Breiner. No listings for any surname beginning "Brien-" or "Brayn-". Now it is possible that the surname was originally German or Yiddish in origin and thus the "-es" ending. The given name JOKHEL or JECHIEL is definitely not a typical Lithuania ending and the letter combinations "-kh-" and "-ch-" are simply not used in LIthuanian.
hi i am tring to help my partner look for his birth mom his last name was lucasavitch and was born may 16,1962 in kindersley or north battleford saskatchewan his birth name was darrall
hi i am tring to help my partner look for his birth mom his last name was lucasavitch and was born may 16,1962 in kindersley or north battleford saskatchewan his birth name was darrall
My ex's maiden name is Radzevicius; Parents lived in Marquette Park area, Campbell near 67th. Her Dad's first name was was Izidor (deceased). They came the U.S. several years after WW2. Wife and daughters are all well and good. By the way, the girls names aren't Eva or Vera.
Have identified some family members with Brazukas as surname. A son is listed as "Jenrs". Is this a translation or abbreviation for a different name. Any assistance would be appreciated
The surname is most likely spelled as "Braz^ukas" and pronounced brah-ZHOO-kahs. The ending for a married woman with this surname would be Mrs. Braz^ukiene and her unmarried daughter would be Miss Braz^ukaite.
There is no Lithuanian given name I know of that even comes close to "Jenrs", so my guess is that it is a mis-transcription or a misreading of perhaps "Jonas" -- mainly because it has the same number of letters and begins with "j". But also, "e" is often mis-read as "a", "i" or "o" and "r" is often mis-read as "a", "v" or "e". "J" in Lithuanian is always pronounced like the "y" in the English word, "young" while "y" is always pronouned "ee" as in "week."
Anyone with this surname who had relatives who lived in Detroit, went from Lithuania in 1910.
His first name was Frank and married a lady called Anna, whom my Auntie went to live with in 1930.
Thank you
Caroline.
I was very thrilled to see your message. My grandmother's maiden name was Rackauskas- sometimes spelled Raczkowski. She disappeared after 1910. At least I can find no account of her after that. Where was this family from in Lithuania?
Iam following a lead i got from my Aunts shipping manifest,the name Anna Raskauskas is who my Aunt stated she was staying with. Also declaring this was her cousin, which must also be a relative of mine.
This Anna Raskauskas was 26years old, had a sister and brothers younger than herself.
Her mother was Ersila,who was born in 1880 in Lithuania, have no name for her husband yet. They left Lithuania with two children.
A cencsus of 1920, declares that a Frank Rascauskas and his wife Anna were in the usa,they dated 1910 was thier arrival year. However cant find them on the 1930 cencus, so have decided this isnt the "one" we are looking for.
Both the families came from Lithuania, but have no idea where. One family arrived in usa with two children.
Hope this has been maybe of some help to you, in my research this is the first time the name of Raskauskas has appeared conected to my family.
Wishing you all the Best
Caroline
Just because you couldn't immediately find them on the 1930 census doen't mean they aren't there. Names were frequently misspelled for one reason or another. Good luck to you. Thanks for your info.
Reese
Yes ! i agree with you Reese, they also could have moved to another state in the usa, i only looked at the Detroit census because that is where my relative went. They also could have changed thier names.
You dont mention if you know where your Grandmother went, which makes it even harder for you, but dont give up. If i find out any thing that might be of intreast to you i will post it on the site.
Thanks for your wishes
Caroline
I've been trying to work with my local embassy to reclaim my Lithuanian citizenship by proving descent from my Lithuanian grandparents. The problem I've run into is that somewhere around 1940 and their subsequent flight out of Lithuania after the Russian occupation their name ceased to be written as Diczun and was altered to Ditschun (which I'm guessing was a phonetic German spelling). Does anyone have any thoughts on this change? Was this common? And if so, would the change have been documented? From what I'm told as far as the Lithuanian government is concerned, if the name is spelled differently then it's not the same person.
The problem with both spellings is that they are not Lithuanian. No name in Lithuanian ends in "-un". However, German names often do, so I suspect that the Lithuanian name has been "Germanized", just as S^iauliai is Schaulen in German. Most surnames in Lithuanian have the following endings: "-as" or "-a", "-is" or "-ys", and "-us". Some Russian or other Slavic names can be found today in Lithuania that do not comport with the typical endings, even though the folks are citizens of Lithuania. It is also possible that they were ethnic Germans who lived in Lithuania.
Also, the spelling "Diczun" has that Polish "-cz-" in the middle of it. Lithuanian has only two letters "c", one with a little birdie over it (typed "c^" on non-Baltic keyboards), and one without. The "c" with the birdie is pronounced "ch" as in the English word "church." The other "c" is pronounced "ts" as in the English word "hats." The sound of "c" in English in the word "center" is represented by the letter "s" in Lithuanian. The sound of "ch" in the word "cloud" is represented by the letter "k" in Lithuanian.
So assuming the root or stem of the name is correctly spelled "Dicz-" it would have to be pronounced "ditsz-". If it is spelled "Dic^z-" then it would sound like "dichz-".
My hunch is that it was originally something like Diksas (pronounced DIK-sahs), Diks^as (pronounced DIK-shahs) or even Diksa (pronounced DIK-sah). It could also be Dikc^ius (pronounced DIK-choos). But presumably, you've heard the name pronounced and thus, with the above information, you can probably re-construct its original spelling, at least the root of the name. There are other possible spellings as well, so if you could find an early record of some kind with the name as originally written and spoken, such as their birth or marriage certificate (you'd have to know the year of their birth and the village name), your problem would come much closer to being solved.
Perhaps your grandfather served in the U.S. Army during WWII. If so, his military record would likely be helpful. Likewise if he became a citizen, his naturalization records would help. Have you tried any of these?
I have a few Lithuanian documents and a number of German documents. All of the LT documents are dated around 1940 and all have German translations. All of the German documents are things such as work records, army records, and displaced person records. I can only surmise that they had all the LT documents translated to German because at that time the war was going better for Germany so they felt they needed to leave Lithuania and become German. Either that or they were being forced to leave. But I know for a fact that their citizenship changed to German in the 1940s because I have documents for that too.
The LT documents I have show my grandfathers surname and my great-grandfathers surname both as Diczun. All of the German documents have Ditschun. You're probably right in that it has German or Polish ties but I know for a fact that both grandparents and their parents were born in Lithuania. Beyond that many generations I'm not sure but perhaps my great-great-grandparents were German.
The problem I have is that it's spelled differently from the LT docs to the German ones. And there's no evidence as to why this may have happened. And it's a pretty drastic change too. It's not like any letters needed to be changed because it wasn't in the German alphabet.
If they were displaced persons (DPs) in Germany, they would likely have records at the International Tracing Service (ITS) archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany.
You can go on-line at the ITS website and request they research their files for your family. The documents should list their Lithuanian birthplaces and supporting documents to prove they were really from Lithuania.
Just Google ITS and Bad Arolsen and you should find the URL.
You didn't say what country they ended up in? If it's the USA, you can send for copies of their immigration papers, which may help.
I know this is a lot earlier, but on Ellis Island data base, there is one Diczun, Anton, arrived 4/11/1910, from a Pjoter, town looks like Paldez, Polsdoz, or Poladsz, in the Kowno district. I think the town is actually Palaidziai in the Birzai region, which would of been part of the larger area known as Kowno or Kovno.
As John Peters indicated in his earlier email, Lithuanian custom is to modify the ending of the family surname for females. Married female surnames all end in IENE.
Unmarried female surname spellings can end in UTE (IUTE in older versions), AITE, or YTE depending upon the surname ending.
Your INTE and UTI surname ending indicate an unmarried female spelling of the surname.
The surname is probably spelled S^maliukas (pronounced shmah-LOO-kas because the "s" has a little birdie over it).
In the online phone book for Lithuania (which does not include the much more prevalent cell phone), there are 44 listings for this surname. Of these, there are 14 in the town of Druskininkai and the village of S^vendubre, south of Druskininkai, very near the border with present day Belarus and in an area that was once heavily populated with ethnic Poles. So it is a good bet that your ancestors came from this area, just as my own maternal ancestors did. There are no listings for the spelling "Smalukas".
The most likely religion of people from this rural area was Roman Catholic, since most rural, agricultural Lithuanians prior to WWI were of that religion and since Jews had been prohibited from owning land and doing farm work (hence, mostly lives in towns, cities and villages rather than on farms). There are some Protestant Lithuanians scattered mostly along the border with the former East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia).
You can see this area on the online map of Lithuania at:http://www.maps.lt/en/map. Just type "svendub" without the quotes in the area marked "e.g: pagiriai, pagir" and hit "Search". On the left will appear a little plus sign next to "Cities and villages". Click on it and you'll see S^vendubre. Click on it and the map will zoom in to it. You can zoom in and out yourself by clicking on the vertical "ruler" to the top right of the map.
Lithuanian surnames change endings for men and women. If a man's name ends in "-as", then his wife's name ends in "-iene" and their unmarried daughter's name ends in "-aite." So the wife of Mr. S^maliukas would be Mrs. S^maliukiene and their unmarried daughter would be Miss S^maliukaite.
My grandparents emigrated to scotland approximately 1900 from marijampole. Grandfathers name Vincas Burdzilauskas married to Juzana maiauskas i 1899 in a church in marijampole. Have received marriage certificate from archives in Vilnius and now hope to find any family members. I have no family I can ask. Is there anyone who can help?
My grandparents came from LIthuania their surname is Paplauskas and I would appreciate it if you cold give me the contact details of the Archives Dept in Vilnius please as my search is now going to take me there
Included there is the email address. You can write to them in English, but the reply is likely to be in Lithuanian. As you will discover and may already know, the Archives must have the given and surname of the person you are researching, their birthdate (or at least the year of birth), and the name of the village or town where he or she was born or married or died. This is the minimum information they need in order to begin searching for records -- if they exist.
I am looking for family of David Paplauskas.His family orginally came from Lithuania.I was his account officer at a bank where he was a customer until his death in 2008.
I need to contact his family as matter of urgency.
Please,it is so very very important.
Rogerio Callegari
rogeriocallegari@walla.com
It appears that if you are looking for more ancestors, you have what you need to either make another request from the Archives or to hire a private researcher to look for records there. If you are looking for descendants of Vincas and his wife, be prepared for disappointment because it is over 100 years since their siblings had their children, etc. In the meantime, there are been two World War invasions by Germany and Russia, a Soviet occupation, and massive industrialization that lead to great mobility there as it did in the U.S. and the U.K. The descendants are very likely to have moved at least to the towns and cities of Lithuania and since the European Union may well have moved to other parts of Europe as well.
That said, the online phone book for Lithuania shows two listing for people with the surname Burdzilauskas who live in or near Marijampole:
Vincas Burdzilauskas
S^unsku sen.
Obs^rutliu k.
834329113
Lina Burdzilauskiene
Algimanto g. 16a
Marijampoles m.
834353253
(The abbreviations are: sen. = seniunija, elderate or township; k. = kaimas, village, m. = miestas, city; g. = gatve, street.)
There are 16 listings in the phone book for the surname Majauskas (Majauskiene for married women, and Majauskaite for unmarried women) in the Marijampole municipality. The web page for the phone book is:http://www.zebra.lt/lt/suzinok/telefonai. Enter "majausk" without the quotes, click on the down arrow next to "Bet kuri", click on "Marijampoles r.", and click "Ies^koti" (Search). The list of names will be all those with this surname in the Marijampole district (rajonas).
You could write to these folks and see if they can link to your ancestor. Suns^kai is just north of the town of Marijampole.
hi everyone. Just a warning, I received an e-mail from someone with the name of :Favour - address of: favour_net53@yahoo.co.nz who says:Hello
Good day my dear.How are you doing over there.Hope fine.in a short way, my name is Favour.I am a member of these( www.lithuanian.net)site.i saw your profile here and i have very important thing to tell you.Please write me back through this my mail contact at(favour_net61@yahoo.com) so that i will give you full explanation of myself.Here Waiting to see your quick reply in my mailbox.thanks from,FavourI have no intention of responding and warn others about this here!
I am looking for relatives of Antonas Monkevic(Mankevic) born 15 Jan 1889 in Vilinuis,
I am also looking for Magdalena Gloziris (Glozeris) Born Feb 2 1894 in Kulu Lithuania
She was the daughter of Eduardo Gloziris she returned in lithuania in 1930 to Kretingos
Looking for the family of Josephine Godanis. Know to live in Tamaque, Pa. in 1919
Mother was Agnes Klewinsky living in Newburg, WVa during the same period. Father John was dead as was bother Eddie.
Not sure if you already have this, 1910 census in Schuykill county PA shows a Peter Godanis 28 Russ/LT, wife Josephine 19 Russ/LT, living with Frank Widel 36, Mary 26, Edward 4 PA, and Franks cousin August Widel 35. Peter and Mary are noted as brother in law and sister in law to Frank. Near them is listed a Thomas Godanis 63 and his wife Ellen 50, with children Jennie 16, William 14, and Mary 12. In the 1900 census I think this family is listed as Gauitinas.
In WV, Preston county 1910 is John Klewinski 53 Russ/LT, Aggie 40 Russ/LT, Joseph 15 WV, Eddie 9 WV. They live near a James Klewnskin 47 Russ/LT, Maggie 43. Edith, James and Mary.
The Schuykill county marriage index shows a John Klewinski wed Agata Sawitckute 1885-1910, also Peter Godenis wed Susie Klewinskey 1885-1910.
Thanks for the info. I had some of it, but you added to that. Regarding Susan, I had a hand written note that my Dad's sister was named Susan Godanis. But we also had a legal document signed by Josephine Godanis. At this time I do not know whether they are the same person,
This is to correct my previous post. Josephine was shown as born in PA in the 1910 census. That same census in PA shows 2 Peter Godanis, in the same town in the same county, the same age, 28, but one shows born in PA, and that one is married to Susan 18, and have a son Joseph 1 month. Seeing as how the marriage record shows Peter Godenis wed to Susie Klewinskey, it makes things quite confusing.
The 1900 census in Shenandoah, Schuykill county PA has a John Kelvensky 45 Poland, Agness 35, Tillie 11 b. Oct 1889 PA, Susie 9 b. Mar 1891 PA, Joseph 3 b. Dec 1897 PA, and several boarders in the home.
1920 census in Schuykill county PA has a Peter Godenis 39 PA, divorced, with son Joseph 10 PA.
Do you think that the person you seek is really Susie? Or maybe Josephine also went by Susie and the census recorded them twice with different info?
As regular posters may have seen, I have been tracing my great-uncle's family who returned to Lithuania in 1917 from Scotland.
They were exiled to the Siberian gulag and the records indicated that the family died in the gulag.
One of my brothers was in Vilnius and he asked for a copy of our great-uncle's KGB file. He received a copy of this AND a copy of the file of his son, Algirdas.
Algirdas survived the gulag, working in the coal mines, and was released in 1955.
Now we have the challenge of tracing Algirdas which is most welcome of course. We hope he returned to Lithuania but he may have stayed in Siberia.
Does anyone have any suggestion as to how we can start to search for him ?
The Lukosevicius surname has more than 700 listings in the Lithuanian Telephone Directory. Below are five listings for "Algirdas lukosevicius".
I'd suggest writing a letter or calling them to see if they might be the correct Algirdas. However, he may be living in Lithuania with his home phone listed under his wife's name.
Algirdas Lukođevičius
Perlojos g. 17, Alytaus m. 831553449
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Algirdas Lukođevičius
Dariaus ir Girëno g. 3a, Kalvarijos sen. , Kalvarijos m. 834321692
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Algirdas Lukođevičius
Gvazdikř g. 28, Kauno m. 837440490
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Algirdas Lukođevičius
Pramonës pr. 47-52, Kauno m. 837410747
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Algirdas Lukođevičius
Nevëţio g. 40a-77, Panevëţio m. 845462429
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Were in Lithuania were they from. If he returned to Lietuva, he could have resettled in the area that his father was originally from.
The family were originally from around Vilkasviskis, however my great-uncle, Jonas, settled in Kupiskis after he returned from Scotland. He was a member of the Lithuanian border police which explained why he was exiled by the Soviet KGB.
Algirdas would be aged in his late 80s now. I will follow up the telephone numbers and addresses. I was wondering of there was another organisation that I could contact other than the Archives.
You may want to try a letter to the local church of Kupiskis. It couldn't hurt to ask them.
If you followed my postings about my search for my half-brother, I tried letters, the Red Cross, the Archives, and even posted an ad in the newspaper of my dad's hometown, but my success came from a plucky, kind-hearted lady, who made inquiries in my dad's hometown, and she would not even accept any payment even though she drove from Plunge to Klaipeda and spent untold hours of her time to visit with my relatives. I found Adele on this message board when she posted a message looking for family in the Chicago area, and she took up my cause.
I guess my point is that it is worthwhile to reach out to all and any resources. I know that the details from the Archives helped Adele to track down the married females, so she couldn't have done it without that information.
Good luck with your search, and hopefully you will post any progress you make.
I am looking for any descendants of Mykolas Pocius, who was baptized and married in the Catholic church in Naumiestis, although he lived on a farm outside the town. His son, also Mykolas (now Michael) lost contact with his family during WWII, when he was staying in Germany when the border closed. He would like to know if he has any living relatives left as he has never returned to Lithuania and was never able to locate his half-brothers and sisters after the war.
There are 2 towns with "Naumiestis" in it, one called Kudirkos Naumiestis in the S^akiai district and the other, Z^emaic^iu Naumiestis in the S^ilute district.
Since there are no listings for any surname beginning "Pociu-" in the online phone book for Lithuania in Kudirkos Naumiestis, but several in Z^emaic^iu Naumiestis, it seems likely that the latter is the correct "Naumiestis."
Here are the listings for people with the surname, Pocius (Pociute for unmarried women, and Pociene women married to a Pocius). It seems likely that some of these are related to your friend:
Adolfas Pocius
Bikavenu k.
Vainuto sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844149570
Alfonsas Pocius
Pas^ys^iu k.
Juknaic^iu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844145747
Algirdas Pocius
Lauc^iu k.
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844145492
Algis Pocius
Bliudsukiu k.
Gardamo sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844169001
Aretas Pocius
Pievu g. 12
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844177425
Bronius Pocius
Juknaic^iu k.
Juknaic^iu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844158634
Edmundas Pocius
Vainuto mstl.
Vainuto sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844144187
Giedrius Pocius
Vilkyc^iu k.
Saugu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844144641
Gintaras Pocius
Pas^ys^iu k.
Juknaic^iu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844145739
Jonas Pocius
Katyc^iu mstl.
Katyc^iu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844141619
Jonas Pocius
H. S^ojaus g. 2a-4
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844176060
Jonas Pocius
Cintjonis^kiu g. 2-202
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844154779
Juozas Pocius
Melioratoriu kv. 6-39
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844154740
Kestutis Pocius
Kurs^mariu g. 6
Rusnes sen.
Rusnes mstl.
844158597
Povilas Pocius
Knygnes^iu g. 17-26
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844176221
Povilas Pocius
Cintjonis^kiu g. 12-12
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844151018
Romualdas Pocius
Jonaic^iu k.
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844145441
Stasys Pocius
Dariaus ir Gireno g. 5-201
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844176137
Tadas Pocius
Jaunimo kv. 8-18
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844175282
Tomas Pocius
Liepu g. 19-14
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844162434
Aldona Pociene
Juknaic^iu k.
Juknaic^iu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844158859
Dana Pociene
S^iloko g. 6-12
Juknaic^iu k.
Juknaic^iu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844157458
Donata Pociene
Laisves kv. 1-24
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844151029
Elzbieta Vanda Pociene
Pas^ys^ kiu k.
Juknaic^iu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844145772
Genovaite Pociene
Gluosniu g. 5-4
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844151766
Irena Pociene
Taikos g. 8a-2
Rusnes sen.
Rusnes mstl.
844158157
Irena Pociene
Sodu g. 12-2
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844177381
Irena Pociene
Vainuto mstl.
Vainuto sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844146885
Janina Pociene
Gluosniu g. 5-23
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844154035
Maryte Pociene
Vainuto mstl.
Vainuto sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844144382
Ona Pociene
Petreliu k.
Saugu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844146705
Ona Pociene
Taikos g. 3-3
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844153746
Ona Pociene
Stubriu k.
Katyc^iu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844149225
Renata Pociene
Berz^u g. 1-14
Deguc^iu k.
emaic^iu Naumiesc^io sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844146239
Silva Pociene
Tarvydu k.
Juknaic^iu sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844158612
Stanislava-Birute Pociene
Melioratoriu kv. 11-18
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844152750
Terese Pociene
Skirvytes g. 4
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844176520
Vanda Pociene
S^yliu k.
Gardamo sen.
S^ilutes raj.
844143616
Nijole Pociute
Melioratoriu kv. 9-9
S^ilutes sen.
S^ilutes m.
844175743
The abbreviations used are:
g. = gatve, street
m. = miestas, town
mstl. = miestelis, small town
sen. = seniujia, eldership (sort of a township or borough)
raj. = rajonas, district
The endings of the place names reflect the possessive case (because Lithuanian uses several different case endings.)
Your friend might consider calling these folks (if he speaks Lithuanian) or writing to them either in English (often someone is around who can translate) or in Lithuanian (many folks on this forum will translate simple messages from English to Lithuanian).
As I look in the census from the early 1900's in Brighton, MA a neighborhood of Boston, I see streets and streets filled with Lithuanian immigrants living there. My grandparents lived on Market St, Lincoln and Wexford Ave. Most are boarders and I imagine live in a room within the main house. Do any of you have any stories of how these immigrants lived back then? I know that my grandmother work for Hood Rubber Co at some point and she told stories of how badly the managers treated immigrants. However, I don't know how they lived within the neighborhoods. If anyone has any stories I would love it if you would share. Thanks
I am searching for my grandparents family. Michael Posage, (? Matheous Pesevitch) Born in Lthuania 10/24/1872 in Kanunas. He served in the Czar,s personal guards from Jan 1893 till Sept 1897. He had 2 brothers and a sister. Names unknown. He came to the U.S. in about 1899 or 1900. He married Helen Moseius (? Helen Massic), born in Vilnas on 2/18/1881. Her Father was Ciprionis. She had a brother Theodore and 3 sisters, Anna, Mary and Irene. They were married in East St Louis, Ill at Immaculate Conception Church in Ocxt 1901. They had 8 children, all deceased now.
I am looking for information on:
Simon (Heavier, Xzavier) Krotulis. Born on 21 Oct 1876 in Russia/Lithuania. Simon (Heavier, Xzavier) died in Feb 1945; he was 68. Buried on 17 Feb 1945 in Rosedale Cemetery, Linden. NJ. Occupation: coal miner (1910) laborer.
married Victoria (Viktorija) (Petrusky) ( Chesky), in Lithuania. Born in Lithuania. Victoria (Viktorija) died in Feb 1949 in Linden, New Jersey.
They had the following children:
2 i. Joseph (Juozapas/Juoas)) Simon (1900-1986)-Lithuania
3 ii. Anthony (Antanas) Charles (1903-1967) Scotland
4 iii. Simon J. (1906-1975)PA
5 iv. Ethel (Tefila) (1907-1987)
6 v. Anna (Annie) (Died as Child) (~1908-1925)PA
7 vi. Margaret (1911-1992)PA
8 vii. Julia (Died as Child) (~1915-1926)PA
9 viii. Edward (1920-1994)PA
looking for birthplace and emigration of Simon and Victoria. They left for the US in 1903 as son Anthony was born in Holytown, Scotland.
Let me know you email address and I can send you the birth register for Anthony Krutulis.
It shows that his parents were married in Oniski or Aniski in Poland on 29 May 1898. This means Lithuania as all Lithuanians were regarded as Poles in Scotland.
I am not sure about Victoria's maiden name as it seems to be different to Petrusky.
Per Anc.com: New York Port Ship arrivals: Simon Krotulis age 26 arrived on 21 Oct 1898 in the Port of NY from Hamburg, Germany. Coming from Sulwaky, Russia to visit his brother Martin Krotulis in Scranton, Pa. He also appears on the Hamburg Passenger list for 8 Oct 1898. In the 1920 Census Simon indicates that he came to the US in the year 1900. Hope this aids your search. Carl J
My late Grandmother [Nana]was called Nora Mescus she told my uncle that in Lithuania Nora would be called Petrona is this correct?
Also some of her brothers and sisters were called, Peter,Vince[ could this be Vincas?,Eva, Alec could this be Aleksander? Ann I think this is Ona, Incidentally has anyone read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair about Lithuanians in the Chicago meat packing houses in the early 1900's?
This book was required reading in many high schools and colleges in the northeast during the 60's .The novel shocked the nation by describing the deplorable conditions in Chicago's meat packing industry which led to the passage of pure food acts and food regulations. I read the book over 50 years ago and what I remember most is the way that the hard working Lithuanians were exploited.
Juozas
Nora is a name you still sometimes hear in Lithuania today. Perhttp://day.lt/vardai/Nora, it's a shortening of the name Eleonora, but I know a few people whose entire name is just Nora.
helping someone look for relatives related to stanley young -youkonis was born around 1888 came to uss ? lived in maryland he had a son named edwin young lives upstate ny ,he has cousins Stanley,Allan ,Dennis ,if anything sounds familiar contact me .
I think you are looking for more recent info, which will be hard to find with a last name of Young. But I think I found some on-line records.
1930 census Baltimore, address 84 Ferry St
Stanley Young 41 arrived 1906 a tailor
wife Helen 40 PA
Edward 18 MD
Albert 16 MD
Stanley 15 MD
Adam 15 MD
WW2 card Stanley W Young, born 4/22/1889 Kaunas Lithuania,
address 1024 Barre St Baltimore MD, a tailor at Schloss Bros Tailors, contact person given as Mrs Frank Lake, 806 Washington Ave Baltimore MD
Maybe this additional info will help someone to connect.
I am not related.
I am looking for information about my grandmother Magdeline Barcus born 1905 in Lithuania . She lived in Glasgow Scotland .I have found that she married carl Axel Larson in 1924 but my father's name is Frank barcus born 1926 . I have also found that she had four sisters Petrona 1897 , Annie 1898 ,Barbara 1900-1920,and Agnes 1907 . None of them are born in Scotland but four married and one died there .Their parents names were Vincent and Ursula . I would love to know were they came from and what the surname was before it was as i believe shortened to Barcus .I have found this information on ScotlandsPeople .I would also like to find out why my grandfather Larson was not put on my fathers register of birth and if possible where he came from .Grateful for any information .
The surname Barcus, if pronounced BAR-kus, would be spelled in Lithuanian as Barkus.
If, however, it is pronounced BAR-choos, the it would be spelled Barc^us, i.e., the letter "c" would have a little mark or birdie over it (typed "c^" on non-Baltic keyboards). There are several listings in the online phone book for Lithuania for the name Barkus; none for Barc^us.
If the name were actually spelled in Lithuanian as Barcus, it would be pronounced BARTS-us because "c" without any mark over it is pronounced "ts" as in the English name Vince."
If the surname had been shortened, there are any number of possible spellings. In the phone book, there are nearly 600 listings for people whose surname begins with the letters "bark-".
The given name Frank would be Pranas or Pranc^is^kus in Lithuanian. Magdeline would be Magdalena; Annie, Ona; Barbara, Barbora; Agnes, Agne, Agniete, or Agota; Ursula, Urs^ule; Vincent, Vincentas or Vincas; Petrona is also sometimes Petronele.
Sometimes passenger manifests tell what town an immigrant was from, but I don't know what manifests are available for the U.K. beyond those from Hamburg and Bremen.
Magdiel Bartkos was born in the Gorbals on 22 January 1905 to Vinzas and Urzula Bartkos. They are shown as having married in Poland (Lithuiania0 in January 1896.
She married James McGibbon in 1938 and died in 1970, aged 65.
Agota Bartkos was born in Glasgow on 27 June 1906 to Vinzas and Urzula.
I will have a look and see if I can find the other sisters. I notice that on
The original name may have been Barkauckas or something as there seems to be a cluster of records with this name in Kilbirnie and around the Glasgow area.
Vincas and Ursula must have arrived in Scotland in 1896 as their first daughter was
Petrona Barotkas born on 25/1/1896 in Kilbirnie
and the following
Barbara Barkus was born on 16/3/1900 in Kilbirnie
Vincus Barkus was born in 1901 and died in 1902 in Kilbirnie
Mary Barotkas was born on 25 November 1902 in Greenock
All these records are on Scotlands People
However there is nothing to indicate where in Lithuania they came from. You can look at similar surnames such as Barkus that give you some indication as to where the family comes from.
can anyone tell me if there is a Lithuanian American club in West Palm Beach, Fl. area or close by? Years ago I attended a luncheon meeting I believe on one Tuesday a month but have lost track of it. Please e-mail me with information, thank you! Hal Simkaitis
Here are a few I found listed on-line...
(2008)
Southwestern Florida LAC Chapter.
Contact: Irma Gulbinait,
kursiunerija2000@yahoo.com
(2006 last update)
Lithuanian American Club
4880 46th Ave. North
St. Petersburg, FL 33714
Phone: (727)525-2924
President - Loreta Kynas
Telephone:- (727) 367-8722
Fort Myers, FL
Contact: Zita, 239 8780791, or
Valdis ir Jolanta, 239 275 5443
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Lithuanian Education & Culture Center and
The "Sunny Coast" Lithuanian Saturday School
Contact: lithuaniancentre@gmail.com
Thanks for the info about Peter. I found out that my uncles, Vito and Al Verseckes, after becoming wards of the state in the early 1930's, were accepted into Henry Ford's Wayside Inn Boys School (the Wayside Inn) in Sudbury, MA. In the book I read about the Inn, my uncle's names were mentioned along with Peter Kozack several times. If anyone lived at the Boys Inn, or knew of anyone, I would very much like to hear from them. Peter might have been related to my grandmother, Albina Kozack. Not sure of her spelling. Posted before about her.
Thanks, again!
Peter is Petras in Lithuanian. Basil is Bazilijus, Bazilis, or Bazilius, though the Slavic form is usually something like Vasily or Wasily. It is worth noting that Spanish uses "v" where English uses "b", as can be seen in the given name Vivian, which in Spanish is Bibiana.
Cypras probably means Cyprian, after the 3rd century Roman Catholic saint, though the sound "s" in the English pronunciation of Cyprian would be rendered as "s" in Lithuanian, as in Syprianas or Siprianas. On the the other hand, the letter "c" in Lithuanian with any mark over it would be pronounced "ts" as in "bits." So the name might be written correctly and be pronounced "TSIP-ras".
It appears to be a contracted form of Cyprianas, in much the same way that Juzoas is a contracted form of Juozapas.
Looking for any information on my Great Grand Father John Stonkus I think he was married to Joanna Kapharte who came to USA and had three children born here my Aunt Estelle Catherine Stonkus born 22 JUN 1910 - Brooklyn, NY my Father Joseph Francis Stonkus born 01 Jul 1914 - Brooklyn, New York, USA and another Uncle John not sure of his birth date
I think they can be found on the 1920 census in Brooklyn, recorded as John Stoncis (some of the writing is hard to make out, so some of these details are my best guess), 42 LT arrived 1906, wife Jennie? 38 LT arrived 1909, John 8 NY, Joe 5 NY, Stella 9 NY. They live at 202? John St Brooklyn. I did not find him for certain in the 1910 census or the Ellis island data base. I found the manifest for Johana Kopkaite, 30, arrived 7/5/1909 from Kalvaria, her sister's Anna Blawozdeny, going to her cousin in Brooklyn Jonas Stonkus. There is a death record in Kings county NY of John Stonkus, died Aug 4, 1931, age 46. Not sure if this is your relative, as no other details on the on-line data base.
Per Ancesty.com: WWI Draft Card (Sept 1918): "Jonas Stonkus" age 43 (No date of birth), laborer, wife: Johanna. Residence 202 John St, Brooklyn, New York. 1930 Census: 17 Evans St, Brooklyn, NY. "John Stankus" 54 Laborer in Sugar Refinery. came to US in 1909. Married at age 34 (1910). wife Joanna 50, sons John Jr 18 & Joseph 15. On 18 May 1909 a "Janes Stonkus" arrived at the Port of New York from Bremen, Germany aboard the Prinzess Alice, going to visit someone in Brooklyn, New York. Perhaps someone on this site can take a stab at the name and where in Lithuanis "Janes Stonkus" lived. Hope this aids your search.
WWI Draft Card - Ship Arrival Port of New York: Stonkus
by
The spelling of this village name is one of the following:
1. Tzkontyszki (as it appears to me, under last residence and location of nearest relative)
2. Tokontyszki (as it appears to me, under place of birth)
3. Jzkontyszki (as transcribed on the Ellis Island data base)
4. Soconhyozki (as transcribed on ancestry.com)
The initial letter is probably not "s", as can be seen in the "s" in "Stonkus". But it could be "j", when you look at the other lettes "j" on the page. The problem I see is that "tzk" and "jzk" are virtually unpronounceable and difficult to convert to either a Polish or Lithuanian spelling because of that. It seems a vowel sound is missing there. "Tok-" solves that problem, but I can find no village in Lithuania that begins with the letters "Tok-".
This name is written using Polish spelling ("-szki" or "-zki" ending and the possible "tzk-" or "jzk-" stem). It is common for Lithuanian to replace the "o" with "a" so it might be something like Takontys^kai or Takantis^kai. If the initial letter is "j", perhaps a Lithuanian version might be Jakontys^kai or Jakantis^kai.
It is also a common transcribing error to use "n" for the letter "u", so perhaps it might be "---autys^kai" (witht he initial letter variations noted above).
There villages named Jakutis^kis in the Ignalina and Rokis^kis districts, and Jakutis^ke in the Taurage district and Jakutis^kiai in the Ukmerge district. So while possible, my hunch is that the initial letter is actually "t" rather than "j".
The village named Taknis^kiai in the Alytus district was, before WWI, in the Suwalki gubernia or province of Russia, an area strongly influenced by Polish language and culture. So that is my best candidate right now, but added study of the handwriting on the manifest (on various pages) might settle the matter more definitively.
My grandfather's mother's maiden name was Agota Stonkus. I know nothing more than that.
Can you tell me where in Lithuania your Stonkus family was from?
My grandfather immigrated in 1911, going first to PA, then Waterbury, CT.
Frank Kieres from Jurazeris, Russia - Where is that?
by Dulci Kieres Haggard
I just received my Ggrandfather's Naturalization papers and he stated he was born in Jurazeris Russia. The ship manifests for his arrival mention Russia, Wilna, and Lithuania in association with him. Most of his census records state he was from Lithuania, but I cannot locate a Jurazuris anywhere.
I believe that Marie is correct. This is indeed the most likely candidate for the village name. Furthermore, Jurez^eris would have been in the Vilnius district or gubernia during the Russian Empire (i.e., prior to WWI). The "z" has a little mark over it indicating that it is pronounced "zh" as in the English word "azure."
I have been trying to trace information about my grandfather Julius Witkowski's brothers who lived in Chicago. I found a Witkowsky, Alexander and it says he was from a town called Merez and the country is Lithuania-Russia.
Now my grandfather was from Merkine or Merech. Could this be the same town or village?
Thank you
I found the Alexander on the 1920 census as
Alex Witkovsky 29, arrived 1910, wife Hatie 25 arrived 1910, son Alfred 4 IL. They also have 2 boarders, name looks like Pauksnis, Joe 40, and John 30. The address is the same as the naturalization record, 2029 Coulter in Chicago.
I wasn't able to find him on the Ellis Island data base.
At this site,http://familysearchlabs.org/
I looked at the WW2 draft cards for IL but did not see Alexander. There are many Witkowsky (and -ski) names, and most don't mention a town of origin that is close to Merez, except for one. Charles Witkowski born 9/27/1886 Merich LT, address in Chicago 6918 S Talman, kin is Mrs Kate Witkowski.
This is a follow up on my message about the WW2 cards, and Charles Witkowski. I think I found him on the 1920 census, recorded as Charles Withowski, 40, arrived from Russia 1912, wife Katie 28, Russia, arrived 1914. Charles has a brother Adam, 36, arrived from Russia 1912. No kids. Address looks like 4325 Wood St Chicago. They work at the stockyards.
I had no luck finding these 2 men on Ellis Island.
Thanks to you I found Alexanders name on the Cook County Clerk of the Circut Court website. i do have a picture of a man, woman and child taken at Marshall Studio, address 2949 W. 43r St. in Chicago.It is in a beautiful brown folder but it has a fancy "B" on the front of it. Do you think if I write to them and send them a copy of the picture they could identify them? I will have to snail manil it because the way they do their e-mail I cannot on my computer.
You and John Peters were gracious enough to help me find the village my grandfather came from. Now, you have helped me with this. You ar fabulous.
Sure, it is worth a try to see if anything can be determined about your photo. It's too bad that you can't scan it and email it. I hope you are going to send it to their mailing address listed on their web site, which is different from what you had. Be sure to send a copy of the folder too. That might help them. Have you emailed (or called) them to ask if they think they can help?
I have not e-mailed them at all. I have tried, but my computer won't let me. So I will try the old snail mail way.
You know it's funny Marie how the three brothers cannot be found coming into Ellis Island. My grandfathers Naturalization papers says that he came that way. Who knows. The important thing is that I know the village.
Do you find most of your information on Ancestry.com?
Thank you very much
Searching for relatives of Joseph and Paloncia Krivickas
by
My siblings and I are searching for relatives of our father, Casimir Krivickas. He was the son of Joseph and Paloncia (Urbaitis) Krivickas who immigrated to the USA from Luthuania. His parents immigrated here with a daughter Mary and a son Joe.
If anyone knows of any relatives still living in Luthuania, could you please
notify me?
I looked at a few on-line records, and am guessing they settled in Chicago? If so, have you seen the naturalization info at this web sitehttp://198.173.15.34/NR/default.aspx
There is a Kazimier Krivickas, born 3/15/1871 in Sudus LT, arrived USA 1905 via Canada. If this is your relative, the town of origin may help someone to connect.
Hi ! my great- aunt Mary Pugzlis born 1892 in russia lithuania died 1974 .Spouse Paul Pugzlis born 1885 died 1974 . The family were living in cicero illinois. Their children Stephina, Julia, Elizabeth and John. Now Iam seeking Stephinas , Julias and Elizabeths Pugzlis children. . I hope they could live in chicago area, like parents and grandparents.
thank You in advance for help
Unfortunately, available records are generally scant after around 1930 except for some immigration records and WWII draft records, especially for those whose married names are not known.
If these women married, it will be very difficult to find records of their children without knowing the surname of their husbands. I did find a death record for John in Illinois (whether it is the sibling of Stephanie, Julia and Elizabeth, is difficult to determine). The 1930 Census shows John to be age 9, therefore born around 1921. That same Census show Stefanie to have the surname Norvil and that she was the step-daughter of Paul Pugzlis. Presumably this means that Mary had been married before to someone with this name.
By the way, the WWII draft registration for Paul says that he was born on April 27, 1884 in Kalnaliskai (Rokiskis).
I have been trying to find my lost family for about 15 years.
I know my great grandfather came to the UK in about 1890 and married in Middlesbrough in 1901.
I have found their marriage certificate, their childrens births, Josephs death in 1924, BUT nothing to let me know where he came from originally. There doesnt seem to be any records as to him arriving in the country or naturalization, NOTHING NOTHING.
His fathers name was Isidore Slizauskas, his mother unknown.
Where on earth did he come from. The story we have is that he left because of conscription into the Russian army. I have found a census in 1901 where a Slujasuska lived in Middlesbrough, or a Slizauskas in Scotland with also a John on the census. In the 1911 census he is definately listed in Middlesbrough with his wife Antosas and nine children as a furnace worker at the docks.
Can anybody help me, I know I dont have birth certs to help, nothing more than their marriage.
After 15 years, it would be so good to even have an idea of where he came from. Was he in the Pale settlement even though he married a catholic lady, would this explain his leaving his home land.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, is there somebody out there that might be able to point me in the right direction.
Anne Pauline Offor.
I looked at the BMD and there is a maiden name
SLUJASVSKA Joseph Middlesbro' 9d 1145
Ubiceute Antosas Middlesbro' 9d 1145
The maiden name is in the unmarried format ending in ciute. Possibly the family name of Antose would be something like Ubicas.
You may find your ancestors on the Hamburg lists (via Ancestry.com). I have has some luck with this but not all came via Hamburg.
There was a Lithuanian community in the South Bank area of Middlebrough.
There could be a number of reasons why your relatives left Lithuania. It's possible that he may have tried to avoid conscription. After all why should the Lithuanians fight for a country that oppressed them. There could also be an economic factor.
My thoughts are that he possibly was recruited by the iron and steel works owners. I think that one of the main steel works owners came from Prussia so that is a possibility.
To my knowledge all the Lithuanian families that I have come across in Middlesbrough came from Suvalkija (South West Lithuania)
My Great Grandparents Peter and Lala Mescus emmigrated to South Bank during the late 1890's or early 1900's. Mescus is an Anglisced version the Lithuanian name I'm not sure of. There were quite a few Lithuanian families. Please could you give me any suggestions on what the Lithuanian name could be? My mam told me that the teachers at St Peters school encouraged one core name per family instead of different endings for male aand female. Other families just took easy English sounding names such as Langowski to Miller. A shame really. You can email me if you wish
Further to my earlier post I thought I might add some surnames I remember from South Bank.Please accept my apologies in advance for bad spellings and Angliscised names. Aukstanitis, Stebilitis,Clemitis,Masaconi,Sandrawich, Checkonawich, Many of these families were supposedly related.
As far as I am aware most Lithuanians came to South Bank to work in the Steelworks. As someone mentioned one of the then owners of the works was German Mr Bolckow of Bolckow and Vaughan. I was always told that those Lithuanians who could afford to emigrated to the USA the rest came to England. My Great Grandfather Peter/Petras lost an eye in a steelworks accident and was put on an internal train and taken to Eston hospital. The train carried iron ore from the local iron ore mines on Eston hills. Bolckow is credited with discovering this ore.
For anyone who is interested in relatives who moved to South Bank Middlesbrough here is a link. Lithuanian families are talked about on this site.
http://www.communigate.co.uk/ne/slaggyisland/
Sister M. Edwards Burdulis, May 29, 2009. Born in Scranton PA, taught at St. Alphonsus, Baltimore, Maryland; St. George, Shenandoah, PA, Immaculate Conception and NBVM in Chicago; Our Lady of Peace, Darien, IL; St. Bartholomew, Waukegan, IL.
Sister Mary Eva Revas, July 2, 2009. Born in Pajevonis, Lithuania. Taught at several schools in Chicago area.
Sister Janine Mejeris, formerly Sister M. Goretti, March 27, 2009. Born in Taurage, Lithuania.
Sister Catherine Marie Metrickas, formerly Sister M. Petra. February 20, 2009. Born in Worcester, Mass. Taught at schools in IL, NM,MN, FL, and PA, including St. Andrews's Parish in Philly, and Villa Joseph Marie HS, in Holland, PA.
Sister M. Edwards Burdulis, May 29, 2009. Born in Scranton PA, taught at St. Alphonsus, Baltimore, Maryland; St. George, Shenandoah, PA, Immaculate Conception and NBVM in Chicago; Our Lady of Peace, Darien, IL; St. Bartholomew, Waukegan, IL.
Sister Mary Eva Revas, July 2, 2009. Born in Pajevonis, Lithuania. Taught at several schools in Chicago area.
Sister Janine Mejeris, formerly Sister M. Goretti, March 27, 2009. Born in Taurage, Lithuania.
Sister Catherine Marie Metrickas, formerly Sister M. Petra. February 20, 2009. Born in Worcester, Mass. Taught at schools in IL, NM,MN, FL, and PA, including St. Andrews's Parish in Philly, and Villa Joseph Marie HS, in Holland, PA.
I'm looking for any details regarding surnames RASALAS and PESKYTE. I have a Stoya Peskyte, * 1948. Her married name was Rasalas. There is no further information. Thank you!
Annett
The surname Rasalas is not very common in Lithuania. There are only 21 listings in the online phone book for this name. Compare to over 1600 for the surname Petrauskas.
Surnames in Lithuanian have different endings for men, married women and unmarried women. The rules for these endings are these:
The surnames of Lithuanian men mostly end in -as (sometimes -a), -is, -ys or -us. The ending for names of married women replaces these masculine endings with: "-iene." Thus, the endings for the surnames Kuckailis, Vaitkus and Rasalas are changed for the women married to these men to become Kuckailiene, Vaitkiene, and Rasaliene. Because the ending for the names of married women is always the same regardless of the ending to their husbands names, it is not always possible to derive correctly the masculine form of the surname from the form of the married womans name.
The rules for endings of names for unmarried girls and women in modern times depends on the masculine ending:
1. For masculine names ending in "-ys" and "-is", the ending "-yte" is substituted for the masculine ending. Thus, The daughter of Mr. Kuckailis becomes Miss Kuckailyte.
2. For masculine names ending in "-us", the ending is "-ute." Thus, the daughter of Mr. Vaitkus becomes Miss Vaitkute. Miss Lukasevic^iute is the daughter of Mr. Lukasevic^ius.
3. For names ending in "-as" or -a, the ending is "-aite." Thus, The daughter of Mr. Petrauskas becomes Miss Petrauskaite.
Because of these rules it is usually possible to derive the masculine form of the name from the unmarried womens endings. Thus if a person is named Elena Lukasevic^iute, it is almost certain that her father is Mr. Lukasevic^ius. In older times or in some records, I have seen somewhat different or variant rules for the endings, so that male names ending in -is or -ys may end in iute for their daughters.
So the ending to the surname Peskyte is clearly the surname of an unmarried women, i.e., a maiden name. The ending "-yte" is substituted today for masculine names ending in "-is" or "-ys." So technically, Stoya Peskyte was the daughter of a man whose name was Peskis or Peskys. (His wife would be Mrs. Peskiene).
A check of the online phone book shows that this surname probably is written "s^", i.e., "s" with a little birdie over it (typed "s^" on non-Baltic keyboards). This "s^" is pronounced "sh" as in the English word "shell." So the name was most likely written Pes^kis or Pes^kys.
Now the endings noted above were not standardized in the Lithuanian language until after WWI, so there were often somewhat different and varying rules for the endings for unmarried women, but they always show that "-te" ending. So it is possible that Stoya's father's name was Pes^kas or "Pes^kus. The given name Stoya is very unusual and suggests a strong Slavic (e.g, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, etc.) influence. I've not seen used for a Lithuanian.
I just got back from my 2nd trip to Kaunas. This time I wanted to see Ninth Fort and I was told to get bus number 23 from outside the castle. We had the bus timetable and we waited and waited and no 23 was in sight. We were standing where a kiosk is and a taxi rank and it looked more like a place where bus drivers park up for breaks.
Can anyone tell me where you catch this bus? Were we in the wrong place? We will be going back but I don't want to miss it next time. Round the corner from where we waited was a large shop or shopping centre with several bus stops all in a row outside. I wonder if I should have gone there. Problem was, it was our last day and we had no time to go wandering looking for it after waiting over an hour at the castle.
I don't know if it will help, but here is the web site (in English) for the bus system with a map showing the stops for the number 23 route (as well as the rest of the system):
And you seem to be fishing for some kind of added information than I've already provided, but it isn't clear what that is. I may be "clued up" but I'm not Sherlock Holmes, so perhaps if you were more specific? If you've read my many postings, it is very rare that I have "more information" than what I give, but if prompted I'll likely have something to say
John sorry didn't mean it that way it's just that every where I look I come up with a blank , no history or anything on this surname so if you could help I'd appreciate it I live in Australia and my brother lives in Brazil.
I don't have internet at home so every thing I do is at work and in my lunch hour so your help is greatly appreciated.
I'm afraid I do not have any ideas more than what I and others have already given.
Your question about the "history" of the surname is puzzling because a) it isn't clear what that means beyond the etymology or origins of the surname, and b) once one has such a history where that information leads one. Both Lasevic^ius and Malevic^ius are clearly spelled according to proper Lithuanian rules. Such endings, as Hoffman's article indicate, are really Lithuanian versions of the Polish endings "-wicz". What is most important about names is the root or stem, i.e., the first few letters, which tend to be the same whatever language was used to write the name. Thus the root of Petrauskas, my family name, is "Petr-". There are many other names with this root such as Petraitis, Petronkis, etc. Most of them simply mean "son of Peter." Obviously there were many Christians in the distant past in Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, etc., who bore the given name "Peter" before there were surnames. Their descendants tacked on various endings to indicate that they were offspring of an ancestor named "Peter" and so such variant spellings arose. But the people bearing these names are not necessarily related at all and certainly the commonality in their surnames does not imply any blood relationship.
Whether or not the people bearing these names were ethnic Lithuanian cannot be determined by the spelling or history of their names but by their actual history, by what the family knows and believes. There were many Poles, Germans, Russians, Belarusians, Italians, Frenchmen, etc., living in Lithuania through its history. The spelling of their names will not tell one what their ethnicity is, only they can say what it is.
You know the name of your ancestors, whether spelled using Lithuanian or Polish rules. You know the place that they were from. If you have the year of birth as well, they you have enough to write to the Lithuanian Historical Archives to obtain their birth, marriage or death records (assuming such still exist). Here is their web site with email address (you can write in English though their response may be only in Lithuanian: http://www.archyvai.lt/archyvai/selectPage.do?docLocator=043703D96DD711D8AA1D746164617373&pathId=20
The history of families is not the history of their names but of they themselves.
For over a year I have been trying to track down my 2nd great grandmother. Verbally, the name had been passed down as Agnieska Leskevice. Her sister Mary immigrated to the US, and married a Jonas Bonsavage.
After much research, I am still unsure of the proper Lithuanian spelling, but believe these 2 surnames to have been Leskeviius or Leskevyius and Banceviius. I have found Leskeviius and Banceviius in the Zebra phone book, with hits in the right area (the border area with Poland, between Kalvarijai and Lazdijai).
However, I still do not have definitive proof, and there are other spelling variations that make it difficult to tell if they are really the same name.
For all I know, Lasevicius may be yet another variant for the same family.
As another example, I'm having a hell of a time with my Grandfather's surname Lastowski/Lastauskas. I understand it could be shortened to Lastas, and can not tell if Lasdowski, Ladzauskas, and Laskowski are related. I have Scottish records where my great grand aunt spelled her maiden name Lastauckaite. In general, I have found that you have to be familiar with the phonetics/spelling of Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, and possibly Ruthenian, I guess. So *wicz, *viius, *vich are all equivalent, but the suffixes are the easy part.
There is a resource called the Lithuanian Surname Dictionary. I do not have access to a copy, but I had a researcher look it up for me, a while back. Here is one of the entries:
*LESKEVICIUS Klp, Kn 2, Ldvn 2, Rdm 3 (total 8). Compare LASKEVICIUS and LESKAS. Those entries suggest these surnames match up with Polish LASKOWICZ and Belarusian LASKEVICH, LASKOVICH, and with Polish LESKI. They probably come from Polish and Belarusian words meaning "forest."*
The numbers are counts at the time the volume was published. Klp is probably Kleipeda, KN = Kaunas, Rdm = Rudamina. I would try to see whether there are entries for your variant, or spellings that are close.
Oh well, I tried to put actual Lithuanian characters in my last post, and this list doesn't preserve them. All of the viius endings should obviously be vic^ius.
Mocken looks much like Mockiene (Mrs Mockus). There is also a name Mockunas.
The Proavan name is a toughie. I suspect that something should be between the P and R. The closest I can find are names Purvenas, and Purvinis, but they are off by quite a bit. Hopefully you will get some better suggestions.
Since these are highly unusual spellings, the "n" ending suggesting a German version of the name, I thought I'd try a procedure that sometimes produces helpful leads.
What I do is use the Steve Morse search page "Gold Form" http://www.stevemorse.org/index.html) entering only "Town Name" "Sounds Like" and then, if the passenger arrived prior to WWI, check off the dates 1900 to 1914, check "Ethnicity" as "Jewish", "Lithuanian", "Polish" and "Russian". I also enter number of hits per page to 200 (the maximum). I did this with both these town names, copied the results into my spreadsheet, sorted them alphabetically, then deleted clearly unrelated items (e.g., in the U.S. or Germany, or those significantly different). Such a procedure often is highly suggestive of possible spelling and even most common spellings (represented by the same or very similar spellings).
Here are the results for Proavan:
Pervn, Russia
PERWINU
Piriboni
Porewny, Russia
Porwim, Russia
Porwini, Russia
Pravno, Russia
Pravno, Russia
Pravno, Russia
Praweani, Russia
Prawin, Russia
Prawjany
Prawna, Russ.
Prawni, Russia
Prawno, Russia
Prawno, Russia
Prawno, Russia
Prawno, Russia
Prawno, Russia
Prawno, Russia
Prawno, Russia
Prawno, Russia
Prawno, Russia
Prawno, Russia
Prawon
Prewn, Russia
Prowno, Russia
Prufene, Russia
Pruwiany, Russia
Purewan
Purivan
Purwany, Russia
Purwiany
Purwiany, Russia
Purwieny, Russia
Purwin
Purwine, Russia
Purwinn, Russia
Purwiny, Russia
Here are the results for Mocken:
Macgen, Russia
Machnny, Russia
Macien, Russia
Macien, Russia
Maciena, Russia
Mackany, Russia
Mackaun
Mackjamy, Russia
Mackony
Macon, Russia
Maczkuna, Russia
Maczkuny
Maczkuny
Magon, Russia
Magon, Russia
Magon, Russia
Makan, Russia
Makin
Makina
Makom, Russia
Makon
Makon
Makon
Makon
MAKON
Makon , ,
Makon, Russia
Makon, Russia
Makune, Russia
Makuny, Russia
Maszkan
Matzkuny, Russia
Matzkuny, Russia
Mazcen, Russia
Micany
Micany
Michna, Russia
Michnih
Migoniei
Migonu, Russia
Migun, Russia
Miguni, Russia
Miguni, Russia
Miguni, Russia
Miguni, Russia
Mihon
Mikno
Mochan
Mochem, Russia
Mochem, Russia
Mochem, Russia
Mochem, Russia
Mochem, Russia
Mochem, Russia
Mogin
Mogino, Pos.
Mogoni, Russia
Mohana
Moikuny, Russia
Moken
Mokina, Russia
Mokon
Muchna, Russia
Muckin, Russia
Mukam
Mushochin, Russia
Russia, Macien
Russia, Macien
Maybe these will give some clues (some more likely than others) to possible spellings that might lead to the correct place name.
I checked on old maps and found Prowno, but it is south of Warsaw, well beyond the usual mixed Polish/Lithuanian areas of Suwalki. It is definitely in Polish territory. You can find it on Mapquest International maps as well.
But if it is in or near Lithuanian lands, more likely it is Purwiany or Purvenai (confirming Marie's hunch that the "Pr-" is likely separated by a vowel). There is one just north of the town of S^venc^ionys, another just west of the town of Eis^is^kes -- both at the southern border of Lithuania and present day Belarus, an area once occupied by Poland and once part of the Vilnius gubernia or province of the Russian Empire.
Another is in the Moletai district in the north central part of Lithuania, and another is in Maz^eikai district north near the border with Latvia. Because of the likely Polish or German influence, I'd bet on the southern villages.
"Mocken" is more difficult. It would really help if you had another clue such as the gubernia, uyezed, powiat, or some other administrative name to link with it.
The best guess I could come up with so far is a village named Maki, in German, it is Monken, and it is southwest of the Polish town, Elk. However, this, too is southwest of Suwalki, not likely for an ethnic Lithuanian. And another alternative is Moc^iunai in the Kedainiai district, north of the city of Kaunas. It is spelled Maciuny on a Polish map of the area. I at first thought the "-ch-" might be like the German "ach", i.e., the "k" sound, but perhaps it is more like the "-ch-" in the English "chosen." That is the same sound as the Lithuanian "c^" in Moc^iunai. In other words, if one were to spell it phonetically, it would be Mochunai. Perhaps the Germans used Mochun? Just guessing really.
My great grandfather (Anthony Light) and his two brothers came over from Lithuania in around 1865-70. He married an Irish lady called Esther Gilboy in 1890. He settled in Liverpool, UK but I understand his two brothers left for USA and Canada. His surname became LEIGHT through a mis-spelling by whoever took the 1901 Census in UK. I am trying to find out his Lithuanian name, and then where in Lithuania he came from. Any assistance would be greatfully appreciated.
I am wondering if you have some family history that told of the surname being a translation? In my dictionary I find the word ziburys (accent over letter Z) as one of the words translating to Light. On the Ellis Island data base, there are some families coming from England with the last name of Light also. It seems they are mostly Jewish, and likely too young to be your relatives. There is another passenger recorded as Tadenszas Ziburis, arrived from Scotland 9/30/1906, age 23, sgl, going to a cousin in Brooklyn NY, Kasiniderz? Rulboka. Says born in Suwalki (likely the region and not the city).
The name Ziburys does exist as a family name, but I am not related.
I am not subscribed to footnote.com, but when I did a search on Ziburis, under the topic Naturalizations, there is Anna Ziburis in the Cleveland OH (Northern Ohio) that comes up, and it appears that her name is cross-referenced with the name Light. There is even a document with a photo, that I can only see in a very small version. You can view this small version for free, but you may want to consider getting the complete record.
I checked Footnote.com using my subscription. The naturalization paperwork for Anna Ziburis says she was born in Elberfeld, Germany on 16 November 1895. She emigrated to the U.S. via Quebec, Canada on 19 June 1906 (likely with her parents) aboard the SS Michigan. She entered the U.S. under the spelling of Anna Schyburis (Germanized spelling of the Lithuanian surname).
I then checked the 1930 census listing for the family in Cleveland, Ohio. I found Anna listed as "Anna Light", age 33, along with her sister Victoria Light, age 26 (born in Germany). They were living with their parents Joseph Ziburis, age 61, and Anna, age 59, both of whom were born in Lithuania. All four are listed as being naturlaized citizens.
I checked for the location of Elberfeld, Germany and found it in western Germany, just a few miles south of Essen Ruhr, Germany, where my Lithuanian-born grandfather worked before emigrating to the U.S. in 1911.
Many Lithuanians from the Suvalkija region of Lithuania (then occupied by Russia) were fluent in German since Germany bordered Suvalkija and they found employment at higher wages in Germany.
Anna is listed in the 1930 Census as an accountant and her sister as a stenographer. Their father is listed as a laborer. The 1920 Census also lists a daughter (Toma(sp?)) at age 10 in 1920.
The 1920 Census lists another ZIBURIS family from Lithuania who are living in New Haven, Connecticut. Included are:
Joseph Ziburis - age 40 - born Lithuania
Della - wife - age 28 - born Lithuania
Della - daughter - age 17 - born Connecticut
Isabelle - daughter - age 14 - born Connecticut
Joseph - age 9 - born Connecticut
Note that the mother is only 11 years older than the oldest child. Likely a recording error.
I checked the 1881 census under Light and Leight for Lancashire.
There was a family living in Liverpool and the head came from Poland (Which could mean Lithuania). He was a sugar worker and a lot of the Lithuanians worked in the sugar industry.
There is also a David Light (Poland) living in Manchester.
Your relative should be somewhere on the 1881,1891,1901,1911. You can search the 1881 on the IGI site for free.
I am searching for the Lithuanian family of two brothers Jonas and Tomas Norvilius that emigrated from Lithuania around the year 1903 to the United States. They were tenant farmers in Lithuania working around the Vilnius area before they came over to the US.
Eventually, Jonas Norvilius settled in Boston, MA. His name was changed to John Novillis. Tomas settled in the Detroit MI area. He changed his name to Thomas Norwell.
Any information would be appreciated. Please contact me by email.
A check of the online phone book for Lithuania does not have any listings for the surname spelled Norvilius, but has 77 for Norvilas and 7 for Norvilis (exluding all listings for married and single women, whose surnames have the endings "-iene", "-aite" and "-yte" respectively).
In the early 1900's, however, Lithuanian spelling had not yet been standardized, so it is entirely possible that the ending might be "-ius". The ending for an unmarried woman whose father's name ended in "-us" would be "-ute", so Miss Norviliute. The ending for married women is always the same: "-ene" so Mrs. Norviliene.
"Around Vilnius" would be like saying "around Buffalo" -- a lot of territory and several districts would be involved depending on how far from Vilnius and in what direction. Without added information like a village name, it will be very difficult to find relatives. You can check the online phone book yourself and cross check the names with the online Lithuanian map -- a bit of a chore, but doable. If you are not reasonably familiar with some basic Lithuanian and you want instructions on using these two web sites, either post a reply or send me an email.
I am emailing you (as you requested) the WW2 card info, but also posting it here.
John Norvilius age 59 (b.1883) in Boston MA. Contact person Lillian at same location. Born Uzvencio (likely Uzventis) Russia.
I did not find Jonas or Tomas on the Ellis Island data base, but if the WW2 card info matches your relative, you may be interested in a passenger recorded as Ludwig Narwills, 45, arrived 1904, from Uswendt, going to a brother in law in Worcester MA, name looks like Jan Jaudiszeus.
Per Anc.com: Jonas Norbulas age 22 arrived port of Boston on 7 Aug 1906 from Liverpool, England. The rest of this record (destination etc)is lined out. US Naturalization index lists: John Norvilius dob Mar 9, 1882, res 6 Milton Sy, Boston. Mass. Date is 15 May 1944, Cert # 6355872, Petiton #268876, 1985327. Hope this aids your search. Carl J
I need some assistance in locating my father's birthplace. He was born in 1902 and I have two (2) different spellings for his birthplace: (1) Jessusciszne, Lyde Wilna, Poland and, (2) Jasanseizna, Poland. His last place of residence before emigrating to the USA was Olkeniki, Poland which I now believe is Valkininkai, Lithuania. Since I am planning a visit to Lithuania in September 2010, I would like to confirm this location and possibly visit.
The present day province of Belarus named Lida (in Russian, Polish and Belarusian) is spelled Lyda in Lithuanian. During the Russian Empire from 1795 to 1918 it was part of the Vilnius (Wilna in German, Vilna in Russian, Wilno in Polish) province or gubernia. All the areas of present day Lithuania, Poland, and Belarus were once simply part of that Russian Empire. The divisions into gubernias did not correspond closely with the ethnic populations living within them. Many, if not most, illiterate peasants there were unaware of the political districting and controls exercised over them beyond perhaps the fact that they were subjects of the Russian Czar, or that they lived in a province named for a large town or city such as Grodno or Vilnius. The boundaries of these administrative divisions changed over time, but throughout the period of 1795 to the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, all these areas were simply ruled by Russia. Lida in modern Belarus was part of Poland from 1920-1939, in the Grodno Gubernia from 1801-1842, Vilnius Gubernia from 1842-1917.
After WWII, the newly independent Poland invaded and occupied the southern and eastern portion of the newly independent Lithuania and Belarus until 1939 -- including the city of Vilnius. So while the records showing your father's birthplace may say he was born in the Vilnius, Poland, those records (if accurate) would have to be from the period after 1922 or so.'
Of course, none of these changes affected the ethnic makekup of the populations living in these areas. It was very common for the populations to be highly mixed especially in the transition areas between Lithuanian, Polish, East Prussian (German), Belarusian, and Russian populations.
The key thing is to get the name of the village or town spelled in one of these languages. As it is, the double "ss" strikes me as very unlikely in any of these languages, so it is likely a mis-reading or mis-transcription of either a single "s" or the common Slavic "sz". It is also a commonplace to have certain letters in placenames mis-transcribed from handwritten documents, such as "u" and "s" and "n" or "J" and "S" and "T". It is for this very reason that Soundex searches were created, which basically disregard vowels or substitute each vowel into the various consonant combinations. So Jessusciszne and Jasanseizna may well be the very same place. The common features are the initial letter "J" (sometimes replaced by "Y" or even "I") followed by a vowel (vowels often shift between languages, e.g., Wilno/Wilna). The name could be any number of things and it would most useful if you were either to scan the records and send them to me or, if the records are online, to give us enough information to find them.
I did find village named and spelled Jancewicze on a 1928 map west of Lida and near it another named Jewsiewicze. You might try posting your message on the Lida Yahoo Group athttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/LidaRoots/(you'll have to join but it's free and easy).
Grass roots effort to get Pennsylvania death certificates more accessible
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There is a group organized to help get older death certificates (i.e., between 1906 and, say 1950's) available online as North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts and Michigan have done. Six other states have extracted data available online: Washington State, Alabama, Louisiana, New Mexico, Idaho and Florida. Pennsylvania has strict and what many genealogists believe unreasonable requirements for obtaining such certificates for deaths occurring well in the past.
Since so many Lithuanians settled and died in Pennsylvania and death certificates are often key documents in genealogy work, you might want to consider sending a letter or email or otherwise helping this group achieve its genealogical goals. Their web site is:http://users.rcn.com/timarg/PaHR-Access.htm and they have prepared several well written sample letters including some for those not living in or from Pennsylvania. If the effort is successful, it would be a major resource for those of us who are researching our Pennsylvania ancestors.
