Welcome to all my fellow Keidaners. Thanks for making the effort to
get on the relocated email list. I'm sorry for the inconvenience,
but I think we should be able to carry on here.

In fact there are some advantages to the current hosting
arrangement; for instance, it's possible to post photographs as well
as messages. If you click over on "Photos" to the left of the page,
you'll see a couple I just recently received. Ellen Cassedy of
Takoma Park, Md. spent part of last summer studying Yiddish in
Vilnius, and while in Lithuania she made a visit to Keidan, where
she snapped these pictures of the old synagogue complex. As you can
see, the Lithuanians have done some work on the buildings, which
they now use as an exhibition hall and an art school. According to
Ellen, they have historical material on display there, but, sadly,
have done very little to highlight or explain the town's past as a
predominantly Jewish community.

To quote from Ellen's note:
"The "winter synagogue" has been renovated, inside and out.  Outside
is a line of wooden statures in honor of potters, woodworkers, and
something about books -- Mikolas Dauksa? Danksa?  Very Christian-
looking.  Inside, a grand piano near where the ark would have been.
On the ark wall, a digitized picture, a melange of Jewish things.
On the walls, a photo exhibit, "Before and After" pix taken from the
exact same spot, many years apart.  NO sign of Jews, no Yiddish.
One old photo taken by M. Ioffe."

Ellen also forwarded the name and contact info for someone connected
to the current Kedainiai museum administration. I hope to contact
that person and hopefully will learn more about what's going on over
there, which I'll dutifully pass on.

Meanwhile, if anyone would like to open a discussion about any
aspect of Keidan, past or present, please feel free. The floor is
open.

All the best,

Andy Cassel

Shalom,

I think that the Synagogue's photo is of the "Shiva Kru'im"
synagogue, which wasn't the main one in Keidan, but one of many
others there. This one was really located in the "Shul-hoif".

If I don't have a mistake, Andy told us few years ago that
the "museum" is intended to be located in the Beis-Midrash, so I was
really surprised that the Lithuanians chose the nearby synagogue for
their museum.
I wonder what are their plans for the Beis-Midrash, that according to
the photo, is completely renewed.

Ben-Tsion Klibansky

Shalom Ben-Tsion, and thanks for your note.

The pictures from Ellen Cassedy are both from the former 'shulhoyf' -
- the main complex of religious buildings that were at the core of
Jewish Keidan. I think the one with the statues was the 'groyse
shul', also known as the 'kalte shul' because it was not heated and
was thus used only in the warmer months. My grandfather's story
about Simchas Torah describes the building in great detail, so I
guess they used it until after the High Holidays. The other building
is the 'bes medresh' or study house -- which was also a synagogue,
but was that also called the 'shiva kru'im'? I had thought that was
the name of one of the smaller 'shtiblekh' used by such minyans as
the gravediggers, tailors or former soldiers from the Czar's army.

Also, how would you translate 'shiva kru'im' into English? Is it
Seven Guests? And do you know the origin of that name? Is it a
reference to something in the Bible, or Talmud?

Best,

Andy

Andy,

"Shiva Kruim" are the seven people called to the Torah reading at the
Shabbath morning prayer. Usually, the reading is divided into seven parts,
but there is a possibility to call more than seven people; this synagogue's
rule required not to add more people. I don't know the origin of this
phrase, but it seems that it is not too ancient.
In your father's book, p. 25, he mentions a special habit used in this
synagogue.

I thought that the big shul in the shulhoyf was the Shiva Kruim one, as, if
I don't have a mistake, when I showed my late uncle its photograph (which I
took while visiting Keidan four years ago), he told me that this is the
Shiva Kruim (my grandfather and his father-in-law used to pray in Shiva
Kruim shul). Anyway, it wasn't the name of the Beis-Midrash.
When the Lithuanian Yeshivas escaped from Lithuanian Poland towards Vilna in
1939, the Lithuanian regime required that they leave Vilna and settle in the
smaller towns. The Mir Yeshiva settled in Keidan, and I believe that they
studied in this Beis-Midrash for about a year! (this Yeshiva was the only
one that was rescued with almost all its students, while passing through
Japan, and living in Shanghai for 5 years).

Ben-Tsion Klibansky


----- Original Message -----
From: awcassel <acassel@...>
To: <JewishKeidan@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2004 11:50 PM
Subject: [JewishKeidan] Re: Welcome


>
>
> Shalom Ben-Tsion, and thanks for your note.
>
> The pictures from Ellen Cassedy are both from the former 'shulhoyf' -
> - the main complex of religious buildings that were at the core of
> Jewish Keidan. I think the one with the statues was the 'groyse
> shul', also known as the 'kalte shul' because it was not heated and
> was thus used only in the warmer months. My grandfather's story
> about Simchas Torah describes the building in great detail, so I
> guess they used it until after the High Holidays. The other building
> is the 'bes medresh' or study house -- which was also a synagogue,
> but was that also called the 'shiva kru'im'? I had thought that was
> the name of one of the smaller 'shtiblekh' used by such minyans as
> the gravediggers, tailors or former soldiers from the Czar's army.
>
> Also, how would you translate 'shiva kru'im' into English? Is it
> Seven Guests? And do you know the origin of that name? Is it a
> reference to something in the Bible, or Talmud?
>
> Best,
>
> Andy
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Hello to all who've just rejoined us. Again, my apologies for any
inconvenience.

I just wanted to share a small discovery. My wife is reading a
memoir called "Stuffed" by Patricia Volk, whose family ran a
restaurant in Manhattan for many years. In a chapter describing her
grandfather, Jacob Volk, the following passage appears:

"[on his wedding day]mindful of the Orthodox tradition, he did not
forget the poorest of the poor, making donations to the Daughters of
Jacob, the Rabbi Jacob Joseph School, Machsikei Talmud Torah, Hebrew
Day Nursery, Keidaner Association Charity Fund, Tepheret Israel, the
Bronx Hospital and the New York Federation of Charities."

I'm not the first one to catch the connection between the Volk
memoir and Keidan. A couple of years back, Ada Green noticed the
following in an article in The Jewish Week in New York:

[Patricia Volk's] paternal great grandfather Sussman Volk introduced
pastrami to America and his son Jake, her grandfather, who founded a
demolition business, was eulogized in The New Yorker by E.B. White
as "the greatest wrecker of all time."

Ada went on to say:

Since Sussman VOLK is not a common name, I assume that the Sussman
VOLK and his son Jacob who are buried in Chevra Bnai Israel Anshe
Keidan in Brooklyn's Washington Cemetery are Patricia VOLK's ggf and
gf, respectively. Sussman VOLK, whose Hebrew name was Zusman ben
Yosef, died Feb. 12, 1909, age 57.

So, was pastrami introduced to America by a Keidaner? Who knows, but
I'm going to visit Katz's delicatessen on the Lower East Side in a
couple of weeks, and think about this as I bite into a lean one on
rye.

Cheers to all.

Andy

Folks,

Davida Handler has sent me news about a Jewish genealogical
conference next year in Las Vegas. I'm posting her note here for
your information, and in case anyone would like to go. . It's
addressed to "SIG leaders" but since we don't have a formal leader,
anyone who's interested is welcome to represent the Keidan group.

Best,

Andy Cassel

----------

Dear SIG Leader:

The 25th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy,
scheduled for July 10-15, 2005 at the Flamingo in Las Vegas, Nevada,
will be here before we know it. We expect that because Las Vegas is
such a tourist destination, it is likely to be one of the largest
gatherings ever of Jewish genealogists. The Jewish Genealogy Society
of Southern Nevada (JGSNV) is working hard to also make it the best
ever.

The conference program will emphasize educational and networking
opportunities during the day, leaving the evenings free to
experience all that Las Vegas has to offer.  Planned talks will be
grouped by theme and we will have panels of experts for Q & A.

Because our primary concern is to make the program responsive to
your needs, we are turning to you for your help and suggestions.
Please respond to the following 7 items as soon as possible:

1.   SIG leaders are the experts in your fields. Please help us
ensure that the program includes talks of interest to your members,
by suggesting topics or speakers.
2.   Do you plan to bring a foreign archivist to the conference?
3.   If you are bringing an archivist, would you like to set up
individual sessions for researchers to consult with that archivist?
4.   Are you interested in sponsoring a breakfast or a luncheon? If
so, please identify your 1st and 2nd choices for scheduling the
either one. Prices have not yet been finalized but will be in
accordance with past conferences. We can arrange kosher meals if we
know about this well in advance; there may be an additional cost. We
have space reserved for 10 breakfasts and 10 luncheons.  We will
make every effort to accommodate your wishes but will need to know
as soon as possible in order to know approximately how many people
may attend each function so that we may hold the rooms.
5.   Please let us know if you will require a room for a business
meeting, networking session or other SIG meeting and if so, your
scheduling preferences.
6.   We would like to invite you to participate in a "SIG Fair" that
is available at no cost to you. The SIG Fair will take place on one
or two days during the conference (depending on the number of
participating SIGs). We will provide a skirted table and display
easel for each participating SIG in a large, convenient area in the
hotel. You will supply resource material, brochures, newsletters,
and other information, and display maps, banners and other visual
materials related to your SIG and to your geographic region and
topics of interest. You will also schedule one or more SIG members
to be available at your table to discuss your SIG and the resources
you provide. We envision this as a great opportunity for conference
attendees to learn about the benefits of SIG membership and to ask
questions in an informal atmosphere about conducting research in
your region of interest, and for your SIG members to meet and
network.
7.   Is there anything else we should be aware of to help you and
your members have a great experience at the conference?

To expedite our planning it is necessary to let us know if you want
to sponsor a SIG breakfast, luncheon or business meeting no later
than November 15. We will also appreciate receiving your ideas about
speakers and topics by November 15. Please provide all other
requested information as soon as possible but no later than February
1.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to help us make next
summer's conference especially informative and exciting. We look
forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Davida Noyek Handler
President, LitvakSIG
Conference SIGs Coordinator

To all: My apologies. Some spammer apparently infiltrated our group,
resulting in that last message. It won't happen again, as I've now
set the list to require that all messages be cleared before they are
distributed.

Best,

Andy

Dear Keidaners,I am trying to trace anyone with the family name
POLATINSKY.

I would be pleased to hear from anyone who may have any information
regarding the family POLATINSKY.

My Late grandfather (Avraham ben Elihahu Z"L) and late grandmother
(Rachel bat Dov Z"L) lived in Kiedan or in the area (Podburk??)they
had a daughter Anna Z"L and four sons Elihahu (Alec) Z"L ,Salman
Gershon (Solly) Z"L ,Dov Z"L and Mendel Z"L.

The brothers Alec ,Solly and Mendel all emmigrated to South Africa,
(approx 1915-20),Dov and Anna lived with their parents in Magdiel
Israel.Dov (Palatinsky)left to study in Italy and lived in Rome.Anna
married and moved to America (New York?)with her husband.

We had an aunt living in New York, Bertha Kaplan Albam Z"L.Some
names associated with the family are Kaplan (cousins Bertha and
Berka)and Shapiro ( an uncle, Avraham "Abe" who lived in
Johannesburg - Lion Trading Co).

If there is any one with any information concerning the family I
would be pleased to hear from them.

With Thanks,
Arnold Polatinsky

--- arnx44 <arnx44@...> wrote:
Hi Arnold!
I think we have communicated before. I am Marvin
PALATT. Although my Family name was Palatinsky, my
father's "papers" all read Palatinski, so I have been
using that spelling to see if anybody can identify.
The first names of your family members and some of
mine are the same, as well as some of the locations.
I find it very curious to say the least.  My father's
uncle Alec did go to South Africa but then came here
to Los Angeles to join his brother Louis who had left
Keidan and gone to New York all the way back in the
1920s!  His Jewish name was Leib Shmuel or perhaps
Shmuel Leib.  These two brothers were born in Keidan
around 1900 or shortly after.  Louis was still in his
teens when he left Keidan for New York and changed his
name to PALATT.  His plan was to bring the family over
including their third brother, my grandfather,
Menachem Mendel Palatinsky and his family, but the
story goes that my great-grandmother refused to leave
her home for a "treife land".  She died of natural
causes just before the holocaust came to Lithuania,
and all of her desendents there were killed except my
father, Meyer Yitzchok, or Max.
Uncle Louis had moved from New York to Los Angeles by
then and after the war found my dad's name on a list
of surviving DPs.  He brought my father here to Los
Angeles where he lived until his death in 1983 as MAX
PALATT.  NOW..........that is the story I know.
The story I SUSPECT is a bit different.  I think that
the Palatinsky men of my grandfather's generation were
possibly a bit more complex and may have had multiple
"partners" in New York and South Africa.  This
lifestyle may have been what disuaded my
great-grandmother and her son, my grandfather, from
joining them in the new world.
The woman I knew as Alec's wife was a lady by the name
of Helen.  They had one son, Michael.  Michael had run
away from home and changed his name by the mid 70s.  I
somehow doubt that this was Alec's "first" venture at
a family.  Louis was an infamous womanizer, and had
possibly come to California to escape the wrath of a
woman (that, I heard from my mother).  There is
another link here in New York.  Alec and Louis had a
sister, DORA in New York.  I don't know her married
name or the name of any of her children.  To me here
in L.A. it was as if this branch of the family didn't
exist.  Only Louis visited them once a year in New
York, and that's it.
My son, Isaac Palatt is now at art school in New York
and is signing his work "ISAAC PALATINSKI"
I have used GOOGLE to look up other PALATT listings,
and there are a few on the east-coast and get
this.......all in the arts.  As for me, I am a
professional violinist and instructor of the violin.
Born in 1952 in Los Angeles to MAX PALATT and his
wife, ROSE POSNER PALATT.  My mom's maiden name was
Aisakovitz, and her second cousin Norman Camber is a
member of this group.  That's how I got here!
Now, this is ONE LONG LETTER.
Your thoughts?
Cheers,
Marvin
>
>
> Dear Keidaners,I am trying to trace anyone with the
> family name
> POLATINSKY.
>
> I would be pleased to hear from anyone who may have
> any information
> regarding the family POLATINSKY.
>
> My Late grandfather (Avraham ben Elihahu Z"L) and
> late grandmother
> (Rachel bat Dov Z"L) lived in Kiedan or in the area
> (Podburk??)they
> had a daughter Anna Z"L and four sons Elihahu (Alec)
> Z"L ,Salman
> Gershon (Solly) Z"L ,Dov Z"L and Mendel Z"L.
>
> The brothers Alec ,Solly and Mendel all emmigrated
> to South Africa,
> (approx 1915-20),Dov and Anna lived with their
> parents in Magdiel
> Israel.Dov (Palatinsky)left to study in Italy and
> lived in Rome.Anna
> married and moved to America (New York?)with her
> husband.
>
> We had an aunt living in New York, Bertha Kaplan
> Albam Z"L.Some
> names associated with the family are Kaplan (cousins
> Bertha and
> Berka)and Shapiro ( an uncle, Avraham "Abe" who
> lived in
> Johannesburg - Lion Trading Co).
>
> If there is any one with any information concerning
> the family I
> would be pleased to hear from them.
>
> With Thanks,
> Arnold Polatinsky
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>




__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
All your favorites on one personal page – Try My Yahoo!
http://my.yahoo.com

Arnold, Marvin,

Interesting stories! Your family memories are a good example of how diverse
and widespread the Keidan community is. I've checked the records I have, and
I find that among the members of the Keidaner Association of New York in
1930 is listed "I. Polatinsky"

	 Further, In the Keidaner Society plot at Montefiore Cemetery in NY are
stones with the following inscriptions:

Isaac Polatinsky
Oct. 5, 1947, age 73
Yitzchak son of Avraham
beloved h and devoted f
husband of Annie
father of James

Annie Polatinsky
March 30, 1963, age 80
beloved m, dear gm
Chasha daughter of Tzvi Hersch
wife of Isaac
mother of James

James Polatinsky
Yakov son of Yitzchak Pinchas
July 16, 1913 - July 5, 1916
son of Isaac and Annie

Hope this is helpful.

all the best,

Andy Cassel
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
All your favorites on one personal page  Try My Yahoo!
http://my.yahoo.com







Yahoo! Groups Links

Fellow Keidaners:

I've been asked to post the following message by Olga Zabludoff of
Washington, DC. Please email her at oz@... with any
specific questions. (General comments may be posted here, of
course.)

Be well,

Andy Cassel
-------------------


Good news for all Keidaners!

Of the hundreds of Litvak shtetlach our ancestors once inhabited,
vital records have survived from only 101 towns.  The shtetl Keidan
is one of these. It is further distinguished by having among the
earliest vital records in the entire collection--not surprising
since Keidan's Jewish community dates back to the late 15th century.

Keidan's birth records begin in 1822 and continue through 1895
(though not consecutive); marriage records—1838-1895; divorce
records—1854-1895; death records—1855-1895. Both the number of
records and the years they span comprise a goldmine of data for your
family trees.

The records are here; the translators are waiting. All we need are
the funds. The JewishGen Family Finder lists 140 individuals
researching 250 surnames in Keidan. In addition there are a good
number of researchers whose ancestors lived in Keidan at one period
or another even if it wasn't their primary ancestral town.

We have reason to feel proud of our connections to Keidan. It was
there in 1727 that the astonishing six-year-old boy from Vilna was
brought to be educated. That boy became known as the Vilna Gaon, and
the term "Litvak"  was coined to denote his followers. The renowned
teacher of the Vilna Gaon was David Katzenellenbogen, rabbi of
Keidan and head of the region. The 18th century doesn't seem so long
ago when we see on  the JGFF
that Igal Katzenellenbogen, an Israeli descendant of the illustrious
Keidan rabbi, is one of our fellow researchers.

If all of us Kedainers support this vital records translation
effort, we can turn around the project by the end of 2005. We have
all experienced the agony of waiting long periods for results—
whether for documents and information from archives, from hired
researchers abroad, or postings on the ALD. Only through a unified,
timely response can we achieve the results each one of us craves. As
the volunteer shtetl coordinator for Keidan, I am launching this
important drive in the hope that it will spark the project into
action.

Donations can be made by clicking on
http://www.jewishgen.org/litvak/donor.htm
Fill in KEDAINIAI under Vital Records Indexing Project and the
amount of your donation. A $100 contribution entitles you to receive
the translations as soon as they become available. Please e-mail me
with any questions or comments. I shall also contact all Keidaners
personally as the project gains momentum.

Olga Zabludoff
Washington, DC

The website does not permit one to enter a shtetl name under the vital
records section ...


----- Original Message -----
From: <JewishKeidan@yahoogroups.com>
To: <JewishKeidan@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2005 4:19 AM
Subject: [JewishKeidan] Digest Number 9




There is 1 message in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

       1. Keidan Vital Records
            From: "awcassel" <acassel@...>


________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Message: 1
    Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2005 23:19:35 -0000
    From: "awcassel" <acassel@...>
Subject: Keidan Vital Records



Fellow Keidaners:

I've been asked to post the following message by Olga Zabludoff of
Washington, DC. Please email her at oz@... with any
specific questions. (General comments may be posted here, of
course.)

Be well,

Andy Cassel
-------------------


Good news for all Keidaners!

Of the hundreds of Litvak shtetlach our ancestors once inhabited,
vital records have survived from only 101 towns.  The shtetl Keidan
is one of these. It is further distinguished by having among the
earliest vital records in the entire collection--not surprising
since Keidan's Jewish community dates back to the late 15th century.

Keidan's birth records begin in 1822 and continue through 1895
(though not consecutive); marriage records-1838-1895; divorce
records-1854-1895; death records-1855-1895. Both the number of
records and the years they span comprise a goldmine of data for your
family trees.

The records are here; the translators are waiting. All we need are
the funds. The JewishGen Family Finder lists 140 individuals
researching 250 surnames in Keidan. In addition there are a good
number of researchers whose ancestors lived in Keidan at one period
or another even if it wasn't their primary ancestral town.

We have reason to feel proud of our connections to Keidan. It was
there in 1727 that the astonishing six-year-old boy from Vilna was
brought to be educated. That boy became known as the Vilna Gaon, and
the term "Litvak"  was coined to denote his followers. The renowned
teacher of the Vilna Gaon was David Katzenellenbogen, rabbi of
Keidan and head of the region. The 18th century doesn't seem so long
ago when we see on  the JGFF
that Igal Katzenellenbogen, an Israeli descendant of the illustrious
Keidan rabbi, is one of our fellow researchers.

If all of us Kedainers support this vital records translation
effort, we can turn around the project by the end of 2005. We have
all experienced the agony of waiting long periods for results-
whether for documents and information from archives, from hired
researchers abroad, or postings on the ALD. Only through a unified,
timely response can we achieve the results each one of us craves. As
the volunteer shtetl coordinator for Keidan, I am launching this
important drive in the hope that it will spark the project into
action.

Donations can be made by clicking on
http://www.jewishgen.org/litvak/donor.htm
Fill in KEDAINIAI under Vital Records Indexing Project and the
amount of your donation. A $100 contribution entitles you to receive
the translations as soon as they become available. Please e-mail me
with any questions or comments. I shall also contact all Keidaners
personally as the project gains momentum.

Olga Zabludoff
Washington, DC










________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________



------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links




------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fellow Keidaners:

On February 8 Alan Brigish posted a message concerning the LitvakSIG
online donor form. He had discovered that the form "does not permit
one to enter a shtetl name under the Vital Records section." Alan's
post was in response to my February 2 message encouraging
contributions to the Keidan Vital Records Tranaslation effort.

I contacted Richard Hoffman, LitvakSIG treasurer, about the problem
Alan had identified. Richard told me the webmaster had already been
informed and he hoped the problem would soon be fixed. In the
meanwhile, donors are asked to fill in KEDAINIAI by hand after
printing out the donor form. We certainly don't need obstacles to
block the good intentions of contributors.

While I have not yet personally contacted those who have already
contributed to the project, I want to thank you all very much. The
treasurer told me that the fund-raising has been quite successful so
far. I really want to meet the goal.

Please go to http://www.jewishgen.org/litvak/donor.htm to help push
the project forward.

Olga Zabludoff

For the group's information. Olga



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

25th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy
           July 10-15, 2005  Las Vegas, Nevada
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LITVAKSIG Digest for Friday, February 11, 2005.

1. Vital Records Indexing Project Donor Form in Excel Format

---------------------------------------------------------------------
-

Subject: Vital Records Indexing Project Donor Form in Excel Format
From: "Richard H. Hoffman/LitvakSIG Treasurer/Membership Chair"
<litvaksigmembership@...>
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 21:50:12 -0800
X-Message-Number: 1

To assist those who are interested in the Vital Records Indexing
Project, I
have re-created the list of towns in a 3 column Excel worksheet as an
expansion of the portion of the donor form.

If you are interested in receiving this worksheet by e-mail, please
e-mail
litvaksigmembership@... and I will reply to the individual
e-mails
with the atttached form.  Requests should not be made to the
digest.  We
hope to have this form available for download in the not too distant
future.

For general questions regarding the project, please contact Joel
Ratner,
at joelrat1@...

Richard H. Hoffman
LitvakSIG Treasurer/Membership Chair
litvaksigmembership@...
www.jewishgen.org/litvak/

Dear Fellow Keidaners:

February has been a good month for the acquisition of funds for the
Keidan VRI Project. I wish to thank those individuals who have made
contributions to the fund. Not only are the dollars important, but
it is the display of confidence in the project that I find both
energizing and rewarding. We have now reached 10% of our goal.

LitvakSIG has about 18,000 vital records from the Jewish community
of Keidan spanning the 19th century: birth, marriage, divorce and
death records. It takes a good deal of money to create an English-
language searchable database for 18,000 records written in a variety
of languages that most of us can't read. With the exception of
paying translators, all the other tasks involved in this project are
being performed by volunteers. This appeal is not for a cause, not
for a mitzvah. It is for an effort in which the contributors are the
beneficiaries.

A $100 donation entitles the donor to receive the translated records
in Excel spreadsheets as soon as they are available. Donors have the
option of making lesser contributions periodically and eventually
totaling  $100 to qualify for early results. Contributions of any
amount are welcome, and the records will be submitted for posting to
the All Lithuania Database (ALD) without delay.

Please help make March even better than February. If this project is
to be completed by the end of 2005 (that is my aim), it is going to
require a unified response. This is all about UNITY. We can't expect
the next guy to support a project of this scope.

The LitvakSIG donor form is accessed by clicking on
http://www.jewishgen.org/litvak/donor.htm
Please fill in "Kedainiai" manually under Vital Records Indexing
Project. Or you can email me to request the new Excel format VRI
donor form created by LitvakSIG treasurer Richard H. Hoffman.

Thanks for your support.

Olga Zabludoff
Coordinator, Keidan VRI Project
oz@...

Dear Fellow Keidaners:

As I was thinking of something new and different to say, two pieces
of news came to me.

The first was an email from Sam Schleman. He has already contributed
generously to our Vital Records Indexing project, but he expressed
the wish to help generate more funds to expedite the progress of
this effort.

Sam had tallied up his known living relatives and came up with some
200--all of them descendants of Keidaners. "What I would like to do
is to send out an email to all these relatives, describing the
Keidan Vital Records project and asking them to make contributions
to the project," wrote Sam.  "Of course, if other Kedainers were to
also do this, we might raise additional [monies] for the project."
Sam went on to explore the possibility of allocating the individual
contributions of his relatives to a cumulative Schleyerman Family
Fund.

As I reflected on Sam's touching gesture I realized  he was
responding to the ancient call for Zamlers.

In the 19th century the great Jewish historian Simon Dubnow issued
an appeal for Zamlers  to round up communal records and historical
documents in the remote shtetlach of the Russian Pale. Were it not
for these Zamlers, the "History of the Jews in Russia and Poland"
and "The World History of the Jewish People" might never have been
written.

When YIVO was founded in Vilna in 1925, hundreds of Zamlers answered
their call, collecting documents and records for the YIVO archives.
And much more recently Aaron Lansky, the founder of the National
Yiddish Book Center, said he owes his greatest success in collecting
1.5 million Yiddish books to his team of  energetic Zamlers.

In Yiddish  "zamler" means "a collector." The ancient Zamlers
traveled on foot or, if they were lucky, by horse and buggy. Today's
Zamlers can network on the internet.

If the Keidan VRI project is going to blossom in 2005, we need the
help of Zamlers. You can be a contributor, you can be a Zamler, or
you can be both. If you select "Both," you will  immediately qualify
for the "Mentsh of the Month" award.

As Joel Ratner has already posted on the LitvakSIG digest, a
translator has been assigned to the Keidan vital records, and work
is about to begin. But the challenge will be to keep the translator
translating. We have sufficient monies to pay for the translation of
an initial batch of records. But thousands more records are
waiting for your funding. Make it happen. Email me to receive the
easy VRI donor form and send it with your contribution to:
LITVAKSIG, Inc., Department 77-9253, Chicago, IL 60678-9253.
And then go out and be a Zamler!

Olga Zabludoff, Coordinator
Kedainiai/Keidan VRI Project
oz@...

I am searching for any information on the family of Sam
(Yehoshua) Weinstein. In the Keidaner cemetary in Brooklyn his
tombstone indicates that he was the son of Zalkin, but I can find no
trace of Zalkin Weinstein. To complicate matters I was once told by
an aunt that Weinstein was an assumed name.Coincidentally, I have
been in contact with another(unrelated) researcher who had the
identical story, i.e. a Keidaner Weinstein family where the name was
assumed.Probably the name was changed from Smith.

       On an unrelated relationship matter,I was named after my
grandfather Yehoshua. However my parents named me Yeshua and I never
knew about Yehoshua Weinstein until my geneology search. As one
might guess, my hebrew school teacher insisted that Yeshua was not
my name. Just as Yeshua was a shortened version of Yehoshua in
biblical times, is it possible that the name was shortened among
eastern european Jews despite the historical concerns.

                                    Josh Weinstein, NYC

Josh,

Thanks for your note, and welcome to the Keidan group. There was a
Sam Weinstein listed as a member of the Keidaner Association of New
York in 1930, and I see the name again (along with those of some
family members) in the database of tombstones in New York
cemeteries. If you don't already have all this information, I'd be
glad to send it along. As for the name change possibility, have you
tried researching the naturalization papers of Sam or Zalkin
Weinstein, which might lead you back to the manifest of the ship
they came over on? It's possible you might get some clues there.
Best of luck with your research, and do keep us all posted on your
progress.

Andy Cassel



                                   Josh Weinstein, NYC

Andy,

        I greatly appreciate your efforts. I was
familiar with the other resources. My dad Ben
Weinstein as well as members of my grandmother's
family(Lubetkin descendents of Dov,Izhik Ha Levi) were
also in the Keidaner Society. It looks as though I
have come to the end of the line since any relevant
records would involve nineteenth century Lithuanian
sources, some of which I have already reviewed.

          I should mention that I am conducting this
search in conjunction with having my dna tested.
Familytree dna is an excellent resource for family
searches. They have a fairly large database with many
Jewish samples that can help identify extant but
unknown relatives provided a surname connection is
established.

                               Thanks again,

                                   Josh
--- awcassel <acassel@...> wrote:
>
>
> Josh,
>
> Thanks for your note, and welcome to the Keidan
> group. There was a
> Sam Weinstein listed as a member of the Keidaner
> Association of New
> York in 1930, and I see the name again (along with
> those of some
> family members) in the database of tombstones in New
> York
> cemeteries. If you don't already have all this
> information, I'd be
> glad to send it along. As for the name change
> possibility, have you
> tried researching the naturalization papers of Sam
> or Zalkin
> Weinstein, which might lead you back to the manifest
> of the ship
> they came over on? It's possible you might get some
> clues there.
> Best of luck with your research, and do keep us all
> posted on your
> progress.
>
> Andy Cassel
>
>
>
>                                   Josh Weinstein,
> NYC
>
>
>
>
>
>
>



__________________________________
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Dear Fellow Keidaners:

I am pleased to report that a translator has already gone to work on
the Keidan vital records. We are very fortunate in having this
particular translator assigned to our records. My early contacts
with him leave me with the impression that he is not only a highly
professional translator but also a slavish perfectionist. A New York
City professional librarian, he is well honed in the Library of
Congress standards for Russian and Polish transliteration. In
addition to his credentials, his fees are affordable. I feel our
project is off to a fantastic start.

But we have a long way to go. To date 90% of our funds have come
from 10% of Keidan researchers. The donors have been generous and
have made it possible for translations to begin. It is my hope that
our translator will stay with this job until it is completed so that
the project will not suffer from disruption and too many cooks. If
the 90% of potential donors who have not yet participated rise to
the occasion, our project will be fully funded.

$100 contributors will receive the translated records as soon as
they are proofed and verified. All contributions are welcome and are
needed. Please don't be apathetic. Help keep the momentum going.
Flag this message and write your check.

Contributions to LitvakSIG http://www.jewishgen.org/litvak/donor.htm
by check or credit card are tax-deductible as provided by law.  Mail
contributions to LITVAKSIG, inc., Department 77-9253, Chicago, IL
60678-9253. Contribution forms may be faxed to 661/299-9198. Please
email me for the easy donor form.

Olga Zabludoff
Keidan VRI coordinator
oz@...

Dear Keidaners:

The good news keeps coming--this time in the form of a most unusual
donation from Ben-Tsion Klibansky who lives in Israel. Ben-Tsion has
donated to the Vital Records Indexing (VRI) project the English
translations of ten years of  Jewish vital records from Keidan--six
complete sets of birth records and four complete years of marriage
records. In short, a goldmine.

In 1999 Ben-Tsion, who was born in Vilna in 1960, spent three weeks
at the Lithuanian State Historical Archives copying records (which
he subsequently translated) for his personal research. His father
and grandfather had been born in Keidan; the family moved to Kovna
in the 1930s. Ben-Tsion's father survived the Shoah by a twist of
destiny. A week before the Nazis invaded Lithuania in June 1941, he
was deported to Siberia by the Soviets.

Our project is saving a good deal of money by acquiring ten years of
translations, for which we thank Ben-Tsion deeply. But our need for
funds is now greater than ever because we have discovered that the
volume of our Keidan vital records is much more extensive than the
original calculations. We had estimated 18,000 records. That figure
has now escalated for two reasons: the Keidan records span into the
year 1914 instead of ending at 1895, which had been the original
finding. We have also discovered that many of the pages of records
contain far greater numbers of entries than the original estimate of
four entries per page. (Some of our birth records are twenty to a
page.)

Our translator, whom we are so fortunate to have, thanks to Joel
Ratner, is busily working on our treasure trove. But we must keep
the funds coming in if the project is to blossom to completion. It
is not beyond our reach. We can accomplish the goal if all Keidaners
are willing to be counted.

Contributions to LitvakSIG  http://www.jewishgen.org/litvak/donor.htm
by check or credit card are tax-deductible as provided by law.  Mail
contributions to LITVAKSIG, Inc., File 50194, Los Angeles, CA 90074-
0194. Contribution forms may be faxed to 661/299-9198. Please
indicate KEDAINIAI for your VRI contribution.

Olga Zabludoff, Coordinator
Kedainiai/Keidan VRI Project

I am searching for family roots and information of my father
  born 1902 in Kaidanai.  name Chaim Elya Zlotnick
   His Father--- Eliezer Zlotnik
His Mother----Feiges-Etos Zlotnik
    Appreciate any information
        Cecil Zlotnick

Dear Cecil,

Sorry, there is no obvious connection. You might look
at discussion groups at jewishgen or go directly to
the lithuanian archives(see messages at jewishkeidan).
best wishes in your search.

                                 Josh Weinstein


--- cz746 <zloti@...> wrote:
> I am searching for family roots and information of
> my father
>  born 1902 in Kaidanai.  name Chaim Elya Zlotnick
>   His Father--- Eliezer Zlotnik
>
> His Mother----Feiges-Etos Zlotnik
>    Appreciate any information
>        Cecil Zlotnick
>
>
>
>
>



__________________________________
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I am searching for family roots and information of my father
born 1902 in Kaidanai.  name Chaim Elya Zlotnick
  His Father--- Eliezer Zlotnik                                       
His Mother----Feiges-Etos Zlotnik  
   Appreciate any information
       Cecil Zlotnick

-----Original Message-----
From: JewishKeidan@yahoogroups.com [mailto:JewishKeidan@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Morris Mirels
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 2:00 PM
To: keidan Society
Subject: [JewishKeidan] visit to keidan
Importance: High

I am planning a visit to Russia, and would like to include Keidan, as my mother was born there, her maiden name was Markunsky, and they left there  about 1920, I need to know if it would be worthwhile, is there anything left to see,and if so what, and who to contact.

Thanking you in advance.

Morris, 

----- Original Message -----

From: A. Cassel

To: JewishKeidan@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 5:12 AM

Subject: RE: [JewishKeidan] visit to keidan

Morris,

 

There is plenty to see in Keidan, and I believe you would find a visit there extremely worthwhile. Although it's been 10 years since I visited there, the experience remains a treasured highlight. Some of our other members can doubtless give you more recent information, but I can suggest a good guide who knows Keidan well and can show you around: Regina Kopilevich at miregina@... . Also it would probably be worth it to contact the director of the local Kedainiai museum, who has been involved with restoring the old synagogue buildings there. The last name I have is Rimantas Zirgulis, at email muziejus@...itel.net . If you have further questions or want additional contacts, email or call me.

 

All the best,

 

Andy Cassel

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: JewishKeidan@yahoogroups.com [mailto:JewishKeidan@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Morris Mirels
Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 2:00 PM
To: keidan Society
Subject: [JewishKeidan] visit to keidan
Importance: High

I am planning a visit to Russia, and would like to include Keidan, as my mother was born there, her maiden name was Markunsky, and they left there  about 1920, I need to know if it would be worthwhile, is there anything left to see,and if so what, and who to contact.

Thanking you in advance.

Morris, 

----- Original Message -----

From: Olga Zabludoff

To: JewishKeidan@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 1:14 PM

Subject: Re: [JewishKeidan] family roots

Dear Cecil:

 

I am coordinating a LitvakSIG project, the goal of which is to translate all of the Jewish vital records from Kedainiai/Keidan. We have birth records for 1902. They have not yet been indexed and obviously not yet translated. I will take note of your Zlotnick family names and will let you know if they appear in our records. We have everything that the Lithuanian State Historical Archives has as far as Keidan vital records. . The Mormon Church filmed the records at the Lithuanian Archives, and LitvakSIG acquired the complete sets of records from the Mormons.

 

Olga Zabludoff

Washington, DC

oz@...

cz746 <zloti@...> wrote:

I am searching for family roots and information of my father
born 1902 in Kaidanai.  name Chaim Elya Zlotnick
  His Father--- Eliezer Zlotnik                                       
His Mother----Feiges-Etos Zlotnik  
   Appreciate any information
       Cecil Zlotnick

---

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