ShtetLinks

Uzpaliai, Lithuania

Uzpaliai, known to our ancestors as Ushpol, is a small village in the northeastern corner of modern-day Lithuania. Its one of those towns that you would barely notice as you passed through. But it was once home to several hundred Jewish people, my family among them.   I hope to provide some information about Ushpol, so that the Ushpol that once was, might exist again, at least in our memories.
If you have any comments or materials to share, please contact me at uzpaliai@lcantor.org.

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(photographs courtesy of Linda Cantor)

Uzpaliai

References

Please note: The spelling of names and town names are copied exactly as they appear in each source.

Where Once We Walked by Gary Mokotoff and Sallyann Amdur Sack.  Teaneck, NJ:  Avotaynu, Inc., 1991.

Uzpaliai, Lith.  (Oshpol, Uschpol, Uzpalis); pop. 551; 114 km. N of Vilnius; 55° 39' /25° 35';
References to Ushpol are found in:
HSL - Hebrew Subscription Lists by Berl Kagan, New York:   Ktav Publishing, 1975
JGFF - JewishGen Family Finder
YL - Yahudit Lita by R. Hasman, D.Lipec, et al. Tel Aviv: 1967

Uzpaliai in History 

Lithuanian Jewish Communities  by Nancy Schaumburg and Stuart Schoenburg. New York: Garland Publishing, 1991

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, Editor in Chief Shmuel Spector, Consulting Editor Geoffrey Wigoder, New York University Press, New York, 2001.
Utena Encyclopedia  

  Uzpaliai in Photographs 

Ushpol that was - Photos of Ushpol in the 1920's and 1930's 
People in Ushpol - 1920's and 1930's 
Making a living in Ushpol - 1920's and 1930's
Cemetery - Look at photos old and new 
Uzpaliai in 2007

Map Quest - View location via MapQuest

 or view via Multimap.com
Look at an 1830 map 

(Map provided by Vitalijus J. Karalius, who has been graciously helping us with information about Uzpaliai.  You can find this map on a Lithuanian map website.)

Holocaust Victims - Names of almost 300 victims of the Holocaust in Uzpaliai  

Memoirs of Yakov Kopelansky - Read Yakov's fascinating description of life in Uzpaliai  

1930 Lithuanian Telephone Book                   

Ushpoler Benevolent Association of New York 

Burials at Baron Hirsch Cemetery, Staten Island, NY   

Incorporation Papers

People and date are unknown
(Photo courtesy of Yakov Kopelansky)

Archival Records
1.  The Vilnius Archives holds 1858 and 1874 Revision Lists for Ushpol  but have no vital records. 

This is a sample of the information provided by the Revision Lists -- the name of the head of household, his father's name, his age at the last census, his current age, and the names and relationships of all family members residing with him, males and females listed on opposite pages.

  
To look at the family names listed in these Revision Lists, click on the following links:

Index to the 1858 Uzpaliai Revision List

Index to the 1874 Uzpaliai Revision List

2.  Kaunas Archives Records

I've obtained records for my family from the following record groups:

1846 Candle Tax List

1858 Rabbi's Electors List

1877 Box Tax List

These do not provide much information beyond name, but in many cases, are the only available evidence that a person lived in the town in a particular year. 
3. Other Uzpaliai Records
There are no extant vital records for Uzpaliai. The following records, which involve Uzpaliai people, were located by Ann Rabinowitz, in her research on Kupiskis and South Africa.

1924-1929 Immigration Records to South Africa

BERKALIS, Jossel, male, age 36, born 1888, from Uzpaliai, going to cousin Max Back, 6a Geranium Street, Johannesburg, arriving on the steamship Dunluce Castle, 12/10/1924.
FISHER, Abram, Male, age 26, born 1899, from Uzpaliai, going to brother J. Fisher, Box 37, Laingsburg, arriving on the steamship Garth, 12/13/1925.
ORDMAN, Naftol, male, age 18, born 1910, from Uzpaliai, going to uncle A. Nathanson, Gwanda, arriving on the steamship Dunluce Castle, July 20, 1928.
Records from Rokiskis and Kupiskis vital records     
Rokiskis
Kupiskis

Last revised:  February 22, 2008
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Copyright, 2008 L.Cantor