Shtetl Links: Lyakhovichi

Despite the diligent efforts of Dr. Lamdan, nobody has yet found the Lyakhovichi 1805 Revision List and the 1795 Revision List has been equally elusive. (Though in May 2008, his investigations look particularly hopeful, we will keep you informed on the discovery progress) The 1795 List which was a Russian record recorded in Polish, would be an invaluable look at our community. But we would probably find that many of those who were present in the 1784 Grand Duchy of Lithuania Census and were also recognizable in the 1811 Revision List, were not in town in 1795. The 1805 registry of those who would keep taverns and wanted to be registered as Lyakhovichi meschanin showed that a huge percentage had fled the area during the period just before and after the Third Partition. When Russia finally claimed all of Poland, many of those who had helped defend Poland's cities, found it advantageous to be elsewhere when the Russians rolled in. The Taverner registry suggested that many of them had fled just fifteen miles north to the nearby community of Stvolovichi where 1795's Revision List, purportedly recorded many. But sooner than might have happened in other communities, Lyakhovichi Jews were encouraged to return. The nobleman who had owned the town last, had owned it for too short a time to make a notable impression on its Jews, but his support of Russia made a lasting impression on both Poles and Russians. He was hung by Poland as a traitor, but his widow received recognition from Russia for his services. Her brother Felix Potocki was made a general in the Russian armies, and the widow received the property and income from a town, that in Jewish population at least, was half the size of the important city of Slutsk. All of which meant that she wanted her Jews to come home and get back to work making money for her and that she could promise them they would be unmolested by the Russians. Still, we should look for the 1795 and 1805 Revision Lists for Stvolovichi to find Lechovichers, as well.

The transition of Lyakhovichi to Russian rule may have created some documentation in less obvious places, including those of the Russian military and the Russian intelligence services, which were having an important military facility handed to them by the head of the Lithuanian armies - Kossowski, who owned Lyakhovichi. it is unlikely that specific Jews are named in any correspondence, surveys, battle plans, et al, but maps have noted who was the owner or lessor of specific structures in an army's plan. Teresa Potocki Kossowski's widow's portion might have included an inventory, supporting documents for her estate claims might list those whose leased specific privileges in the town. Imperial Russian Records of the late eighteenth century are entirely unexplored. I invite you to help us find knowledgeable people, reference materials, and images, that we should reference in a furture research report on this subject.

Grand Duchy of Lithuania Censusof 1784 This is the subject of an upcoming article by Dr. Neville Lamdan. Dr. Lamdan has been waiting until we were able to publish the Census pages themselves which we were just able to do in May 2008. Look for new material about this resource in an update later this year.

Fifteenth through Eighteenth centuries
(Future Research Reports)

Grand Duchy of Lithuania Census of 1764
Polish and Lithuanian Land Transfer
Testate/Intestate Proceedings.
Lawsuits (We know that a Lyakhovichi Jew was reported in a legal action in the 1550s.)
Military Taxation (We know that Lyakhovichi was counted in a 1529 Military Tax Census)
Serebszczyzna - Land Tax and Registered Exemptions
Petitions to the Polish King
Leasing of Privileges
Grand Duchy of Lithuania Statutes (We know that Lyakhovichi appears in several specific statutes including the one guaranteeing fairs in the fifteenth century)