Primary Records of Other Nations Naming Lyakhovichi- North American Records

Primary Records of Other Nations Created about those from Lyakhovichi

Primary Records of North America - United States
by Deborah G. Glassman, copyright 2007

The United States has few records in the national jurisdiction and even less of them cite a specific town of birth. Social Security applications were a fairly late innovation for the last generations born in Lyakhovichi and privacy considerations prevent their release (except to next of kin) before a certain number of years. The major US record types that provide this information are immigration records, which we discuss on other pages of our site, and military registration and service records, which we look at here.

The massive mobilization of manpower that was witnessed as modern nations geared-up for a Twentieth Century war, coincided with the arrival in the United States of the largest numbers of Lyakhovichi natives. It also impacted those who were still living in Lyakhovichi and those who had settled elsewhere. World War One moved and registered men on a massive scale. Lyakhovichi Jews still in their town were mobilized ieven if they had fulfilled their "reserve" phase of compulsary service. Lyakhovichi emigrants in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and British territories (including Canada, Palestine, Australia, and more) were required to register for service even if they would claim an exemption. In the United States, if you were born between 1874 and 1900, you were legally required to go to your draft board for an examination, the filing of an officially witnessed draft registration card, and an opportunity to state your reasons that you thought yourself exempt from service. Those who had not begun the process of American citizenship and wished to be considered as Russian subjects, were required to go to the Russian consulate and file that country's necessary documentation. There was no relief though from service, through that route, the Russian government told you to pay your own way back to Russia and report for duty.

Before we look at the specific records created for Draft Registration in 1917 and 1918, it is handy to juggle some numbers. Try this breakdown, which is just rough guessing and I would like to have someone knowledgeable handle the numerical evidence and come to some real conclusions.

Of approximately 2,000 immigrants specifically from our town, (so not counting people from the immediate surrounds and excluding those from Baranovichi specifically,)

1. Remove all of the women and daughters who emigrated (say 60% of total emigrants which is stated as the usual percentage in various reports of movement through NYC and Philadelphia. There was a smaller percentage through the specialized recruitment for Galveston.)
2. Remove all of the men who were born before 1874 (I've no idea - twenty percent?)
3. Remove all of those of the right age group who died between their date of arrival and 1917 (this number should be low - adult men without close proximity to violence shouldn't die in great numbers between 18 and forty - so 3 percent?)
Conclusion - This would seem to me to suggest that there are around 300 draft-eligible men we should expect to find in US records between those who actually served and those who registered for the draft as required. Help us find them, count them, and learn about them. Or help me learn why this reasoning is flawed and the real number for which to search.

The materials collected below are part of a general search for the town of Lyakhovichi in the hundreds of thousands of US draft cards of men from Russia. Because that remains too daunting a task for a website whose field of interest is one specific town, not Russian Jewry as a whole, I ask for your help in looking for people of your family names and connected families in these records. Please send me copies of anyone whose record states they were born in our town. A very small percentage of these cards also designates a specific birthplace for the father of the young men: if you have such a find, please share it. It would be valuable to know if a father was born in Lyakhovichi and the son elsewhere, or vice versa.

Following the images of World War I Draft Registration cards below, there is another list. Seventy men who registered for another war mobilization - the 1942 "Old Man's Draft" which registered men born between 1874 and 1900. The age breakdown was unusual and in my family, it meant that older siblings of my grandparents were listed and younger ones were not. As a data source, it also provides interesting information. People who had entered the United States claiming a younger age, were less concerned about keeping up that pretense as they became aware that they were not going to be "sent back to Russia" for fibbing about their age on entry forms. Often, the later document shows a shared "birthday" but an earlier year, than the document created for World War I's registration, twenty-four years earlier. I am sure there are many more of these to find as well, please share the finds you make in your research!

Though this page currently includes only Draft Registration information, we would like to post any US government record that shows Lyakhovichi as a specific town of birth. We would like your help in identifying such records and searching them for our people.

Original Records of Lyakhovichi Natives in United States
WW I Draft Registration

Robert ANGELOWITZ, registering in NYC for WWI Draft

Abraham BERGER, registering in NYC for WWI Draft

Jacob BERGER, registering in Brooklyn for WWI Draft

Irving Bernard BROOK, registering in CT for WWI Draft

Isadore GAVZY, registering in Oklahoma for WWI Draft (with nearest relative in Philadelphia.)

Julius GALIN, registering in NYC.

Abram KOLSKY, registering in Woodstown NJ for WWI Draft

Irving MALLOW registering in Newark NJ for WW I Draft

Max MALOWITZKY, registering in New London Connecticut for WWI Draft.

Louis MUKASHEY, registering in NYC for WWI Draft.

Harry ROSENBERG, registering in Louisville KY for WWI Draft.

Sam ROSENBERG, registering in Louisville KY for WWI Draft.

Lechovichers in United States' "Old Man Draft" of World War II
Names extracted from a card search

40 Names were removed from this list after examination of the WWI record showed that their birthplace was Lyakhovichi Volin or Vilna or Poltava. Many more from our town are still to be found. Please help us complete this list!

Surname Name Birth Date Birthplace Residence (City or County and State) WWI Draft (search for same person in WWI Draft Registration)

ABRAMOWITZ

Michael

3/15/1878

Lechowitch, Russia

Middle Village, NY

Mar 25 1877 lives in Massachussets; doesn’t specify which Lechowitz [almost all Massachussetts residents have been from other “Lechowitzes”]

ANGUL

Robert

7/1/1893

Lechowitch, Russia

Kings, NY

Was Robert Angelowitz same birthdate; Manhattan; shows Lechowitz Minsk;

BERGER

Abraham

3/4/1891

Lechovich, Russia

Bronx, NY

In Manhattan; one day off birthdate, Lachowitz Minsk;

BERGER

Jacob

4/5/1890

Lechowich, Russia

Kings, NY

Same birthdate, doesn’t specify

BERK

Samuel

8/25/1884

Lechevich, Russia

Phila., PA

Not definite

BERKOVITZ

Solomon

9/10/1885

Lechovitch, Poland

Atlantic, New Jersey

Not found

BINN

Abraham

6/27/1883

Lachowitz, Russia

Bronx, NY

15July1883 Bronx; no bp; fthr Barnett Binn c/o Berkowitz, 55 Hester Manhattan; unemployed due to illness

BODOWSKY

Myer

8/8/1888

Lachovitz, Poland

Salem, New Jersey

Not with this spelling;

BOOKBINDER

Benjamin

7/25/1885

Lachowitz Russia

Kings, NY

July 25, 1882 Benjamin Bookbinder in Manhattan; no bp

BOOKSPAN

Nathan

8/15/1889

Lechovitz, Russia

NY, NY

No bp

BOSKO

Steve

12/20/1888

Lachowize, Poland

Kings, NY

Likely not to be Jewish

BROIDY

Morris David

2/19/1889

Liaikowitz, Poland

Kings, NY

BUSH

Samuel H

12/1/1894

Lechowich, Russia

Dauphin, PA

Samuel Hart Bush in Camden NJ – of Lecihroitz Dec 1, 1895

BUSH

Solomon

5/3/1887

Lechowitz, Russia

Camden, New Jersey

In Camden for WWI – May 3, 1886, grocer butcher; no bp

BUSHEL

Hyman

12/10/1891

Lechewich, Poland

NY

Says Lachewich Russia, does not specify, same bd, lawyer,

BUSHEL

Morris

1/1/1885

Lachavitz, Russia

Bronx, NY

Did not find. Found Samuel Bushel, June 15, 1889 born Lachewish; Declarant; NYC, Manhattan

CABLE

Ben

2/18/1894

Lechovich, Russia

Phila., PA

There is a Louis Cable in Phila; does not give specific bp and birth year is 1888

CHINICH

Abe

7/15/1894

“ Lachwa, Poland”

Essex, New Jersey

Oscar Chinich says Lachwa in WWI Newark NJ (same county) –this person said “Lachowicze” on other docs, and Chinicz is a Lyakhovichi family

COHEN

Harry

2/15/1890

Lechovitz, Russia

NY, NY

not identified

COHEN

Harry

8/15/1891

Lechevich, Russia

Kings, NY

COHEN

Rubin

12/25/1892

Lechowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

DAROFF

Max

8/20/1881

Lechevitch, Russia

Phila., PA

DEMSKI

George

4/23/1882

Lachowey, Poland

Baltimore, Maryland

EPSTEIN

David

2/21/1883

Lechowitz, Russia

Phila., PA

FEIN

Joseph

5/1890

Lachowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

FISHER

Solomon

6/1889

Lechowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

FOLOWITZ

Benjamin

3/28/1887

Lechowitch, Russia

Kings, NY

25 July 1886, Brooklyn, Benny Foliwitz

GALIN

Julius

4/10/1894

Lechevitz, Russia

Kings, NY

10 Apr 1893, Manhattan,Julius Galin, says Lachowitz Minsk,

GAVRIN

David

10/15/1882

Lechovitz, Russia

Kings, NY

GAVZY

Isadore

4/20/1885

Lachowitz, Russia

Camden, New Jersey

Isadore Gavzy in Oklahoma, gives Philadelphia address for contact Mr. M H. Epstein; same birthdate Comanche Co Oklahoma

Joseph Gavza working for David Brody in NY b May 5, 1899, no bp;

GOLDBERG

Morris

8/16/1894

Lechowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

Says Lechowitz, not specific; says Aug 1894, Manhattan, no references

GREENWALD

Isac Paul

12/27/1887

Lachowitz, Russia

Phila.,PA

HARRISON

Nathan Francis

8/24/1888

Lachevitz, Russia

Phila., PA

Was misfiled. I found by puttng in birthdate and PA and Russia! Says Lachowitz Minsk, Outside of Phila, in Darby, Delaware Co. PA

HAVSY

Joseph

12/29/1886

Lachowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

HIMOVITZ

Nathan

3/28/1879

Lechovitch Minsker Gubernia, Russia

Phila., PA

KANTROWITZ

Ralph

9/15/1882

Lechawitz, Russia

Kings, NY

Not found

KAPLAN

Max

3/20/1885

Lechovitch, Poland

Phila., PA

KAPLAN

Max

1879

Lachowitch, Russia

Kings, NY

KOLSKY

Abram (check)

10/15/1886

Lechewitz, Russia Poland

Phila., PA

Found in Salem NJ, Dec 1886 Abrom Kolsky

KUCHINSKY

Michael

9/29/1895

Lechowicse, Poland

Somerset, New Jersey

KURTIN

Jacob Lewis

3/15/1886

Lacho, Russia Poland

Bronx, NY

Jacob Lewis Kurtin WaterburyCT Mar 4, 1885 no bp

KUZMUK

William

1/29/1897

Lachowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

LEHV

Myer

9/6/1879

Lachowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

Aug 17, 1880 indexed as Meyer Lehr

LEHV

Saul

4/10/1892

Lachovitz, Russia

Kings, NY

LEPOFSKY

Jacob

12/1883

Lechevitzer, Russia

Phila., PA

July 1879 Jacob Lepofsky Brooklyn, no bp

LEVINE

Aaron

10/15/1886

Lechawitz Mintzk, Russia

Kings, NY

LEVY

Samuel

4/22/1893

Lechowich, Russia

Kings, NY

LEW

Symcha

8/10/1896

Lachowicze, Poland

NY, NY

LOSS

Aaron

10/10/1892

Lachowitz, Russia

Hudson, New Jersey

15 Dec 1892 Jersey City NJ; no bp; no rels

LUSH

Samuel Beryl

9/9/1892

Lachovica, Russia

Phila., PA

MALLOVE

Morris

1/16/1892

Lechowitch, Russia

New London, Connecticut

MALLOW

Irving Morris

10/17/1894

Lachowitz, Russia

Essex, New Jersey

Irving Mallow, NJ; Lechawitz Minsk;

MANDEL

Solomon

10/1885

Lechowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

MUKASHEY

Louis

9/20/1889

Lachowitch, Russia

Bronx, NY

NEEDELL

Jack

6/20/1893

Lechowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

OXMAN

Max

7/12/1894

Lechowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

ROSENBLUM

Jacob

12/15/1884

Lechowitch, Russia

Brooklyn, NY

ROSENBLUM

Aaron Elias

7/4/1896

Lachovitz,
Russia

Kings, NY

SCHANZER

Jacob Ignatz

2/12/1886

Lachowice, Poland

NYC

SCHWARTZ

Joseph

10/1887

Lachowitz, Poland

Phila., PA

SHEPPER

Morris

4/25/1893

Lechowitz, Russia

Queens, NY

SHEWCHUK

Peter

6/22/1893

Lachowcy, Russia

Bronx, NY

SILLER

Isador

5/15/1893

Lechowitch, Russia

Phila. Pa

SLOTNICK

David

1878

Lechovitch, Russia

Phila., PA

SMULOWITZ

Benjamin

7/27/1886

Lechowitch, Russia

Kings, NY

SNOFSKY

Max

12/12/1881

Lechowicze, Russia

Kings, NY

STEIN

Joseph

10/13/1883

Lechowich, Russia

Bronx, NY

TIKTIN

Nathan

2/18/1888

Lechovitz Minsk, Russia

Kings, NY

VANGER

Louis

7/10/1891

Lechowitz, Russia

Kings, NY

WARSHALL

Philip

10/15/1879

Lachowicze, Russia

Kings, NY

XVEDUCK

Abe

12/31/1885

Lachervich, Russia Poland

Allegheny, PA

Creating a resource for collaborative research
on the history a of the Jewish community
in what is today Lyakhovichi, Belarus

Shtetl Links: Lyakhovichi

Primary Records of North America - Canada
by Deborah G. Glassman, copyright 2007

This Space is Reserved for other North American Records (including Mexico, Cuba, the Caribbean) related to Lyakhovichi which we need your help to find and search!

Primary Records of Other Nations Created about those from Lyakhovichi

Primary Records of North America - United States
by Deborah G. Glassman, copyright 2007

Original Records of Lyakhovichi Natives in United States
WW I Draft Registration

Lechovichers in United States' "Old Man Draft" of World War II
Names extracted from a card search

Creating a resource for collaborative research on the history a of the Jewish community in what is today Lyakhovichi, Belarus

Shtetl Links: Lyakhovichi

Primary Records of North America - Canada by Deborah G. Glassman, copyright 2007

This Space is Reserved for other North American Records (including Mexico, Cuba, the Caribbean) related to Lyakhovichi which we need your help to find and search!

Primary Records of Other Nations Created about those from Lyakhovichi

Primary Records of North America - United States by Deborah G. Glassman, copyright 2007

Original Records of Lyakhovichi Natives in United States WW I Draft Registration

Lechovichers in United States' "Old Man Draft" of World War II Names extracted from a card search

Creating a resource for collaborative research
on the history a of the Jewish community
in what is today Lyakhovichi, Belarus

Primary Records of North America - Canada
by Deborah G. Glassman, copyright 2007

Primary Records of North America - United States
by Deborah G. Glassman, copyright 2007

Original Records of Lyakhovichi Natives in United States
WW I Draft Registration

Lechovichers in United States' "Old Man Draft" of World War II
Names extracted from a card search