Primary Records of Other Nations Naming Lyakhovichi- North American Records

Primary Records of Other Nations Created about those from Lyakhovichi

This is a page in our Documents section. Click the button labeled "Documents" in the left-hand column to reach all of the other resources of the Document area.

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

There are so far 5 pages on Primary Records in other Nations:
Primary Federal Records of USA (Military)
Primary Federal Records of the USA (State Dept and Courts)
Primary Local Records of the USA (Municipalities and States)
Primary Records of the US - Federal Censuses
Primary Records of Israel

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.

We have also created the first additional pages of supporting documentation in the Nations of Settlement. A Death Certificate may not be able to be used to identify a Lyakhovichi birthplace, but the death certificate of a person born in Lyakhovichi may identify his parents and spouse who were also born in Lyakhovichi and give a date of birth, and the number of years since immigration. Cemetery Stones occasionally state "Lechovich" on their face, but they are more useful for other key biographical data than birthplace. We invite you to submit Marriage records of those born in Lyakhovichi, Census data, and other primary records created in the land of settlement and the webmaster will build the pages to hold your data! To see the pages that have been created so far - click on the Documents button in the left-hand column.

Update June 2009 to US MIlitary Records

The World War I Draft Records have been significantly augmented in this edition. Using Death Records, Burial Records, and input from researchers investigating their Lechovicher connections, we have been able to add the WWI Draft cards of a number of men between 18 and 40 originating in our town. Some specify a birthplace in Lyakhovichi. Others do not, but they are men whose 1918 address clearly connects them to people identified as of our town. Max Zablotsky and Max Zabelle are two cards for the same man, but the key factor for us is that his home address is the same given for Morris Zabelle who is buried in the Lechovicher plot at Washington Cemetery. Jacob Angelovitz died in 1929 in NYC and is buried in those same Lechovicher graves at Washington Cemetery - a search of the draft address of this Manhattanite of 1929 finds him already at that address in the 1918 Draft records.

I have rearranged this table of Draft Registration data. First you can find alphabetically those who clearly state that their home was Lechovitz or that their father was born there, with a sprinkling who state Baranovichi. Second you can find alphabetically those who can be otherwise identified with Lyakhovichi. All of the images have been edited for speedier loading on your page.

Building a database of all Lechovichers registered for a US Draft requires your help. Send your finds in the draft records for people you know to have been born in Lyakhovichi. We will not wait until a scheduled update to add them to the site.

Lyakhovichi Natives in United States National Records WW I Draft Registration
ANGELOWITZ, Robert NYC	ANGEL, Herman Brooklyn NY	BERGER, Abraham NYC	BERGER, Jacob Brooklyn NY	BOGIN, Louis Hartford CT
BROOK, Irving Bernard aka I. Bernard Brook Hartford CT	BUSCHEL, Hyman Paterson NJ	BUSEL, Joseph (of Baranowitz, Minsk) Buffalo NY	BUSHELL, Joseph (of Baranowitz, Minsk) New Britain, CT WWII Old Man Draft Card	BUSCHEL, Samuel NYC
FEDER, William Newark NJ	GALLEN, Abraham (of Baranowitz, Minsk)	GALLEN Henry. O. (of Baranowitz, Minsk)	GALIN, Julius NYC	GAVZY, Isidore Oklahoma relative. Mr. M. F. Epstein Philadelphia
GAVZA, Julius (of Baranowitz, Minsk) San Antonio Texas	GAVZE, Paul (of Baranowitz, Minsk)	HARRISON, Nathan Francis Darby PA	KOLSKY,Abram Woodstown NJ	LEVY, John Brooklyn NY son of Joe and Ida Levy, killed in action
MALLOW, Irving Newark NJ	MALOWITZKY, Max new London CT	MANDEL, Nathan NYC born Neshviz, father born Lechowitz	MUKASHEY, Louis NYC	QURDOCK [KHVEDIUK], Abe Pittsburg
ROBINSON, Zelig Detroit, MI	ROSENBERG, Harry Louisville KY	ROSENBERG, Sam Louisville KY	SHEPPER, Morris Brooklyn NY	WEINGER, Benjamin NYC
WEINGER, Meyer rural Sullivan County NY	WEINGER, Rubin Chicago IL	WINOGRAD, Isidore Chicago IL
WWI Draft Reg. of Lechovichers, specific birthplace not cited
Jacob Angelevitz at address from which his death would be reported, later buried in a Lechovicher plot	Leon Appelson, born Slutsk may have been the grandson of Morris Appelson who died at that same address and was buried in a Lechovicher plot	Morris Brazina of Lyakhovichi was the Lyakhovichi-born brother-in-law of my great-grandfather Abram Pilnick.	Barnett Brody the head of the United Lechovicher Relief organization	Wolf Elin at address from which his death would be reported, later buried in a Lechovicher plot
Izador Greenblat of Oxford Pa, wass married to a Lyakhovichi native, Bessie Pilnik Greenblat appears on his form, but it is not clear yet if he was also from Lyakhovichi.	Isidior Kantrowitz at address from which his death would be reported, later buried in a Lechovicher plot	Samuel Harry Levy at address from which his death would be reported, later buried in a Lechovicher plot	Harry Meyer Lipkiss at address from which a Lechovicher death for that surname reported	Morris Rackoff at address from which a Lechovicher death for that surname reported
David Schiffenhaus of Newark	Harry Schiffenhaus of Newark	William Schiffenhaus of Newark	Isaac Warshall at address from which a Lechovicher death for that surname reported	Jacob Warshall at address from which a Lechovicher death for that surname reported
Maxwell Zabelle ne Zablotzky at the address from which a Lechovicher death for that surname reported	Max Zablotzky NYC see Max Zabelle above at the address from which a Lechovicher death for that surname reported	Wolf Zapolsky at the address from which he was later buried in a Lechovicher plot

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	Benny Cable nat in Phila states bp "Lechowitz, Russia;"Affidavits filed at Russian Consul in Phila state Cable born in Lechowitz, Minsk
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

click image to enlarge
Maricio Gitlin of Lyakhovichi in the 1895 Buenos Aires Census This is part of the Coming Attractions for South America Primary Records , see column one

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

Shtetl Links: Lyakhovichi

NAVIGATION TOOLS

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!

Coming Attractions - Help us Build a Page for South America including the vibrant Lechovicher communities in Buenos Aires' Parque Chas neighborhood, and the Polish-Jewish communities of the 1920s and 1930s across Argentina, Chile, and Brazil!

We want to build New Pages for Other Countries!

Primary Records of Other Nations Created about those from Lyakhovichi

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

Update June 2009 to US MIlitary Records

Lyakhovichi Natives
in United States National Records
WW I Draft Registration

WWI Draft Reg. of Lechovichers, specific birthplace not cited

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

NAVIGATION TOOLS

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!

Coming Attractions - Help us Build a Page for South America including the vibrant Lechovicher communities in Buenos Aires' Parque Chas neighborhood, and the Polish-Jewish communities of the 1920s and 1930s across Argentina, Chile, and Brazil!

We want to build New Pages for Other Countries!

Primary Records of Other Nations Created about those from Lyakhovichi

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

Update June 2009 to US MIlitary Records

Lyakhovichi Natives in United States National RecordsWW I Draft Registration

WWI Draft Reg. of Lechovichers, specific birthplace not cited

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

Lyakhovichi Natives
in United States National Records
WW I Draft Registration

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