Riga Ancestors

Photos of Ancestors from Riga

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This page is dedicated to our ancestors who lived in Riga. It is my earnest wish that as many photos as possible should be displayed in this gallery. In this way their memory will live on. I will try to keep the photos indexed by surnames. Click on a surname to go to ancestors photos. Double click on a photo to enlarge it.
Please contact me by E-mail with details before sending any photos as attachments. Arlene Beare

Aronson	Dorfman	Hirshberg
Hirshman	Keilmann	Kviatkowski
Lijinsky	Prussak	Sher
Treskonof/Trefkonov	Brennsohn Family (Brenson)	Waldstein

These are photos of my ancestors from Riga -Arlene Beare. UK


Mowscha Dorfman my great- grandfather from Riga born 1820 and died 1883 in Riga. His father came from Birzai Lithuania to Riga. The family lived at Moscow street 25 in 1870 and in the house of Dreyling at 163 Moscow Street in 1879.		Dveire Behrman my great-grandmother and third wife of Mowscha born circa 1844 and died 1897 Riga. Her father Judah Orel was from Lygumai(Ligem) Lithuania near Birzai. Dveire was living in Jekabpils when Mowscha married her.


Aaron Dorfman my grandfather b Jekabpils 1878 and grew up in Riga. He died 1937 in Johannesburg South Africa. The family lived at Neurosiche Street 25 in 1881.		Rebecca Sher my grandmother born Pandelys Lith circa 1879 and died in Johannesburg South Africa 1961. She grew up in Riga.The baby is Firstborn daughter Dora b 1902.
Aaron and Rebecca married in Manchester December 1901.

Enquiries to Arlene Beare

These photos are the relatives of Jacqueline Gill. UK


Zlata Hirshberg(neeJoel,1873-1941) Son Leo/Leib(1905-1941) on L Son Michael/Moses(1906-1941) on R	Michael Hirschberg and his horse 23rd May,1939
The Hirschberg sons were both lawyers and the family lived at 43 Marienstrasse in Riga.

Enquiries to Jacky Gill

These are the Keilmann relatives of Robert Alexander René Dupuis


Robert's mother Doris and her sister Ingeborg Keilmann johanna Berlin 1938		Hanna(Johanna Olga) Keilmann Riga 1873/4 great grand aunt


L to R Henriette,Alexander,Isidor,Victori Henriette and Philipp Isaak Philipp Keilmann family Riga 1872 gg grandmother Henrietteand gg grandfather Philipp Isaak , great grand uncle Alexander ggrandfather Isidor and great grand aunt Victori Henriette		Nikolai Alexander Keilmann and wife Anna Johanna(Hirn) Heidelberg 1919 Nikolai medical student

Dr Philipp and Henriette Hode Keilmann Riga 1855/60 gg grandparents (Henriette nee Kretschmann)


Nikolai Alexander,Paul Otto and Harriet Ellen Keilmann Children of Isidor and Eugenie Keilmann Riga 1901		Family Hermann(Hirsch) Jacobovitsch Mendelsohn 1907 Rabbi Hermann b 1835/36 Mitau Brother-in -law of gg grandparents Philipp and Henriette

Enquiries to Robert Alexander René Dupuis

These are the relatives of Elsebeth Paikin from Denmark

Boris Treskonof/Trefkonov (exact spelling unknown!) owned a tobacco company in Riga before World War II. He was married to Vera Kviatkowski, daughter of Chaim Isaac Kviatkowski from St. Petersborg. They had two known (perhaps three?) daughters, Lubja and Esther This photo does not enlarge.

Presumably Lubja and Esther
In ca.1933 Gutha Rescue Kviatkovsk from Copenhagen visited her cousin Vera in Riga. Gutha far left and Vera in garden in Riga.
Vera in Riga with a Danish Relative

Vera and Boris visiting Gutha (far right) in Copenhagen

Boris and Vera Treskonof at their departure for Riga after their visit to Copenhagen. That was the last goodbye. Nothing is known of the fate of Boris and Vera after World War II. Nothing was heard from them after the beginning of World War II, and they are presumed to have perished in the Holocaust. The last surviving cousin in Copenhagen, Abraham (now 91 years old), would be very, very grateful to receive any information about them or their daughters.

enquiries to Elsebeth Paikin

These are the relatives of Michael Lijinsky UK

Wedding Picture of John Aronson and Rebecca Hirshman Aronson
Cork Ireland circa 1900

Top Row L to R
Willie Hirshman,Albert Segal (holding Lottie Hirshman)	John Aronson. Rebecca Aronson(Hirshman)

Middle Row L to R
Phil Hirshman, Clara Hirshman, Becky Hirshman Lijinsky, Yetta Segal. Ella Aronson,(holding Lillian Aronson) Adolph Hirshman,twin brother of Rebecca Aronson

Front Row L to R
Edith Hirshman	Rose Aronson

Enquiries contact Michael Lijinsky

This is a photo of the Ancestor of Marjorie Short.

Selik Waldstein,b. 1877 - d. 1941 Riga, Latvia.
He was the husband of Jette Berkowitz (1888 -1924).

Selik is an Ancestor of Marjorie Short, Jacqueline Waldstein Schwab and Evelyn Waldstein all collaborators of the Waldstein Family genealogy. Selik was the youngest son of Behr Nachman Waldstein (1833-1866) son of Hersh (1795-1875) son of Wulff ben Jossel Waldstein c. 1763 -1816 all from Latvia.

Enquiries contact Marjorie Short

The photos were sent to me by Jo May-Prussak of St Austell Cornwall. The members of this family were all born in Riga.

Freda Prussak nee Gittleson grandmother of Jo. Killed in Holocaust in Riga probably 1941

Josiph Prussak (Joseph) Grandfather born September 1870.

Hanna Prussak (Anna) Aunt born 1901. Went to Italy in 1922.

Benjamin Prussak Uncle born December 1902. Killed in Holocaust in Riga probably 1941.

Beinus Prussak. Father Born September 1905. went via Italy to England in 1938.

Liew Prussak (Leo) Uncle born September 1906. Escaped to Russia in 1941 and interned in a Gulag.

Emmanuel Prussak Uncle born March 1909. Killed in Holocaust in Riga probably 1941


Freda Prussak nee Gittleson. Killed in Holocaust in Riga probably 1941.		Liew, Benjamin, Emmanuel and Beinus (in that order). Benjamin and Emmanuel also died in the holocaust in Riga at the same time as Freda. Photo taken early 1920's, in Riga

Freda and Josiph Prussak grandparents of Jo


Josiph and sons. Benjamin, Josiph.Liew, Emmanuel. Beinus not in photo		Emmanuel,Liew,Beinus,Benjamin,Hanna


Prussak family in 1912. Benjamin, Liew, Freda, Hanna, Josiph, Emmanuel, Beinus. Contact Jo May-Prussak

Brennsohn Family (Brenson) These are the relatives of Nina Kossman

(left) Isidor Brenson (aka Issidorus Brennsohn, b. 15 September 1854, d. 1927), an orthopaedic doctor and a historian of medicine, had a private practice in Riga. He compiled and published a biographical dictionary of the doctors of Courland; his other works included dictionaries of the doctors of Livland and of Estland (Estonia). Klara Hertzenberg (right, d. 1939) was his wife. Great grandparents of Nina.


Isidor and Clara Brenson's four children, left to right: my great-aunt Ellen Brenson, grandmother Ruth Brenson, great-uncle Theo Brenson, and great-uncle Robby Brenson. They were born and raised in Mitau/Jelgava. Only Theo survived the war, as he was not living in Latvia at the time. Robby Brenson (b. 7 March 1889) graduated from law school and worked in Riga for a law firm. He had two sons, Erik and Enar. Robby and Enar and Eric were all taken away and killed by Latvians during July, 1941 Ruth and Ellen were taken to the Riga ghetto and perished there.


left to right: my great-aunt Ellen Brenson Melzer(b. 23 December 1895 d. 1941), an orthopaedic physician; her husband, Yakov Melzer, a pianist; and their son Anatol (6 years old). All three were killed by the Germans in Nazi-occupied Latvia.


Two photos of my paternal grandmother Ruth Brenson Kossman (b. 28 March 1885 d. 1941). Contact Nina Kossman

Copyright©1999 Arlene Beare
Updated March 2006