Maps
Learn about the locations where our family originated and settled. I’m using the modern names for countries our family came from, but the original names have changed frequently over the past few centuries as borders were rearranged. For example, Belarus used to be part of the Russian Empire and Israel was called Palestine when Libe Lipson was born there.
- California
- Louisiana
- Mexico
- Belarus
- Germany
- Lithuania
- Sweden
- Ukraine
- Israel
Family Locations in North America
California
Families from San Franicsco:
Resources:
Louisiana
Families from Donaldsonville and New Orleans:
Resources:
- The Hardware Store Synagogue by Mary Ann Sternberg – article in the Forward about Bikur Cholim Synagogue in Donaldsonville, LA
- Tracking Family History of Enslaved Ancestors in Louisiana? by Ellyn Couvillon in The Advocate- 2019
Mexico
Hermosillo, Sonora
Family Locations in Europe
Lithuania
Families from Žasliai (Located in the district of Trakai and the province of Vilna):
Resources:
Sweden
Families from Jönköping län:
Resources:
Ukraine
Families from Chernivtsi:
Resources:
- 48°32′ N, 28°07′ E (located 28 miles from Kopaigorod, Chernivtsi is a small town not to be confused with a larger town in the district of Vinnitsa, Bukovina)
- Jewish Gen Information
Families from Ignatovka (aka Hnativka or Anatovka):
This is an interactive map showing the approximate locations of the Benioff family in Ukraine between 18?? and 1875. Click on each location (blue pins) for more information.
Families from Kopaigorod:
Resources:
- Kopaigorod Facebook Group – Ukrainian Facebook group of the modern-day town of Kopaigorod with 3.3K members that has lots of beautiful current photos. You will have to ask permission to join.
- Jewish Gen – Kopaigorod – This is part of Kehila Links in Jewish Gen (an online Jewish Genealogy site) with information about the history and genealogy of the town of Kopaigorod before and during World War II.
Eastern Europe – The Pale of Settlement
Kopaigorod
Small village currently in the Vinnitsa area of Ukraine. The Friedman family lived here in the later part of the 19th century. Before that they came from a nearby village: Mogilov-Podolsk.
Drahičyn
This is the town of origin of the Levy, Gratch and Eisenstein families. Shmuel Levy may have been born here or in nearby Antopol.
"Drogichin, a city in the Grodno province - a city in the Belsky district of the Grodno province. In 1808 it was appointed a district town of the Bialystok region, and in 1842, annexed to the Grodno province, it was left to the state. In 1847 “Drogich. Jewish society" consisted of 181 souls; in 1897 in D. - live. 1707, of which 784 euros. (D. Kobr. Uyezd: in 1847 the “Drog. Jewish Society” numbered 843 people, in 1897 the population was 2258, among whom Jews made up less than 10%)." From Brockhaus-Efron Jewish Encyclopedia 1908-1913
Žasliai
This is the town of origin of the Lipson family. The name was originally Zassler because they came from Žasliai, a small town in Lithuania located roughly halfway between Vilnius and Kovno. The name Lipson happened because they were “Leib’s son”. What I don’t know is whether the younger children were born in Zaslai or in Jerusalem. Isak Jacob Lipson uses both places in documents as his place of birth.
Michelfeld
49º 14' N, 08º 47' E
This is the town of origin of the Dinkelspiel family. Lazarus Dinkelspiel was born here and came to the U.S. as a young man. Michelfeld is located in located in Baden, Germany, 22 miles southeast of Manheim.
Zeil am Main
This is the town of origin of the Silverman family. Adolph Silverman was born here.
Read More:
Hnativka
50°24' N, 30°13' E
This is the town of origin of the Benioff family. Hnativka, also known as Ignatovka, is located 13 miles west of Kyiv on the Irpen River. It is possibly the town after which Fiddler on the Roof was modeled.
Read More
Rostov-on-Don
Probably David Benioff was born here in 1885, as was his mother Anna Fierkelman, Isaac Benioff's second wife, in 1864. Was the family living there for a time?
From 1811 to 1888, Rostov-on-Don was part of the Pale of Settlement (ie an area where Jews were permitted to live. After 1888 it became a military area of the Don Cossacks.
Antopal
The Levy family may have come from here. Shmuel Levy probably got his education here.
Map of Kiev from 1869
Kiyv
The City of Kiyv in 1869
Solominka Quarter
This was an area where many Jews lived.