KEIDAN E-LIST ARCHIVES, 1997 - Vol. 1

(Jan. - Feb.)

Return-Path: keidan-owner@jewishgen.org
From: "A. Cassel" 
Date: Thu, 02 Jan 1997 23:42:25 -0500
Subject: Khevra Kadisha Pinkes

Sincere thanks to all who've volunteered to chip in on the Khevra Kadisha
Pinkes project. I've notified Mr. Luban of our interest and urged him to
proceed. When I find out how much it'll cost I'll get back to everyone, and
we'll set up a mechanism for collecting & transferring funds -- probably via
Liz Salen if she's still willing. 

I've told Luban we'd like to see something by around Pesach if possible. So
keep a good thought -- hopefully we'll have something we can all value. 

Cheers,
A.C.

-=-
From: ESalen294@aol.com
Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 08:47:16 -0500
Subject: Re: Montefiore Keidaner Soc, NY

On December 28 Jacob Herberg wrote that he found the grave of a relative
while browing Arline Sachs cemetery database.  Would someone cue me in on
where to find that database?  I didn't see it listed on the JewishGen home
page.  Thanks.

Liz Salen (ESalen294@aol.com)
Brooklyn, NY
Searching for:
SALENSKY/SOLINSKY; Keidan, Lithuania
BERG/BERK; Przasnysz, Poland
HARRIS; New York City
HOFFMAN/VON HOFFMAN; Riga and NYC
RICH; Riga and NYC
APPELBAUM; Poland
KRAININ; Riga and NYC
BERNHARDT; NYC

-=-
From: L Jacob Herberg 
Date: Fri, 03 Jan 1997 22:39:40 -0800
Subject: Re: Montefiore Keidaner graves

A. Cassel wrote:
> 
> At 08:47 AM 1/3/97 -0500, Liz Salen wrote:
> >
> >On December 28 Jacob Herberg wrote that he found the grave of a relative
> >while browing Arline Sachs cemetery database.  Would someone cue me in on
> >where to find that database?  I didn't see it listed on the JewishGen home
> >page.  Thanks.
> >
> >Liz Salen (ESalen294@aol.com)
> >Brooklyn, NY
> 
> Liz: Try this URL:
> 
> http://www.jewishgen.org/cemetery/index.html

Liz, you can try out Andy's well-intentioned URL but I don't think you'll 
get much joy; it returns (phase 1) information on cemeteries but as far 
as I can see, nothing about what's buried in them. I acquired my 
graves database on four floppies (with built-in searching s/w) from one 
Joe Ross, a public-spirited chap who is or was distributing them for a 
nominal charge to members of the JGS of Great Britain. This was done with 
Ms Sachs' authority so I suppose the best course for you wd be to e-mail 
her (her address is given somewwhere on the URL Andy pointed us to) and 
ask if there is a corresponding source for US residents.

I think you'll find it well worth the effort: apart from leading me to my 
g-g-father's brother who landed up on the wrong side of the Atlantic, the 
discs have produced about 50 Litvak makhatonim - including some suspect 
Kaidaners - who ended up, or, like me, were born in South Africa.  

With best wishes, Jack Herberg (London)

-=-
From: "A. Cassel" 
Date: Sat, 04 Jan 1997 21:50:59 -0500
Subject: More Keidaner memoirs

Here's a possible research project for any of our Hebrew-literate members:

In reading over a copy of "The Keidaner" monthly bulletin this evening, I
saw a notice that appeared in November of 1935. Translating from the Yiddish
it reads:

"In the September and October issues of the Zionist world organ "Haolam",
published in London, there was printed an article, "bema'asar"
[bet-mem-aleph-samekh-resh"] by Dr. A. Pick. These are reminiscences that
sketch scenes from life in Keidan and in the Slobodker yeshiva [a famous
yeshiva near Kovno]. For older Keidaners the article is very interesting."

Anybody near a library that might archive issues of "Haolam", who could dig
out and photocopy the article? A. Pick was a Keidaner who collected
folksongs with my grandfather, went on to study medicine in France and
became a well-known doctor in Shavli, where he died under the Nazis. The
Keidan yizkor book mentions that he published memoirs, but this is the first
time I've ever seen a reference to where...

Cheers

A. 


Date: Sun, 05 Jan 1997 10:52:23 -0700 (MST)
From: lilyarsh@aztec.asu.edu (LILY YAROSH)
Subject: Slobotka yesheva

Hi Andrew,

  I'd like to know where the Slobotka yeshiva was (coordinates).
Would there be a record of students?

  My father and his brothers attended yeshiva, probably not too
far from Yashvin (Josvainiai).

  Any information will be appreciated.

                          Lily Yarosh               

From: "A. Cassel" 
Date: Tue, 07 Jan 1997 22:53:38 -0500
Subject: Memories from Krok

Zvi Griliches mentions that his family came from Krokes, a town not far from
Keidan. In "The Keidaner" monthly bulletin from December, 1937, I found this
story, which might be of interest. As always, I apologize in advance for any
mistakes in my translation from the Yiddish ...

Cheers,

Andy

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yosse-Itse's Payes
Memories of Kroke
As told by Sh. Shlossberg to B. Cassel

They were two partners, both shingle cutters. Yisroel Hinda's, a tall, dark
man with a full, thick head of hair and a long, broad bearch that covered
his chest and reached all the way down to his belt. An easygoing, thoughtful
fellow, he contemplated life philosophically.

Yosse-Itse was completely the opposite of his partner. A small, dry
character with a pointy, sand-colored little beard, he came from a priestly
family [Kohen] and was always in a state of excited motion. 

>From after Pesach until Shevuos the two partners worked in the forest, not
far from Kroke, making shingles for the local landowning nobility. When the
day before Shevous arrived, Yosse-Itse said to Yisroel: "Let us put aside
the work early and go home, so that my wife can cut my hair, which has been
growing these last forty days. I'm supposed to give the priestly blessing in
synagogue over the holiday, and I can't be seen looking like a wild man.''

"Why trouble your wife, who already has enough to do preparing for the
holiday?" Yisroel answered him philosophically. "I'll give you a better
haircut myself, right here on the workbench. All I need is some shears, and
we won't have to give up a half-day of work."

"Shears!" Yosse-Itse grabbed up the idea. "I'll just run over to Uzhik, the
goy who shears the sheep, and borrow his shears."

No sooner said than done. In a little while Yosse-Itse was back with Uzhik's
shears, which were almost as big as Yosse-Itse himself.

And it wasn't long before Yosse-Itse was sitting on the workbench hatless,
and Yisroel Hinda's was approaching him armed with the very big, very sharp
shears. Without further ado Yisroel took the shears to Yosse-Itse's hair: A
snip and a snip, and Yisroel was demonstrating his artistry as a barber. In
truth, the barbered head was adorned with indents all around,  but still,
the head was shorn.

The first thing Yosse-Itse felt for after his haircut was his payes. And
like a thunderbolt it hit him; there was no trace! How could he, a kohen,
show up to perform the priestly benediction before the town without his
payes? He might as well remain in the forest a couple of months until the
hair grew back.

But Yosse-Itse had a lively imagination, and was not the kind to let trouble
slow him down. After thinking it over briefly, he got down on the ground and
scraped together a couple of bundles of the hair that had just been cut off.
And with some of the wooden hinge material that was used to make the
shingles, he fastened the little bunches of hair to the interior of his hat
on both sides. With his hat pulled down, the earlocks hung down over his
ears like the nicest pair of payes you ever saw.

The next morning, the first day of shevuos, the congregation in synagogue
noticed nothing unusual about Yosse-Itse. But after he had delivered the
benediction and was accepting the congratulations of the crowd, Yisroel came
up and, grasping the visor of Yosse-Itse's hat, gave it a turn to the side.
It was then that the surprised congregation saw one of Yosse-Itse's payes
growing out of his forehead, and the other -- from the nape of his neck...

# #
---------------------------------------------------



From: ESalen294@aol.com
Date: Wed, 8 Jan 1997 22:14:39 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Montefiore Keidaner graves


Hello Jack and thank you for your helpful reply to my inquiry about the
cemetery database.  I will try to contact Arline and obtain the discs you
recommend.

Since you mentioned that you were born in South Africa, I have another
question which you might be able to answer.  I heard from my father that we
have SALENSKY relatives who went from Keidan to South Africa.  But their
exact destination is a detail that has been lost.  Was it more common for
Keidaners to settle in one place or another in South Africa?  If so, where
would you recommend I begin a search for relatives there?

Thanks much.

Liz Salen

-=-
From: L Jacob Herberg 
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 11:39:45 -0800
Subject: Re: Montefiore Keidaner graves
ESalen294@aol.com wrote:
> 
> Hello Jack and thank you for your helpful reply to my inquiry about the
> cemetery database.  I will try to contact Arline and obtain the discs.
> 
> Since you mentioned that you were born in South Africa, I have another
> question which you might be able to answer.  I heard from my father that we
> have SALENSKY relatives who went from Keidan to South Africa.  But their
> exact destination is a detail that has been lost.  Was it more common for
> Keidaners to settle in one place or another in South Africa?  If so, where
> would you recommend I begin a search for relatives there?


Dear Liz - I am probably a Nayshtatter, a trespasser on this list, and 
till recently without special knowledge of Keidan. I doubt there is 
reliable info on yr interesting question on possible shtetl-wise 
segregation in the New Countries. A nice topic for somebody's PhD. Most 
of the remaining SA jews are now settled in the major cities, 
Johannesburg and Cape Town, and are Litvaks. But a check on a fairly 
recent Jhb phone book did not turn up SALENSKY or a likely derivative. 
Good luck -  Jac.

-=-
From: ESalen294@aol.com
Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1997 09:20:05 -0500 (EST)
To: awcassel@philly.infi.net

Subject: khevra kadisha pinkes

Hi Andy.  Looks like we've got a motivated group of people here.  Yes, I'm
still willing to coordinate the collection of contributions and payment of
money to Mr. Luban.  I will deposit the money into my escrow account (I am an
attorney) and make payments from there.  Donations can be snail mailed to my
address: Liz Salen, 294 Windsor Place, Brooklyn, New York 11218.  It might be
best if checks are made out as follows: "Elizabeth J. Salen, escrow account"
so that people are assured that the money will not go into my pocket.  

Thanks again for your vision and energy in coordinating the activities of
this group.

Best regards,
Liz


From: ESalen294@aol.com
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 09:35:55 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Montefiore Keidaner graves

Hello Jack and thank you for your look through the Johannesburg phone book.
 Do you know how I can access the book via internet?  I seem to recall that
the family name was changed to something other than what one would expect.
 Maybe if I poke around, I will recognize something.  

Shalom chaver,

Liz 

-=-
From: L Jacob Herberg 
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 15:18:24 -0800
Subject: Re: Searching lost Keidaners

Prob not accessible on-line - the SA 'phone people used to make a 
healthy profit charging subscribers for looking up numbers omitted from 
the book. But since your quarry are Western Litvaks they will 
undoubtedly have been in the news for one reason or another (not all of 
them good) and I suggest you might look for them on Yahoo or Medline or 
the ISI citation index etc.

Yrs, Jac

-=-
From: Derek Livingston <101601.3241@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 18 Jan 97 13:16:50 EST
Subject: virtual keidan

Hello from Scotland!

Continuing to enjoy the stories and info on Virtual Keidan.

I'd be happy to contribute to the cost of translating the Pinkas, as outlined
recently.

Anyone know anything about a connection between Al Jolson and Keidan?

Best wishes,
Harvey Kaplan,

-=-
From: msklarew@erols.com
Date: Sat, 18 Jan 1997 21:05:49 -0800
Subject: Re: virtual keidan

Dear Harvey,

Don't know the direct connection except to say that Al Jolson (or Asa 
Yoelson, his real name) lived with his folks next door to my grandfather, 
Meyer Aaron Wolpe (Volpe) in S.W. Washington, D.C. where a number of 
Litvaks lived. A great number of my family lived in Keidan going back to 
the early 19th century, so perhaps there is a connection.

Myra Sklarew
msklarew@erols.com



Return-Path: keidan-owner@jewishgen.org
From: ESalen294@aol.com
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 11:39:45 -0500 (EST)
X-To: keidan@jewishgen.org
X-Cc: ESalen294@aol.com
Subject: Keidan to South Africa (again)


I just received some long lost information about my SALENSKY family going
from Keidan to S.A.  The approximate year of emigration is 1888.  The name
was changed to SALONER and the family is thought to have lived at 15 Gordon
Road, Bertrams, Johannesburg.  There might have been a daughter named Rose.  

If this sounds familiar to you, or if you have any tips on how I could follow
up on this lead, please let me know.  I will be grateful for any assistance.

Liz Salen (ESalen294@aol.com)
Brooklyn, NY
Searching for:
SALENSKY/SOLINSKY; Keidan, Lithuania
BERG/BERK; Przasnysz, Poland
HARRIS; New York City
HOFFMAN/VON HOFFMAN; Riga and NYC
RICH; Riga and NYC
APPELBAUM; Poland
KRAININ; Riga and NYC
BERNHARDT; NYC

From: Ann Drown 
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 21:47:16 -0800
Subject: GOODMAN/GUTMAN, GIBOR, BRAUDE, WOLFENSON, ZILBERMAN

I am working with Aviva Neeman in Israel and we are researching families
from the Zamut county in Lithuania. The families are: Goodman ot Gutman,
Gibor or Braude, Wolfenson, Zilberman (or Silverman). Some of these
families came to Jerusalem around 1850, others immigrated to the US.

As far as we know, the family of Shraga Feivush Guttman from around Yanova
had a branch in Keidn. The Keidam connection could have been through his
first wife Channah who left him to go with her parents to Jerusalem where
she married Zalman Wolf (Wolfenson) of Keidan (whose Hebrew name was
Benjamin-Shlomo), either Channah or her seconf husband were siblings of
either Hirsch-Leib Zilberman or his wife Channa Fruma daughter of
Hirsch-Leib. Other names in the Zilberman family could have been Mordechai
or Abraham, from Tzeikitchek.

This families were connected by marriage with the families of: Gibor,
Braude, Klivanski,  Neumann or Neumark, Cohen or Kahn, Levin and Becker.

Ann Drown 
and 
Aviva Neeman 


From: RWeissJGS@aol.com
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 13:03:38 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: GOODMAN/GUTMAN, GIBOR, BRAUDE, WOLFENSON, ZILBERMAN

Ann and Aviva:
     I am researching the BRAUDE/BROIDE and WOLPERT families from Zamut
(Specifically Kelme and Kedainiai). I would like to hear what you have on
these families.
     I have a collection of records from Kelme spanning the years 1817-1922
(Birth, marriage, census, tax). I am slowly having them translated on
request. See the Kelme Web page on JewishGen's ShtetLinks. I may also be
publishing an English translation of the recent Kelme yizkor book "Etz
Karut". I am currently in Israel to discuss copyrights with the authors.
     I am staying with my daughter in Jerusalem, and will be here until 16
February. I'd like to contact Aviva there. What is your phone number and
where are you?

Bob Weiss from Palo Alto California, currently in Jerusalem

-=-
From: "A. Cassel" 
Date: Sat, 01 Feb 1997 13:53:33 -0500
Subject: David Wolpe

Fellow Keidaners:

As some of you may know, David Wolpe is a poet and essayist who was born in
Keidan in 1908, and lives today in Johannesburg. His account of the 1941
massacre in Keidan appeared in English in a 1950 memorial book published by
the Keidan Sick Benefit and Benevolent Society of South Africa. A copy is on
my Keidan web site.

I tried a couple of years ago to make contact with Mr. Wolpe, and received a
letter back from his son, saying that he was unable to write back
personally. Last year, I began translating another article he published in
the 1950 memorial book, this one in Yiddish, entitled "Fun mayne yunge yorn"
-- "From my youth." I found it to be a rich and fascinating account of the
great fire that swept Keidan in 1914, and the events following, up to the
expulsion of all Jews by the Russian army in 1915.

Meanwhile, a colleague of mine at the Philadelphia Inquirer was posted to
Johannesburg as our Africa correspondent. Deciding to exploit all the
angles, I asked my colleague, as a favor, if he would take a copy of my
translation to Wolpe personally for his review. He very graciously agreed,
and on Jan. 18 spent what he described to me as a delightful couple of hours
visiting David, his wife Rose and his daughter, Evelyn Levy in their
Johannesburg home. He even sent me back a tape of the meeting and some
snapshots. I'm happy to report that David Wolpe, at 88, appears to be in
excellent health (save some cataracts and hearing problems) and is moreover
still actively writing and editing. In particular he is working on an
autobiography, entitled "Ich un Mein Welt", the first volume of which is
soon to be published in Israel. As he said in an email I just received,
"This spans from  pre-WW1 until 1944, and is set primarily in Keidan."

I expect this will be a real treasure trove to anyone interested in Keidan.
I hope to learn soon who the publisher is, and will post the information
asap so anyone who wants a copy can order one. Meanwhile, I'm posting a
second message with my translation of his 1914 memoir -- to which, I'm
immodest enough to say, Wolpe gave his very kind approval.

Meanwhile, anyone near a good Jewish library who can find other Wolpe works
-- he published something called  "Homes, Dreams, Nightmares" in 1947
(reissued in 1950 & 1987) please let me know. I can't locate it here, and
would be fascinated to read it. He also has a book of poems entitled "A
Wolkn Un A Weg" which contains an epic poem "Keidan" consisting of 12,
32-line chapters.

Regards to all

Andrew Cassel

-=-
From: "A. Cassel" 
Date: Sat, 01 Feb 1997 21:02:56 -0500
Subject: Wolpe memoir -- a footnote

I forgot to mention one unusual detail about the Wolpe memoir: You may
notice that the narrator is referred to in the piece not as "David" or
"Dovid" by his family but as "Itsik" or "Isaac". You also may have noticed
that he describes himself as being 12 years old, which would make him not 88
today but 95.

The reason is, he chose to write the piece through the eyes of his older
brother, Isaac Wolpe, who evidently did indeed save his younger siblings
from the fire, and serve as head of the household in his father's absence.
David was 6 when the fire took place, and although he said he does recall
the experience, many of the details are those told to him by Isaac Wolpe
years later.

Cheers,

Andrew

-=-
From: Ulenspigel@aol.com
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 13:57:23 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Query about "Becker" family

Fellow Keidaners;
May we put fourth a family origins query concerning the Becker family?
My Mother's family, the Beckers, were Jewish and came to NYC from Lithuania
in the 1890's. They then lived in Brooklyn, NY and Cleveland, Ohio.
My uncle, Benjamin Becker, gave (in his naturalization papers) his date of
birth as 2/1/1884.
He gave his place of birth as either "Kadon" (I presume he meant Kaidan) or
"Kovno".
He said he came to NYC on 10/15/1985 aboard the ship "Prussia" but I have not
found his name on the passenger lists of the "Prussia" from September to
December of 1895.
Family stories say that he came to NYC by himself after the rest of the
family had come earlier.
My Mother, Frances Becker said that her parents were Herman Becker and Bertha
or Bucha Bernstein.
My Mother's siblings were Benjamin, Morris and Rebecca Becker
My wife and I would be delighted to acknowledge any new relatives.
Thank you,
Doris and Bob Wilson

-=-
From: Zvi Griliches 
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 17:43:16 -0400 (EDT)

A Garth SALONER from SA is a Professor of Economics at the Stanford 
Business School.

Zvi

Zvi Griliches                             grilic@kuznets.harvard.edu
Dept of Economics
Harvard University                        617-495-2181
Cambridge, MA 02138                           495-7730f          


-=-
From: Bert Oppenheim 
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 14:54:43 -0800
Subject: Re: Keidan to South Africa (again)

Bernard, it seems that you found more Crosts for the tree. Would you
please keep me posted on the addition.

Thanks in advance.

Bert Oppenheim

From: Bernard Seeff 
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 1997 23:03:23 +0000
Subject: Re: Keidan to South Africa (again)

ESalen294@aol.com wrote:
> 
> I just received some long lost information about my SALENSKY family going
> from Keidan to S.A.  The approximate year of emigration is 1888.  The name
> was changed to SALONER and the family is thought to have lived at 15 Gordon
> Road, Bertrams, Johannesburg.  There might have been a daughter named Rose.
> 
> If this sounds familiar to you, or if you have any tips on how I could follow
> up on this lead, please let me know.  I will be grateful for any assistance.
> 

I am sorry that it took me so long to reply, but I was waiting to
contact SELWYN KROST, and he confirmed that the person you referred to,
ROSE SALONER, was his mother

Selwyn is my wife's cousin, and he told me that she used to live in
Gordon Road, Bertrams.  Rose died about 20 years ago, and her brother,
ABE, also died some years ago.  Selwyn has two sisters, Ethne and
Marion, and he was excited to hear about you, and although not on
e-mail, he'll contact you directly.

Regards,

Bernard Seeff
Johannesburg, South Africa


From: VSMARC@volcani.agri.gov.il
Date: 23 Feb 97 11:36:00 EST
Subject: Mendelson & more

On October 21, 1996, Andrew Cassel suggested to me to get in touch with a
Keidaner descendant named Osna Fenner who might have some information about 
Sam Mendelson of Keidan. 

A few days ago I got an envelope from Osna Fenner that included: 
(a) a list of the descendants of Sam Mendelson.
(b) a copy of an article prepared by Sam Mendelson for the "The Keidaner"
bulletin.
(c) a copy of the autobiography by Sam's daughter named Lillian (Mendelson)
Raskin. 
(d) copies of some old family pictures and copies of data sheets of some 
family members.

First of all, I would like to thank Andrew very much for suggesting me to 
get in touch with Osna. The material that I got from her is very interesting.

I have a few comments to (a)-(c) that might interest some of you.

(a) The list includes the descendants of Judah Leib Rosen and Minna Perle
Markowitz of Keidan. There is a branch of descendants with the last name of 
Siev that I think some of you might have interest in.

(b) This article was prepared by Sam Mendelson for the "The Keidaner" bulletin
(was it ever published?) and retyped by his granddaughter Rena Sonshine. I am
retyping and sending it as it is.

(c) Lillian (Mendelson) Raskin was born in NYC in 1900. Her interesting 
biograhy includes childhood memories of the life of her Keidaner family in NYC 
at the beginning of the century. It is a long document (14 pages typed 
condensed). I would like to draw the attention of my relative Roberta Jainchill
(she is on the Keidan list members) by saying that, among other things, Lillian
 wrote the following:
"My mother used to tell me an amusing story of the wedding of Aunt Sarah to
Uncle Charlie Cohen in Newark..." and then comes the story. Roberta, this is
amazing! that's the story of the wedding of your grandparents...

Again, many thanks to Andy. 

With best wishes to all, 
Ruth Marcus

-------------------------------------------------------------------
The following was typed by Rena Sonshine, Sam Mendelson's granddaughter, in
1989.

 
This is an article prepared by my grandfather for "The Keidaner", a newspaper
published by Jews in new York City who came from keidan, Lithuania (Russia). I
do not know whether it was ever published. I have retyped it, and don't know 
how to correct some of the apparent misspellings in Hebrew/Yiddish. The name of 
the heroes is spelled "Chewa" and "Chawe", for example. Sam Mendelson died in 
1952, 37 years ago, so this event took place over 100 years ago.


                                CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
                                by Sam Mendelson

                                "A TEACHER WITH FISTS" 

   One usually says that if a dog bites a man it is no rarity, but
contrary-wise, if a man bites a dog, it is certainly something unheard of. For
instance, if the population of Keidan would be told that their teacher is a
really good educator, it would not be news to them; but that a teacher from
Keidan is able to strike heavily with his fists, and not only his pupils, 
would surprise them greatly.

   We had in Keidan two famous teachers, the brothers Jacob and Meyer Chewa
Meris. They were known in Keidan not only for their excellent teaching, but 
also for their extraordinary physical strength. Often they displayed their 
strength before their students, if one happened to disobey. I can assure you 
from my personal experience that they were quiet and religious men, until the
opportunity arrived to prove that they were not only good teachers of the 
Torah, but also knew how to gain respect with their strength.
   
   And this is the story of what occurred on a certain occasion:

   You certainly remember the high tradition of the Sabbath. After the 
"Czolent" the whole town took a nap, then got up, had tea and took a walk to 
the estate of von Kelerk. On Sabbath we young boys used to play in the streets 
on nice, warm summer days. While the town was asleep I played with my friends 
and my little brother whom I took with me, since my mother entrusted him to me.
She had told me to watch him closely. While playing with my friends I 
completely forgot about my little brother and my mother's instructions. 
Suddenly I noticed that my kid brother was gone. I asked my friends whether 
they had seen him and was told that there were some "Burlakes" (rough-necks) 
who had lingered nearby and perhaps they took my little brother.

   I was terrified and ran with my friends to the synagogue, where I related
this sad story to my father. in the synagogue there were many Jews who had
returned from their strolls in order to pray Tehilim (Psalms). some of them
prayed with loud devotion and were annoyed by the shouting of my friends and 
me, and the excitement. soon a crowd gathered around us, and Lib Zalman, the 
Gabbe, who heard the screaming, came running ready to spank us all. But when 
they learned the story, they let their fists drop and asked the crowd to join in
giving help in the situation. They all offered their assistance to chase the
"Burlakes" who were seen by my friends. Among the crowd were some very strong
Jews, and under the guidance of Hillel, the horse-driver, all of them went to
look for the "Burlakes."

   But when we arrived at Scmilger Street, we stopped, because we saw from 
afar Jacob Chawe Meris, the two teachers, coming towards us from the field 
carrying a little child. When they approached nearer my father recognized my 
little brother and our joy was very great. It was no easy task to rescue a 
child from the "Burlakes." And they related the following:

   When they returned from their walk they noticed two "Burlakes," one of whom
had something hidden under his jacket, and tiny feet were seen sticking out.
They immediately suspected that it must be a little Jewish child that he
carried. They asked whose child they were hiding. If the "Burlakes" thought 
that we Jews will be scared by their abuses (Pomaterie), they were mistaken. 
Jacob tore away the coat and grabbed the child and struck one of the two with 
a blow over his head, causing him to become dizzy and to fall down.

   The other "Burlake" wanted to help his friend, but the second teacher, 
Mayer, struck him on the chin and he fell bleeding down on his fiend. seeing 
with whom they were dealing, Jews who could hand out blows, they slunk away as 
soon as possible.

   The story is now 66 years old, but it is still before my eyes, as it could
have happened today. The teachers Jacob and Mayer Chawe Meris, scholars and
teachers of the Torah, gained respect in the eyes of the community not only as
great teachers, but also as men who could use their fists when necessary.
--------------------------------------------------------------------


From: "A. Cassel" 
Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 10:52:53 -0500
Subject: Re: Mendelson & more

Fellow Keidaners:

The last few posts have certainly been wonderful to read.  It's great to see
connections being made, as Bernard Seef did for Ellen Salen in S. Africa,
and as Ruth Marcus has with Osna Fenner. Yasher koyekh to all, and may we
see many more lines being drawn or confirmed. 

I'm especially grateful to Ruth for posting the Sam Mendelson essay. I don't
believe that was ever published in The Keidaner bulletin -- at least it's
not in any of the 70+ issues I've obtained from Yivo and the American Jewish
Historical Society. So this is a real find. 

A couple of quick notes on the text Ruth has so kindly retyped and posted:

The names of the two "shtarker" brothers, Jacob and Meyer, sounds very much
like a matronymic. "Chewa Meris" should probably be rendered "Chava Mary's"
or something close to that. ("Chava" is the Yiddish/Hebrew form of "Eve",
which I'm betting was their mother's name.)  As many of you may know, it was
common for people in Keidan and elsewhere to be called (especially by
friends and landsleit) after their parents' -- mothers as often as fathers,
I think. The best-known example is I.B. Singer, whose middle initial comes
from his familiar name, which he also used as his pen-name: Itzhak Bashevis,
after his mother, Bathsheva.

This line caught my eye:   "After the "Czolent" the whole town took a nap,
then got up, had tea and took a walk to the estate of von Kelerk." 

"Czolent" -- which as you know is the Shabbos meal prepared in advance -- is
commonly rendered in English as "cholent" although that often confuses
people since its Yiddish pronounciation is actually more like "tsholnt"
(it's derived from the Old French form or "chaud" or "hot"). But in Polish,
"cz" is pronounced like our "ch" (in "church", not the gutteral "kh" like in
"khazer").

"The estate of von Kelerk" is interesting. In other Keidan memoirs there are
references to "Kelerke's fields" as a place to go for picnics and such. But
I think somewhere in one of the articles, theres a line about how nobody
knew how Kelerke's fields got their name. This is a clue -- though I've
never before heard of a von Kelerk, it does seem that there were several
local aristocrats with landholdings in the area. The most famous was Graf
Von Totleben, a Russian military hero, who built a Turkish-style minaret in
his palace near the railroad station (now gone). And Pyotr Stolypin, a
Russian imperial prime minister, also had property in the area -- and was
considered a somewhat benevolent protector, despite his reputation
throughout the rest of the Pale as an enemy of the Jews.

Anyway, it was delightful to read the article. Please, anyone with
additional material, post it and share it if at all possible. Ruth, if you
can see your way clear to getting the Mendelson biography into type, I'd
love to see that too. (If it's too much to keyboard in, you can xerox the
pages and mail them to me, and I'll try to have them scanned or retyped).
And if you're in touch with Osna Fenner again, encourage her to join the group! 

Regards, and thanks, again.

Andy 

-=-
From: RWeissJGS@aol.com
Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 12:38:51 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Mendelson & more on Chewa Meris

In a message dated 2/23/97 8:02:55 AM, you wrote:

"Chewa Meris"

There is a MER family from neighboring town of Kelme, descendents of which
live in Israel. Could the name spelled "mem-raish" be the same family? 

-=-
Return-Path: keidan-owner@jewishgen.org
From: Bernard Seeff 
Date: Sun, 23 Feb 1997 21:42:19 +0000
X-To: "Multiple recipients of KEIDAN (ShtetLinks Project)" 
Subject: Re: Keidan to South Africa (again)

No, I haven't discovered any new Krosts, I just went down the tree
further.  The tree that I sent you stopped at my wife's grandfather
(Jankel). The details go on much further down the line, but I thought it
cluttered up things.

Let me know and I'll send you all the details.

Bernard


From: VSMARC@volcani.agri.gov.il
Date: 27 Feb 97 11:12:00 EST
Subject: Re: Mendelson & more on Chewa Meris

I think Andrew's provided an interesting explanation to the name of <>. 
By the way, Mer ( "mem-raish" ) is a well known family in Israel. One of the
family ancestors was a famous physician who lived in Rosh-Pina in (near Safed) 
in Israel. Are you related to this family?

Ruth Marcus


From: ESalen294@aol.com
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 00:00:11 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Keidan to South Africa (again)

Thanks for the tip, Zvi.

Liz Salen

-=-
From: ESalen294@aol.com
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 1997 00:00:16 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Keidan to South Africa (again)

Bernard,

I just received your message about Selwyn Krost and sat at my keyboard with
my mouth open.  I am astounded at this connection, as I am each time
JewishGen hands me a gift such as this.  Thanks so much for your help.  I am
looking forward to hearing from Selwyn.

Please let me know if I can reciprocate with look-ups in NY.

Liz Salen

-=-
From: VSMARC@volcani.agri.gov.il
Date: 26 Feb 97 14:15:00 EST
Subject: Re: Mendelson & more

Andy,
Osna Fenner asked for your address in Philadelphia. I gave her your phone 
and fax numbers and your e-mail address. I also sent her some relevant 
material that was distributed among the group members. So I hope she shall 
join our group. 

Your explanation of the name of "Chewa Meris" is interesting. I wrote to 
Rena Soneshine (Sam's granddaughter) who lives in LA. If she has the 
Yiddish/Hebrew version of Sam's essay I would like to see it and in particular,
the Hebrew spelling of Chewa Meris.

I intend to update the list of descandants of Mendel Leib Lager of Keidan by
adding the branch of Sam Mendelson and his descandants to it. Would you be 
interested in the  whole list of the Lagers or just in the branch of 
Sam Mendelson?
Best regards,
Ruth