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A Diverse Jewish Community
A Diverse Jewish Community
19th Century and early 20th Century Yekaterinoslav's Jewish community was quite diverse in social class and economic circumstances, as well as customs and traditions. Formed by Jews who migrated from other parts of the Russian Pale of Settlement as well as other European nations, Yekaterinoslav's Jews were mostly Ashkenazi Jews, including both Litvaks and Galitzianers, but there were also Sephardic Jews in the mix. Religiously they were both Hasidim and Mitnagdim, with some more observant than others. Politically, some were Zionists, some were Territorialists, some were Socialists.
Who Were Our Ancestors?
Who Were Our Ancestors?
The following section includes photos and short descriptions of Yekaterinoslav Jewish family of JewishGen researchers. If you have photos and short family stories to include, contact Sarah the page owner.
Sarah's Yekaterinoslav Family
Sarah's Yekaterinoslav Family
Leizer Pliner and Mottel Zapolyansky
Leizer Pliner and Mottel Zapolyansky
Leizer and Mottel are my grand-uncle and great-grandfather. From Yekaterinoslav, they served in the Russian military together. This photo was likely taken while on duty in Zamostje, pre-1903.
Sarah Pliner and Mottel Zapolyansky
Sarah Pliner and Mottel Zapolyansky
My great-grandparents in Yekaterinoslav in 1903 or 1904. Mottel, a tailor, and his brother-in-law Isaac Pliner were the first to go to Philadelphia. Mottel deserted the army to do so. Their parents, siblings, and children soon followed.
Isaac Pliner and Velia Perel Schefczinsky
Isaac Pliner and Velia Perel Schefczinsky
Wedding photo of my grand-uncle and his wife Velia, taken 1894 in Yekaterinoslav. Isaac Pliner was listed as a "boilersmith" on the ship manifest when he emigrated to the United States.
Beila Rivka Pliner, daughter, and grandchild
Beila Rivka Pliner, daughter, and grandchild
I have a strong hypothesis that this is my great-grandmother Sarah Pliner on the left, with her firstborn, Reizel. The woman on the right is definitely my great-great grandmother Beila Rivka.
Velia and Isaac Pliner with child
Velia and Isaac Pliner with child
The child could be Velia and Isaac's daughter Mariasza, their first born, in 1895. JewishGen's indexed records helped me learn that the couple had seven children born in Ukraine, but only four survived past infancy.
A Pliner or Schefczinsky wedding portrait
A Pliner or Schefczinsky wedding portrait
This photo was in the collection of a cousin descended from both families. If only people had taken the time to write names on the back of photos!
Beila Rivka Pliner
Beila Rivka Pliner
My great-great grandmother with a traditional headscarf. We were always told her maiden name was Levin, but the only document we can find says it was "Maganewicz." A family story associates her and her family with a stocking factory in Yekaterinoslav.
Rudel Soloveichik and David Zapolyansky
Rudel Soloveichik and David Zapolyansky
Mottel's parents, Rudel and David, lived in Yekaterinoslav. David was a tailor from Vawkavysk, Belarus and Rudel, daughter of Wulf, was likely from Kremenchuk, Ukraine. Everyone in the family had forgotten Rudel's maiden name. But the story that she was "related to rabbis" stayed in the family.
A Family Elder
A Family Elder
Photo expert Ava Cohn helped me determine that this man is not my great-great grandfather, however his portrait is a nice example of an older Jewish man of late 19th century Yekaterinoslav with Lithuanian-style sidelocks.
Photos and Stories from JewishGen Members
Photos and Stories from JewishGen Members
Lifcze Ginzburski, b. ~1893, and David Wolfson
Lifcze Ginzburski, b. ~1893, and David Wolfson
Lifcze Ginzburski, later Elizabeth Ginsberg Wolfson, was born in Yekaterinoslav. Photo provided by Jeanne Gold, JewishGen researcher code 6106.
Girls from Menachem Ussishkin Collection at Zionist Archives
Girls from Menachem Ussishkin Collection at Zionist Archives
Two girls, likely daughters of Menachem Ussishkin, in late 1800s Yekaterinoslav. Dnipro resident and Jewish genealogist Oleksandr Volok has researched the family and believes they are Rakhil and Raisa Ussishkin. See Famous People for more about Ussishkin.
Family Members of Alexander Fishman
Family Members of Alexander Fishman
Unknown subjects, likely related to Alexander Fishman who later emigrated to the UK. Photo from Yekaterinoslav provided by Frances Gavin, JewishGen researcher code 486849.
Family Photos and Stories from the Old KehilaLinks Site
Family Photos and Stories from the Old KehilaLinks Site
Joseph Katz and Family, c. 1889
Joseph Katz and Family, c. 1889
In the rear are Joseph and his wife Ida (nee Pesachinsky). In the front, from the left, are his mother Esther (nee Jarmucz), daughter Sadie, son Jacob, daughter Rochel, and Ida's mother Yetta. Photo courtesy of Hilary Henkin (Note: a free JewishGen account is required.)
Pinya and Varvy Poberjesky, c. 1900
Pinya and Varvy Poberjesky, c. 1900
Taken in 1900 Ekaterinoslav, at R. Ya Bik's studio, who was based in Yelisavetgrad. Picture and info by Ray Cannata.
Yetta and Israel Milewski
Yetta and Israel Milewski
Photo courtesy of Howard Bensen.
If you have Yekaterinoslav family photos to share, please send them to KehilaLinks Page Owner Sarah Millspaugh.
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