TWO LECHOWITZEs

There were several towns named "Lechowitz" prior to World War II, notably the town in the Belarus that is still known by the same name. Our town of Lechowitz, Ukraine is now known as Bilohiria. The JewishGen special interest group for Belarus has provides a list of "Lachowiczers in the Ellis Island Database." The list can be found here. A discussion about the list notes that the numbers of Jewish emigrants from Lachowicz Belarus appears too high. The list of names there in the Lechowitz Belarus database surely includes names of people from Lechowitz Ukraine. The database includes a variety of spellings for the town name, as they were recorded at Ellis Island. Examples include Lahowiz, Lechowier, Lachowicze, Lechowvitz, Lachowitz, Lehowicz,Lechowitz, Lechewitz, Lechewicz, Lechiwocz, Lechovitz, Lachowtz, Lachwic, Lechowec, Lachowice, and Lachowiczi. Poland, Russia, and Austria are mentioned as countries of origin.

The following shows Lechowitz emigrants who are known to be from Lechowitz Ukraine but are mistakenly shown in the Lachowicz Belarus database.

The highlighted entries are all from Lechowitz, Ukraine

If your ancestor came from Lechowitz, and the manifest or other reference document refers to Volhynia (Volin, Wolyn, Volynia, etc.), then they likely came from the Lechowitz in modern-day Ukraine. If your ancestors migrated to St. Louis, Omaha/Council Bluffs, or nearby towns in the American midwest, then it is also likely that they came from the Lechowitz in modern-day Ukraine.

Compiled by Miriam Kirshner

Photos on this website are not to be reproduced in any form without express written permission of the owners