The New York Times has an interesting story about one American's search for his roots in Lithuania. Quoting from the article:
It was in one such cafe that Regina Kopilevich sat across from me last Thursday and asked the question I had been waiting a lifetime to hear. Placing her hand atop the pile of papers in front of her and opening her clear blue eyes extra wide, she leaned forward and said, in slightly accented English, “Would you like to know your name?”
It seems that Matt Gross' family name was not Gross after all. In this article, he describes the search for his ancestors, performed by a professional researcher. He also describes the records, kept by the Russian government that controlled the region in the 19th century, detailing births, deaths and marriages in the Jewish community.
You can read this interesting story written by Matt Gross at: http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/tracing-family-roots-in-vilnius/?em&ex=1216440000&en=32f45be6203e912c&ei=5087%0A
NOTE: The New York Times often leaves stories visible only for a few days, then moves them to the (for-pay) archives. The story is open and free as I write these words but that may change in the near future.
My thanks to Dave McDonald for telling me about this story.
Loved this article about family history research Lithuania. I was just there in May to do some preliminary research. Does anyone know how I can contact Regina Kopilevich the researcher listed in the article? Or does anyone know of another professional researcher in Lithuania for non-Jewish research?
Thanks. --Joe
Posted by: Joe | July 19, 2008 at 01:01 AM
Excellent!
Posted by: Sherrie Barber | July 19, 2008 at 10:27 AM
For some reason, this website could not be viewed by my Internet Explorer.
Posted by: Sandy Coulter | July 19, 2008 at 09:38 PM
with a genealogical friend we have compiled a FAQ re Jewish travel and Research in Lithuania, and I can send it privately to anyone interested. This has a number of recommended guides.
Th travel writer seems unaware of the vast amount of information and the 650,000 indexed records of Jews in Lithuania available on www.jewishgen.org/litvak.
Otherwise the article was fairly accurate.
Posted by: Saul Issroff | July 20, 2008 at 03:45 AM
In former time the city of Vilnius was hardly populated by Lithuanians.
Posted by: Vilnius | July 28, 2008 at 01:55 AM
I enjoyed the article very much and would like to know how I can contact Regina Kopilevich, the researcher listed in the article?
Appreciatively,
Harriet Weidenbaum
Posted by: Harriet Weidenbaum | August 24, 2008 at 11:02 PM