Kest and marriage

What was "kest"? and why is it so important for the Jewish genealogist?

Kest (or Mezonot) was the practice whereby a bride's parents gave room and board to a newly wed couple for an agreed number of years.

Professor ChaeRan Freeze of Brandeis University describes this is in her book "Jewish Marriage and Divorce in Imperial Russia" (University of New England Press, 2002). The relevant pages are here: http://tinyurl.com/nwe3hc.

For a poor Jewish father unable to afford a significant dowry for his daughter kest would have been an important part of the marriage agreement.

Now the shidduch itself could very easily be made outside the shtetl. For centuries at the large markets held in the big cities Jewish men could be found making matches for their sons and daughters. And we all know from Sholom Aleichem that there was a shadchan in the smallest shtetl - did they form a loose network across the Pale?

The net result of all this activity was that men often married out of their shtetl - and as travel became easier with the advent of the railway - farther and farther away. And then thanks to kest they stayed away for at least some years. At the end of the agreed time they had work, were settled and many would not have resettled their new family to their old home shtetl.

The implications for the genealogist are:

1. The vital and some other records for the new family (often starting with the marriage) are in the bride's town.
2. The groom often maintains his family registration in his hometown, so entries in the family and revision lists are there - sometimes registrations are transferred to the bride's town, but this is not common.
3. The children of the marriage will normally think of their mother's hometown (and usually their birthplace) as their hometown: but as far as the Russian bureaucracy was concerned this was usually wrong.

This last point needs to be grasped with both hands. In my family, a putative cousin was totally adamant that his family came from Rakushik (Rokiskis) - and he was correct, in part: but it was his grandmother's family shtetl. His grandfather was born and registered in Salok (Salakas) and never transferred his registration. We needed to look at Salok lists to find the family link.

Why this discussion? watch this space...

Catching up - Salakas town plan 1901

In March 2009 qualified donors received a 1901 town plan of Salakas showing owners of every lot in the town at 7 MB size. The quality of the plan is terrific: print it in colour on A3 and it would look good framed on the wall. The snapshot here does not do it justice.

The plan shows the lot numbers and the names of all the Jewish owners of land and buildings - and all the communal properties.

Compare the pictures to the contemporary satellite view from google http://tinyurl.com/ab5beff - the accuracy is remarkable.

The lists of owners includes:

ARNIST, ASANOVICH, AVERBUKH, AZHINSKY, BAK, BARAKOVSKY, BARST, BEGAM, BEKER, BERMAN, BICHIK, BLEKHMAN, BLEYMAN, BLOSHTEYN, BRAUDO, BRAVO, BRIND, BRINKER, BYK, DEYCH, DUBINOVSKY, EPSHTEYN, EVELSON, EYDELMAN, FELMAN, FRIDLIAND, GADON, GAMBURG, GARBER, GELMAN, GELPERIN, GINDEN, GINDIN, GINZBURG, GLEZER, GLUSHAK, GOLIAND, GORDON, GUTERMAN, IOFE, ITSIKSON, KAGAN, KAMZUL, KARASIN, KATS, KHAIT, KHARMATS, KHAYT, KLAVER, KOPILOVSKY, KORB, KRUZ, KUPERMAN , KUSLEN, LEVIN, LIBERMAN, LIMOVICH, LOPEYKO, LUBOCHKA, MALEROVICH, MALEROVICH , MARGOLIS, MILER, MORDKHOVICH, NEKHEM, OBUZ, OLD CEMETERY , PLOTKA, PODVICH, RAKHMAN, RIFKIND, RIMER, RITS, RITVA, ROKHMAN, ROZENBERG, RUBINSHTEYN, SEGAL, SHAPIRO, SHER, SHERMAN, SHEYNES, SHLIAKHTER, SHMIT, SHTEYN, SHUR, SOLTAN, STRASHUN, SYNAGOGUE, TARN, TEYKHMAN, TSIBEL, TSINMAN, WULFSON, YUDELEVICH, ZAK, and ZURAT,

Rokiskis Postal Savings Bank Records 1891-1915

Linda Cantor and the RokiskisSIG have very generously donated a translation of the Rokiskis Postal Savings Bank Records for 1891-1915. This list has 723 lines with much interesting information including amounts deposited, occupation, age and/or birth dates, and, for married women, their maiden names.

Rokiskis was also known as Rokishki [Rus], Rakishok [Yid], Rakiszki [Pol], Rokišķi [Lat], and Rokischken [Ger],

The list has been sent to all qualified donors (currently the qualification level is US$100). Donations can be made online at http://litvaksig.org/index.php?option=com_join&view=join&Itemid=87 and specify Zarasai District Research.

There are many families represented in these records and they include:

ABELEVICH, ABELOVICH, ABRAMOVICH, ADELSON, AFRAMOVICH, ALBER, ALPEROVICH, ARIK, ARONOV, ASINOVSKY, ASNES, AZNIS, BAR, BASMAN, BEDER, BEGUN, BERELOVICH, BERKOVICH, BERMAN, BERNSHTEYN, BERZ, BERZON, BEYNARD, BEYNART, BEYNERT, BEYNERTS, BLIUM, BLIUMBERG, BOR, BORADAVKIN, BRANDT, BRAUMAN, BREYTBORD, BRIKMAN, BRODGALDT (BROTGALDT), BUN, CHAPAYKO, CHETYSHSKY, DAVIDOVICH, DREYBAND, DROBIZ, ELTERMAN, ERMAN, EYDELMAN, EYDELSON, FAKTEROVICH, FAYN, FAYVELEVICH, FELDMAN, FELSHER, FERDE, FINGERBREN, FLAKS, FLAKSMAN, GAR, GELTSER, GESELOVICH, GEYMAN, GLEZER, GOLAND, GOLDMAN, GOLDSHMIDT, GOLSHMID (GOLSHMIDT), GOLUM, GOLUMB ?, GOR, GORDIN, GORDON, GREYS, GREYZ, GRIF, GRIZH, GURVICH, GUTMAN, IOFFE, IOSMAN, IOZEFOVICH, IZRALIT, KADYSHEVICH, KAGANOVICH, KALMANOVICH, KAN, KANKAROVICH, KANTER, KANTOR, KAPELOVICH, KAPLAN, KARK, KASHER, KATS, KATSEN, KATSIN, KELIM, KHAET, KHAETOVICH, KHAIT, KHAITOVICH, KHATSKELZON, KHAZEN, KHEYN, KHIRURG, KHIRURG (KHIRURKH), KHMELNIK, KHOLEV, KLAZ, KLING, KLINGMAN, KLIUMEL, KOGANOVICH, KOLEVZON, KOLOVZON, KOPELEVICH, KOPELOVICH, KOPILOVICH, KOVALSKY, KREMER, KRIL, KROK, KRUK, KRUT, KRYL, KUPERMAN, KUR, KUSHELEVICH, LAKER, LANG, LANGE, LEKUKH, LEV, LEVIN, LEVINSHTEYN, LEVINSON, LEVINZON, LEVITANUS, LEVITIN, LIBMAN, LIMAN, LIUBOVICH, LURIE, MALKIEL, MANASEVICH, MANELEVICH, MANILEVICH (MANELEVICH), MARGOLIS, MARGOLIS , MARON, MATUZON, MAYZEL, MELER, MELLER, MER, MEYEROVICH, MILKIN, MILNER, NOKHIMOVICH, NOKHUMOVICH, ORELOVICH, OSIPOVICH, PEYROS, PEYSAKHOVICH, PLIS, PLISS, POPLAK, POPLIAK, PORTNOY, POVERINETS, PULDO, RABINOVICH, RABKIN, RAKHMAN, RATMAN, REBE, RIF, RITS ?, RIVKIN, ROTSHTEYN, ROZEN, ROZINBERG, RUBIN, RUKH (RURKH), RYBAK, RYBAK (RIBAK), SAETOVICH, SANDLER, SAPOZHNIK, SAYTOVICH, SEGAL, SHADUR, SHAETOVICH, SHAPIRO, SHAYBEL, SHEG, SHEMTOV, SHEMTOV ?, SHER, SHEYDEMANTEL, SHEYDERMAN, SHEYN, SHEYN ?, SHIMELEVICH, SHIMELOVICH, SHLOMOVICH, SHMOTKIN, SHNAYDERMAN, SHNEYDER, SHNEYDERMAN, SHPAK, SHPITS, SHPUNGIN, SHREYBERG, SHRUBINSKY, SHTERN, SHTEYMAN, SHTEYN, SHULMAN, SHUSTER, SHVARTS, SHVARTSBERG, SLOMOVICH ?, SMILG, SNEG, SOLOVEY, SOMER, SON, SRUBISHSKY, TAER, TRAYTIL, TSUKERNIK, VAYNBREN, VAYNMAN, VAYNSHTEYN, VENGERIN, VENGRIN, VEYNIRIT, VEYTS, VINGERIN, VISHNEKOVICH, VISHNIKOVICH, VISHNIKOVICH (VISHNIAKOVICH), VOLPERT, YALOVETSKY, YANKELEVICH, ZAKSHTEYN, ZAMET, ZELBOVICH ?, ZELIKMAN, ZELIKSON, ZEMBOVICH, ZILBERSHTEYN, ZIV, ZOKHER, and ZOLIN.