Hello!

Faithful reader:


This has been a deserted, quiet blog for some months: thanks for your patience, and I hope to be again more active here.


The Chicago conference was busy: among other things along with Deena Berton and Sally Mizroch, I stood and was elected to the LitvakSIG, Inc board. There has been a lot to learn about what and how and why. If you have views on the SIG's priorities, do let me know. The conference also sent me haring off after different research possibilities. I am now running a family DNA project.


I did get to meet those different sets of cousins: second, third and putative 6th (or 7th) cousins. Some fascinating payback for hours of research.


Here I have just updated the link for http://www.maps.lt/ - so this now works again - and provides access to the best interactive map of modern Lithuania.


JGS Great Britain held an Eastern European SIG meeting last weekend in London. About 20 Litvaks turned up - with a good mixture of experiences and interests. After introductions we broke into tiny groups to attack brickwalls and other problems. There was good feedback and so there will be similar meetings perhaps 2 or 3 times a year.


News for the future: some record distribution soon...

Other contemporary district maps

These are tourist maps from the Utena county website: they cover Zarasai, Ignalina and Utena districts.

Click on the maps to see them in larger size.

Rokiskis district map

This is the current Rokiskis municipality area. It covers a central part of the old Zarasai district.

Click on the map to see it in large size.

1650 Blaeu map

This part of a map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania published in about 1650 and drawn by Blaeu.

Unusually north is to the right -->. So Vilna is on the far left and Dinaburg (Dvinsk/Daugavpils) on the far right.

Salakas (Solok) and Rokiskis (Rakisski) are swapped around. And Kamajai looks to have travelled east.

Click on the map to see it at a good size.