A Big Breakthough in the Monkovski Family Tree.

Genealogy research can be very tedious.  A lot of time is spent going through lists of people who lived long ago, trying to find your ancestor. The search can be complicated by inaccurate records, unfamiliar spellings of names, and a lot of dead ends.

This week I had none of those problems.  I put aside writing about the Monkovski family, thinking that the information I had was all there was available at this time.  Well, I was wrong.  Jose Gutstein of the Szczuczyn Web site, came through again. 

Jose has been helping an Israeli family with their family tree, and he discovered that that family had the same picture of the Chiam Pesach Monkovski family I had (without the crack down the middle.)  He supplied me with information identifying some of the people in the picture.  I heard from family stories that some Monkovski relatives immigrated to Israel, but that was all I knew.

My picture of Chiam Pesach Monkovski's family with the crack.

The Israeli Family's picture of the Monkovskis

It turns out that one of Chiam Pesach’s sons, Yoseph, did immigrate to Israel, but first immigrated to Cuba in 1929.   Two of his daughters are still living in the Tel Aviv area. Then I found out that some members of the Monkovski family immigrated to Argentina, and about 10 years ago, visited the Israeli branch.

Now there is another mystery.  The family in Israel has this family picture, and nobody has any idea who they were.  One of my husband's cousins sent me this postcard that was in some of her father’s things.  Is she the girl with the white beads in the back row?  Perhaps the message on the back, written in Yiddish will provide the answer.

 

Is the girl in the center of the top row in the picture to the right?

This picture belongs to the  family in Israel.  Nobody knows who they are.

 

Message on the back of the picture above. Wasosz, 1929.  To my sister, from Abraham.

So, don’t give up.  Occasionally those lists can get results, but it helps to know someone who has the resources to trace family roots in Europe.  I found Jose searching the net for information about Szczuczyn.   I e-mailed him and eventually found more than I ever expected.  Sometimes researching the places you ancestors lived can give you results you never expected.

The Genealogy of Chiam Pesach Monkovski

Chaim Pesach Monkovski and his family.  Only some of the daughers are identified.  In the front row, from left: Udis, Ryka, Chiam Pesach.  In the top row: Unidentified Son, Lachie, unidentified Daughter, unidentified Son, Esther, unidentified Daughter. 

Chiam Pesach Monkovski was the son of Wolf Berek (Velvil) Monkovski and Bejla Pienanzek. 
He was born in Wasosz, Poland, a village near Szczuczyn, Poland on August 27, 1869.  His father was a tailor.
At the age of 20, on January 28,1890, Chiam Pesach married Rywka Lewinowicz, age 19, also of Wasosz.  Her parents were Berek Wolf Lewinowicz and Sora Rochel Maslowicz, both shoemakers. Chiam Pesach took up his father's trade and became a tailor.

According to records, they had four children, although the portrait above shows more. The children were

• Mendel, born in 1892
• Nochim Lejb, born in 1896
• Aron Joszer (Aaron Joseph) born in 1896 
• Pelia born in 1899. 

All the children were born in Wasosz. Aaron Joseph immigrated to Israel and died in Tel Aviv, date unknown.  Aaron Joseph was the only descendant of Wolf Berek and Bejla Monkovski  I know of that immigrated to Israel, the others came to the United States. There is no other information about the other children of Chiam Pesach Monkovski at this time.  Chiam Pesach passed away in on April 13, 1928 , in Wasosz.

The people in the portrait below are not identified.  From resemblance to the people in the family portrait above, I believe that they are Chiam Pesach and Rywka Monkovski.

This portrait may be of Chiam Pesach and Rywka Monkovski with one of their daughters, possibly Pelia.

This woman is unidentified--she may be one of the daughters in the family portrait at the top of the page. This postcard came from Jack Krause, a grandson of Wolf Berek (Velvil) and Bejla Monkovski

The Genealogy of the Monkovski/Markin Family

Marriage Record of Velvil Monkovski and Bejla Pienazek, December 31 1865, Wasosz, Poland

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Some very exciting genealogical news arrived this week!  Nineteen family records of the Monkovski family in Poland were obtained and translated, thanks to Jose Gutstein, who runs a site about the town of Szczuczyn, Poland.  The earliest record was from 1848 and the latest from 1899.  My knowledge of this family is greatly expanded!  For a link to Jose's site, click here
The story began with a box of old pictures from my mother-in-law, Lillian Gerstein.  The pictures belonged to her mother, Rose Krause, who was born Rose Monkovski in Szuzczyn, Poland.  The only picture that Lillian could identify was of her grandmother. The other picture, was identified by Lillian's cousin, Libby Fretzen.  Eventually, this name, Uncle Chiam Pesach Monkovski, led to finding many more family members.

Belja Peysakowna Pieniazek, Lillian Gerstein's and Libby Fretzen's grandmother, the picture that started my genealogy search.

 Chiam Pesach Monkovski and family, identified by Libby Fretzen.

Velvil (Wolf Berek) Chajmowicz Monkovski, 1848-1898, born possibly in Wasosz, Poland.  He was the son of Chiam Monkovski and Leja (Leah), employed as laborers in Wasosz. Chiam was deceased. Velvil worked as a tailor. 
Belja Pienanzek was born in 1849, possibly in Wasosz.   Her parents, Pejsach Pienazek and Sora Mendlowna Nochymowna, were glaziers. She is listed on the marriage record as a maiden, her parents were deceased. They married on December 31, 1865 in Wasosz, Poland.  At that time, this part of Poland was ruled by Russia.  However, the legal documents were written in Polish.

Velvil and Bejla were the parents of at least seven children.  I am guessing this because there are
gaps between the births of  several of the children, for instance, Chiam Pesach in 1869 and Nochim in 1875.
Several of the Monkovski children Americanized their surname to Markin when they immigrated to the United States.

• Chiam Peysach, b. 1869, death unknown.
• Nochim, 1875-1898,
• Rose Krause, 1887-1956,
• Jacob (Jankiel) Markin, b.1890,
• Fanny Markin Center, 1891-1967,
• Eva (Chawa) Markin Krause, 1896-1982. 
• Daughter, first name and birth year unknown,  who married Jankiel Ross, and was the mother of Libby Fretzen. 

There is so much more in the records, but way too much for one blog post.