Looking for Relatives/Please help

[Hannia]

Nancy,

I did not say that Grandfather came from a Jewish village.

I use Shtetlseeker.com, because it includes Soundex and is
very efficient in locating small villages.

Yes, Grandfather's surname did change. Grandfather's name was transliterated from Russian to English, from Cyrillic Alphabet to Latin Alphabet. THE ONLY CORRECT SPELLING OF HIS NAME IS IN ITS ORIGINAL LANGUAGE, USING ITS OWN ALPHABET.
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A copy of Father's baptismal certificate might prove to be invaluable???
It will have the correct spelling of Grandfather's surname.

Was Father baptized at the Holy Trinity Catherdral? Get a copy of his Baptismal Certificate. The records will probably be in Church Slavonic
and from that you should get a better read on the original surname.

Holy Trinity Cathedral - Home

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Zwiniacze, Zvinyach'ye, Zvinyacheye, today Zvinyache >Horohivskij raion/district >
Volynska oblast/region > Ukraine, latest zip 45725

Using Shtetlseeker.com, easy enough to locate. Notice Ivanova
directly north of Kovel.

[Hannia]

Zwiniacze, Zvinyach'ye, Zvinyacheye, today Zvinyache > Horohivskij raion/district >
Volynska oblast/region > Ukraine, latest zip 45725.

Notice that Grandmother's ancestral district has been changed, just like Grandfather's
ancestral region was changed from Grodno to Brest.

From late 18th century to 1921, Grandmother's ancestral region was part of Czarist Russia.
From 1921-1939 it came under Reconstituted Poland's domain. Post WW2 it was part of
SSR Ukraine, under Soviet domain until 1991 when Ukraine became independent.

[Hannia]

Agafia Pelisl (spelling as per Ellis Island), 18, arriving in 1910
and heading for her brother's, Lubian??? Pelisl @ 616 Indiana Ave??? in Laporte Ind???.
She was from Zwianiace, Russia. She left her father, Mykita (Nykita in Russian), behind in village.

Manifest Enlarger

As per Ellis Island there is a Lukjan Pelisch, arriving in 1909. He left
his wife, Damka, behind in village. Notice poor transliteration of
village name.

Searching Ellis Island Passenger Lists in One Step
Searching Ellis Island Passenger Lists in One Step

[Nancy Merkousko]

Hannia-I have been searching all over the internet and reading about the places-somewhere I read that one of the areas that was mentioned in regard to my grandfather was predominately Jewish. I went back through the Ellis Island Records and did find my grandmother but nothing on my grandfather. I searched every name that was remotely similar in spelling and sound-no Boris. If he was baptized, he was baptized in his home town not in Chicago. I will try to find my father's records, but I am not hopeful. I have some information as stated earlier on my grandmother, and she is definitely from the Ukraine. I am hoping for information about my grandfather. If there is a record of my father's baptism, I would guess that my grandfather spelled his name the way we do-not the original spelling. I will check it out. Thanks

[Hannia]

Notwithstanding Y or O ending to surname, Grandfather's surname translates as
Soundex Code 622.

Same name variants show up at entry ports in Baltimore, Boston, Port of Detroit,
St. Albans VT (Canadian border crossing)??? & NY.

SOUNDEX Code Generator and Immigration List Index
SOUNDEX Code Generator and Immigration List Index

I prefer using NARA over LDS for these searches. These are time consuming even if
it is a cleaner search. If you live in or near a large city, NARA does have libraries all
over country.

The key information, Grandfather's birthplace, has been ascertained, so hopefully
Serhej may be able to provide you w/a connection in Belarus.

I know it's discouraging, but you are making headway. We have members here that have
been at this for yrs. Eventually it all comes together.