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TYSZKOWSKI GROUP HOMEPAGE

 

 

DEDICATION

 

This section of Shmuelbennachum.com, covering the Tyszkowski group families, is dedicated to the late Lynda Harvey (1934-2002), by her sister, Daphne Morris:

 

 

Lynda Harvey

(1934-2002)
   

Lynda was the youngest of the five children (all daughters) of Brina (née Kowalska) and Zelig Tiskofsky.

 

Lynda’s education got off to a bad start when war was declared in September 1939, just when she was due to start school for the first time.  Most children were evacuated from the capital, but Lynda and I stayed in London throughout the war, except for the time spent in Wolverhampton with our distant relations, Queenie Kamensky and her parents.  We were shown great hospitality but my mother was anxious to return to our father and sisters in London so, after seventeen days, we came back to the Blitz.  Despite interrupted schooling from 1939 to 1945, Lynda proved an excellent pupil and, in 1952, proceeded to Leeds University where she gained a BA degree in French and German.

 

Lynda had a thirst for knowledge and a phenomenal memory.  After the death of our mother in 1956, by which time I and my older sisters had married and left home, Lynda remained in the family house with our father.  She, on behalf of our father, corresponded with relations in America, Israel and Montevideo.

 

In 1970, Lynda and our niece, Jacqueline, visited Israel where they were introduced to various family members by our aunt, Lily Woliner, who had settled in Israel in the 1950s.

 

Lynda, I remember, was amazed to see the likeness between cousins in England and family in Israel and she drew up a family tree to see the relationships.  Into this chart she introduced her knowledge of the families with whom she had corresponded.

 

Lynda amassed a collection of family photographs dating back to the early 1900s and Saul has been inspired to build on the work Lynda commenced.  Lynda always worked meticulously, a characteristic Saul has obviously inherited.  She would have been so proud to see how he has built on her data and developed his own comprehensive website.

 

Sadly, Lynda died in 2002.

 

 

Daphne Morris

March 2005

 

 

 

ORIGINS & HISTORY

 

This history traces what is known of the Tyszkowski family of tailors, including a number of fascinating anecdotes.

This history traces what is known of the Staroletni family, including their gradual emigration in the early 20th century, and the tragedies that befell those who remained in Radzilow.

The vast Kowalski family of blacksmiths, along with the related Piechota and Chemnicki families, can be traced back to the mid-18th century in Radzilow. Kowalski is currently the ninth most common surname in Radzilow certificates and branches intermarried with many of the town's other large families. This history tells some of the main stories from 250 years of heritage.

  • Maps of North-East Poland  (coming soon)

Showing location of Radzilow, Jedwabne and other towns in the region.

José Gutstein has spent years researching the lost Jewish community of Radzilow, and this incredible website stands as a wonderful tribute to a once-vibrant shtetl in north-eastern Poland. José's work has expanded, over the years, to include sister websites for the communities of Szczuczyn and Wizna, two of the nearby towns. The Radzilow website remains the closest anyone will get to living in an old Jewish shtetl in Poland.

  • Articles on the Holocaust in Radzilow  (coming soon)

This website introduces Grunberg's documentary, due to premiere in May 2005, with a concise account of the pogrom which occurred in Jedwabne on 10 July 1941. The website touches on some of the deeper ramifications of the realisation that the mass-murder was committed not by Nazi invaders, but by Polish residents of Jedwabne itself. To date, 12 members of the Tyszkowski Group families are known to have died in the Jedwabne pogrom.

A solemn tribute to each of those of the Tyszkowski group families who lost their lives.

 

 

TREES

 

Due to the sensitive nature of making available information concerning living individuals, I have felt it necessary to institute a password protection system to proceed beyond this point. I reserve the right to distribute the password at my discretion. Please e-mail me at saulmarks@hotmail.com if you think you may be related to these families.

 

 

TYSZKOWSKI

 

 
   
 
 
UPDATED 26 NOV 2007
   
 

 

MARKOWICZ

 

 
   

 

STAROLETNI

 

 
 
 

 

CHEMNICKI

 

 

KOWALSKI

 

 
   
   
     
   
 
   
     
     
     
   
   

 

 

 
 

 

PIECHOTA

 

 

 

 
   
     
 
   
     
   

 

LINENBERG

 

 
 
   

 

GENERAL TREES

This tree brings together the earliest Tyszkowski group families discovered to date, showing how their separate genealogies converge in the middle of the century.

It was not uncommon for members of a shtetl community, such as Radzilow, to be related through the marriage of distant cousins. However, in the case of the Kowalski family, it appears this was the norm, rather than the exception! This highly complex tree was originally designed for comedy value, to highlight the several intermarriages within the family. However, as research has uncovered more and more intermarriages and multiple marriages with some families, the tree has grown ever more intricate...!

 

 

 

PHOTOS

 

Each of the following pages contains thumbnails and captions; just click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger version.

 

RECOLLECTIONS

 

 

  
UPDATED 22 JUL 2006

 

Born Eliasz Tyszkowski in Radzilow in 1897, this quirky "autobiography" of just a few hundred words covers his family's emigration from Poland first to London (1900) and then to New York (1909).

 

   

 

The main function of a town's Yizkor book is to commemorate those from that town lost in the Holocaust, though many Yizkor books, such as the one for Jedwabne, have been expanded to include material about landsmen. Here, Raphael Tish reminisces about his family's early years in New York.

 

  

  • Recollections of Daphne Morris  (coming soon)

 

Daphne Morris remembers how her father frequently organised accommodation for his siblings in London, as well as his desire to communicate with distant family members, or even just other Jews. She also tells of his musicality and his contributions to London shuls during the Yamim Tovim.

 

  

  • In the Lion's Den  -  by Max Star (1964)  (coming soon)

 

Max Star was born Mendel Staroletni in Radzilow in 1891, and spent World War I in various parts of Russia, including a spell in the Russian army. He moved gradually further and further east into Russia, then into China, Mongolia and, finally, Japan, before reaching the US in 1918. His book, In the Lion's Den, chronicles not only his movements and experiences, but also his thoughts and political beliefs as a former Russian, living in the US during the Cold War.

 

 

 

PAPER TRAIL

 

A list of those members of the Tyszkowski group of families who appear on ship manifests, moving to the United States to start new lives.

A list of those members of the Tyszkowski group of families appearing on the 1901 Census of England and Wales.

A list of those members of the Tyszkowski group of families appearing on the 1911 Census of England and Wales.

A list of those members of the Tyszkowski group of families appearing on the 1900 Census of the USA.

A list of those members of the Tyszkowski group of families appearing on the 1910 Census of the USA.

A list of those members of the Tyszkowski group of families appearing on the 1920 Census of the USA.

A list of those members of the Tyszkowski group of families appearing on the 1930 Census of the USA.

Izrael Mejerowicz Piechota was probably born in Radzilow at the end of the 18th century, and served as a witness in a number of the Jewish community's birth, marriage and death certificates over a 25-year period. This short study sheds some light on his role as witness and on his own life and family.

 

  
UPDATED 20 SEP 2005

 

Davis (born Dawid Tyszkowski) and his family naturalised as British citizens in 1911, having lived in the UK for ten years. As well as the standard "Memorial" (effectively an application form), a police report on his home was commissioned, and an associated sample of Davis' handwriting survives.

 

  
UPDATED 20 SEP 2005

 

Szejna Rajchel was born in Radzilow c.1898, and moved to New York in 1921 with her first cousin, Pesza Kowalska (later Paulie Rogoff). Szejna Rajchel's son, Herbert, kept her immigration papers safe, and they are reproduced here.

  • Correspondence:

 

  

 

 

  

 

Until these two letters were discovered, David S Thomas was unknown to this family. However, a one-sentence mention of him in a New York newspaper tells us he was an painter of some kind in Long Island. It is believed he was born into the Tobiaszora family in the Radzilow region, before going to the US in 1905. These two letters, in very poor English but written from the heart, allow us a glimpse into the lives of first-generation American Jews during World War II.

 

  
UPDATED 12 NOV 2008

 

The stamps on this Air Mail letter from Israel to the US date it to around the 1960s, though no more accurate dating has been possible. Chaim, born in Radzilow in 1901, but by then living in Tel Aviv, tells his brother of his poor health following a horrific accident and his intention to start a new career, and various family members are mentioned.

 

  
UPDATED 2 JAN 2006

 

This letter from a niece in Israel to her elderly uncle in London asks him to take care of her son, who she will be sending to him shortly. She presumes he will be agreeable to her son's visit.

 

RESEARCH & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 

A look at the mechanics of how information about the Tyszkowski group families has been collected and organised, along with the intended direction of investigation, and the casebook of unsolved mysterious and missing branches!

A well-deserved mention for some of the major contributors to this section of Shmuelbennachum.com!

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