Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, an immense and previously inaccessible body of Jewish genealogical records from the 19^th and early 20^th centuries has become available.  LitvakSig, a non profit 501c corporation, has spent a number of years establishing working relationships with the people who operate the Lithuanian archives.  Through the efforts of its’ dedicated volunteer staff, LitvakSig with the cooperation of the Lithuanian Archives, has complied an extensive catalog of the archive’s holdings. 

 

     The Panevezys Research Group (PURGroup, began May 1997), a chapter of LitvakSig, is a cooperative effort to obtain these Jewish records from the district of Panevezys, in the north central of Lithuania.  In the first five years of its’ existence, PURGroup has raised approximately $10,000, and used this money to acquire a number of Box and Candle Tax lists  and a few Family/Revision lists.  Samples of the type of information provided by these lists are provided as attachments.  As of November 2004, the group has obtained less that half of the lists currently catalogued (over 20,000 individual records) and none of the extensive holdings of vital record lists (birth, death, and marriage).  In addition to the Tax Lists, Family/Revision Lists, and Vital Records, a number of lists have been donated to the group, for which, at present, there are no available funds to pay for the translations.  The translations account for two thirds of the total cost of making the records available for our use. 

 

Attached are samples of the records: 

1)     A sample of a tax list as we receive it from the archives

2)     A sample of that same tax list, after translation.

 

Here is how you can help, and in the process, obtain electronic files of every record we have acquired and will acquire for your own personal research.  Simply send us a tax deductible gift of $100.  By having the complete set of district wide records, you will have the greatest opportunity of finding your ancestors.  This is doubly important in view of the census registration system imposed by the Russians during their 130 year occupation of Lithuania, 1785 to 1915, whereby families were registered in a certain shtetl, and remained registered there as they moved around the area.  Thus, even though your ancestors said they lived in Birzai, they may have been registered in Vabalninkas, Pushalot, Panevezys, or any of the other dozen or so small shtetls in Panevezys district. 

     Or, you might consider making tax deductible purchases of specific records of your choosing.

 

Contributions to LitvakSIG can be
may be made online at http://www.litvaksig.org/HTML/donate.htm
and are tax-deductible as provided by law.  Contributions may also be
mailed to LitvakSIG, Inc., c/o Eden Joachim, 1204 Hillside Terrace,
Pomona, NY 10970. Contribution forms may be faxed to 845-623-1708. Please
specify town (for vital records) or district research group (and town of
interest) for other types of records, and include your e-mail address with
your contribution.
 

Michael Witkin, PURGroup coordinator, can be reached at  917-951-6554 or

michael@witkin.org