Giving up hope tracing DEMBOVITCH born Kolno c.1886

[Fiona Catherine Willsher fiona.willsher@ntlworld.com]

X-No-archive: yes
Hello, I wonder if anyone can help me?!

I have spent hours going through the wonderful resources that are currently
available but constantly draw a blank when trying to trace my grandfather. I
feel very sad and frustrated about this.

My Grandfather's name was Joseph DEMBOVITCH and I have on his naturalisation
certificate that he was born on 6th July 1886 in Kolno, Poland, but is
Russian. It also states his parents were Jacob MEYER and Sarah DEMBOVITCH. I
don't understand why he has his mother's name. I have looked at maps of the
time and can see the boundaries etc. I also realise Kolno was part of Lomza
district.

He came to England at some point and was signed up for WW1 in 1918 when he
was 30. I presume therefore that he entered England then or he would have
been signed up earlier.

I have never met him, he died in 1951 in Willesden, N. London.

I have had no joy from the remaining family. I am desperate to trace who his
parents really were and where they lived and died and also particularly if
he had any brothers or sisters. There are many easily traceable DEMBOVITCH
families online and some could be my relations, but it is proving impossible
to trace records containing his name and his parents' names and any
reference to Kolno.

Thank you in advance of any help or suggestions, and good luck to everyone
in your own personal searches.

Fiona Willsher, UK
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[Moishe Miller moishe.miller@totalben.com]

X-No-archive: yes
Fiona,

It was not uncommon in Europe for Jews to be married without a civil
ceremony. In such cases, children would bear the mother's surname,
not the father's surname.

While it is possible for vital records to contain errors, I would
suggest you take the record at face value for now and see what you can
find for the MEYER line in Kolno. A picture of his tombstone may confirm
that he was Joseph, son of Jacob. A further suggestion would be to trace
the ancestry via any known siblings of your grandfather. If there
records also indicate the same parent's names, you would have further
proof that your paternal line is really MEYER.

You may want to join the Suwalk-Lomza Interest Group on JewishGen.

Good luck in your continued endeavors.

Moishe Miller
Brooklyn, NY
moishe...@totalben.com

"Fiona Willsher" <fiona.w...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> I have spent hours going through the wonderful resources that are currently
> available but constantly draw a blank when trying to trace my grandfather. I
> feel very sad and frustrated about this.
>
> My Grandfather's name was Joseph DEMBOVITCH and I have on his naturalisation
> certificate that he was born on 6th July 1886 in Kolno, Poland, but is
> Russian. It also states his parents were Jacob MEYER and Sarah DEMBOVITCH. I
> don't understand why he has his mother's name. I have looked at maps of the
> time and can see the boundaries etc. I also realise Kolno was part of Lomza
> district.
>
> He came to England at some point and was signed up for WW1 in 1918 when he
> was 30. I presume therefore that he entered England then or he would have
> been signed up earlier.
>
> I have never met him, he died in 1951 in Willesden, N. London.
>
> I have had no joy from the remaining family. I am desperate to trace who
> his parents really were and where they lived and died and also particularly
> if he had any brothers or sisters. There are many easily traceable DEMBOVITCH
> families online and some could be my relations, but it is proving impossible
> to trace records containing his name and his parents' names and any reference
> to Kolno.