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When it all comes together it's just beautiful! DNA, family trees, indexed records on several websites and images of originals - the tools of our trade.

A couple of days ago, I decided to do a check of my Ancestry DNA matches to see if anyone new had been added among my 3rd to 4th cousin matches. I am 100 percent Ashkenazi Jewish (an endogamous population). As a result, I rarely look beyond those (currently) 62 matches who share 90 or more centiMorgans (cMs) of DNA with me.  

Ancestry does not provide information about individual shared segments. So, I usually spend quality time only with those matches with a relatively low number of segments in common with me. The idea is to high-grade the matches by looking for those who (on average) may share at least one or more 20 cM segments with me. For the first time in many months there was a new 3rd to 4th cousin on my match list.

My match listed his full name, but it meant nothing to me (we'll call him CS). He had no tree associated with his DNA results. He shares 121 cMs of autosomal DNA and 10 segments with me. He is 51 percent Ashkenazi Jewish.

Although, due to endogamy, a search of matches in common is often more confusing that illuminating, I tried it. CS seemed to match my Liebross side and I  noted that another match (JS) had the same last name as CS and 19 percent Ashkenazi Jewish. JS was below my usual research threshold: 4th-6th cousin and only sharing 5o cMs and five segments. 

I tentatively guessed, based on the name and the percentage of ethnicity assigned to Ashkenazi, that this might be CS's son. When I contacted JS he confirmed that to be the case.

JS has a tree of 74 people. His emphasis was quite obviously on his mother's non-Jewish family, but the three people listed on his father's side were enough to indicate this might be a match with which I could work. JS's grandmother, Heather Marie Schafer was born in Vienna, Austria. 

My great grandfather, Louis Liebross. had a sister named Rifke who married Abraham Dov Ber Schaffer in Radautz, Bukovina (now in northern Romania) on 24 June 1877.[1]

Extract: (left page) Marriage 24 June 1877. Groom: Abraham Ber Schaffer of Radautz, son of Mortko and Scheinde Schaffer of Radautz.

Extract: Bride: (right page) Rifke Libruss of Radautz, daughter of Mani and Zirl Libruss of Zaleszczyki.

While Heather Marie's first and middle names had been clearly Anglicized in the Ancestry family tree, her birth date was provided: 17 February 1917. I searched in Ancestry on Heather Marie Schafer and another more in-depth tree came up. This one identified Heather as Herta Marie Schaffer and indicated her parents were Raphael Schaffer and Susan Frank.

Raphael was a good hit because Rifke Liebross Schaffer's fourth or fifth child was Rafael, born on 1 April 1875 in Radautz.[2] Yet, Rifke and Abraham Dov Ber Schaffer were married in 1877. 

This situation of marriage years after children's births is not unusual in Austrian Empire Jewish marriage and birth records. The Austrian Empire government had made it costly for Jewish couple to register their marriages with the civil authorities. As a result, many Jewish couples had religious ceremonies and often did not register their marriages with the government until may years later. If the couples did not register their marriages, the state did not consider them married. Birth records for their children would often only show the mother's surname and the children would be recorded as illegitimate. Couples might register their marriages years later for several reasons including to make sure future inheritances would follow the framework from legally identified father to child.

Rafael was recorded as illegitimate. A note in the last column indicate he was legitimized by his parents marriage at a later date. 

Another note on Rafael's birth record indicated he'd married Dvoira Grupp in Bucharest on 17 September 1934. For me, after that, the trail ran cold. I had no further information on Rafael or Dvoira; no indication of offspring (although by 1934 Rafael would have been 59 so there might not have been any from that union). I assumed that Rafael and Dvoira, like several of Rafael's family members had been killed during the Holocaust.[3]

Extract: Rafael, son of Abraham Berl Schaffer and Rifke Libruss, born 1 April 1875 in Radautz, house no. 1102. Legitimized by marriage registered in vol. I, p. 64/65, entry no. 36, 24 June 1877. Rafael married Dvoira Grupp in Bucharest on 17 September 1934.

But, Herta Schaffer was supposedly born to a Rafael Schaffer and Susan Frank in 1917 in Vienna. This was new information. Did my Rafael have an earlier marriage and a child? I needed to see a copy of Herta's birth record.

I found her birth record indexed on JewishGen. The date and location in Vienna matched. The father's name matched. But the mother's name was Susie Grunwerg not Susan Frank.

Vienna Jewish community vital records have been imaged, but not completely indexed, on FamilySearch. One may find the records listed in the FamilySearch catalogue. But, these records cannot be viewed from home. They must be viewed at a Family History Center.
 

Record entry 282 shows Herta Schaffer, daughter of Raphael Schaffer and Susie Grunwerg, born on 19 February 1917 in Vienna. Parents married 6 September 1903, Czernowitz [4].

The imaged record did not provide much more than the basic information shown in the JewishGen index. The comment on the far right column, however, was excellent: Herta's parents had been married in Czernowitz on 6 September 1903.

Like the Viennese Jewish records, some Jewish Czernowitz vital records listed in the FamilySearch catalogue have not been indexed. I looked for the indexed marriage record in the GeneaSearch Czernowitz database and found it.

I then took this information to the FamilySearch catalogue to view an image of the original record. Czernowitz records may be searched and viewed on FamilySearch from one's home computer, but one may not download the images (a screen shot is not optimal, but worked for me).

Extract: Groom: Raphael Schaffer, born in Radautz, son of Abraham Schaffer and Rifke Liebross of Radautz. Born 1 April 1875. Bride: Sossie Grunwerg born in Kolomea, daughter of Berl Grunwerg and Sura, born Frank, in Czernowitz on 20 November 1880. [5]

Extract: Married on 6th September 1903 in Czernowitz. Rabbi Benjamin Weiss.

Evidence in this record addresses the problem of Herta's mother's name. Sossie was identified with her mother's last name (Frank), not her father's (Grunwerg). To be sure, I located Sossie's birth record via the Jewish Records Indexing- Poland database.[6]

Extract/summary: Sossie, born in Kolomea on 18 November 1880 [her marriage record showed 20 Nov. 1880]. She is shown as illegitimate and her father's information is not included in the last column on this page. A note above the illegitimate notation indicates that her parents married in Czernowitz on 5 May 1888, thereby legitimizing her.

Extract: Mother's name was Sura Frank. Sossie's father's name, Berl Grunwerg of Kolomea is recorded in the first column under her mother's name. Sura's parents were Meier and Ester Rifka Frank of Kolomea.

She, like Rafael, was listed as illegitimate. Her parents married civilly after her birth.

I did find Sossie's parents' marriage record from 1888 among the Czernowitz  Jewish marriage records, but will not include it here. It shows that her mother Rifka's surname had been Udelsman (perhaps Rifka's mother's maiden name!).

It appears I have located a new 3rd cousin (CS) and his son (JS), who is my 3rd cousin once-removed. Now, I have other record-confirmed 3rd cousins+ on this side of the family with whom I share no autosomal centiMorgans. So, these matches with CS and JS are special. I hope to get more of my clear-cut Ancestry matches' results uploaded to other websites to allow more in-depth analyses.

Mane and Tsiril had four children (that I know of). Rifke Liebross Schaffer had nine or ten. Louis had at least eight. So the family tree below just shows our direct lines from our common ancestral couple.

For those who sometimes question the value of DNA testing for one's family history, note that in this case DNA results allowed me to find a person for whom I was not previously searching. Without the initial interesting match with CS I would not have looked further. And without the availability of indices and images of European Jewish records I never could have made this connection. It takes a village of websites and organizations to build a family tree. 

In addition to CS, JS and all my cousins whose curiosity and trust allow me access to their DNA test results, I think kudos are due to GeneaSearch, Edgar Hauster and Bruce Reich (who are behind the acquisition and indexing of Radauti Jewish vital records), JewishGen, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland, and FamilySearch. And of course, let's not forget the big four DNA testing companies: Ancestry, FamilyTree DNA, MyHeritage and 23andMe. With patience DNA tests are gifts that keep on giving.

Notes:
1. Radauti Jewish Marriages, Abraham Ber Schaffer and Rifke Libruss, 24 June 1877, Vol. 1, p. 64, entry 36; Radauti City Archive. Indexed records searched at: https://czernowitz.geneasearch.net/
2. Radauti Jewish Births, Rafael Schaffer, 1 April 1875, vol. 1, p. 83, entry 30; Radauti City Archive. Indexed records searched at: https://www.reisch-family.net/RadautzBirthRegistersIndex/BirthsSearchForm.html
3. I have been in touch with one descendant of Rifka Liebross Schaffer who lives in Israel who has been very helpful.
4. Vienna, Jewish births 1917, no. 282, Herta Schaffer, 19 February 1917; images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 2 October 2019), "Metrikel 1826-1943,">Geburten 1917-1918 (microfilm 1199227); citing Judische Gemeinde Wien (Niederosterreich), Stadt und Landesarchiv Wien.
5. Czernowitz, Jewish marriages 1903, Raphael Schaffer and Sossie Grunwerg, 6 September 1903; images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch,org : accessed 2 October 2019), Austria, Bukovina, Czernowitz - Jewish Records>Metrikel Books, 1856-1940>microfilm 2395731, Item 1>image 73 of 850; citing Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine, Czernowitz, vol. IX, p. 104, record 128.
6. Kolomyya, , Jewish births, Sossie [Grunwerg] Frank, 18 November 1880; images, Polish State Archives, AGAD, Stanislowow Wojewodztwo, Kolomyya, Fond 300, Signatura 395, Akta 670; accessed via Jewish Records Indexing-Poland (https://jri-poland.org/ ).

Tziril Liebross of Radautz and Zaleszczyki: New access to Radauti Jewish vital records

2017 is already shaping up to be a banner year for those of us family historians researching Jewish family members from Radautz (or, in Yiddish, Radowitz), Bukovina, Austrian Empire (now Rădăuţi, Suceava County, Romania). Up until recently, the Bukovina Vital Records database on JewishGen did not capture the years of interest to me. Birth records ended in 1879, marriage records in 1878 and death records in 1887. 

My grandmother and all her siblings were supposedly born in Radautz after the mid-1880s and my great great grandmother, Tziril Liebross, died in Radautz in 1891. While earlier Radautz records had been indexed in the "Bukovina Vital Records Database" on JewishGen, later records (during the time periods when my relatives were in the city) had not been accessible to researchers for indexing. Previously, the records office had only allowed researchers to view their family members' records and no others.

Enter researcher Edgar Hauster. In August, after some negotiation, Edgar announced acquisition of images of Jewish vital records stored in the Civil Records Office in Rădăuţi. He took digital photos and Martina Lelgemann has been transcribing and indexing the records. 

A few weeks ago, Edgar announced the availability of the expanded marriage database. Thanks to technical skill provided by Bruce Reich using Steve Morse's One-Step Search Tool Generator, indexed Radautz "Marriage Records 1870-1929" are now available and searchable online. Indexing of additional vital records is ongoing and the team plans to roll out searchable databases for births and deaths shortly.

Since I was anxious to see the records and appreciative of the ongoing efforts, I offered to contribute. Since Radautz records are well in hand, I am indexing some other Bukovina records: Campulung Moldovenesc deaths and births (some of the death records are already online). I do not know (yet) of any relatives who settled in Campulung, but this is my way of participating in a good project in a meaningful way.

But the best news: I have acquired my great great grandmother Tziril's (or Zirl's) death register record! 

It's always exciting for me to see what the actual register books look like. The image, above, is the two page spread with my great great grandmother's record, number 115 (third entry from the bottom).

And here is a detail of the entry, acquired courtesy of the Rădăuţi Town Hall/Romanian National Archives.*

Page 112, entry 115.

Page 113, entry 115

While I already know from her gravestone that her father's name was Asher Zelig, I was hoping to learn her maiden name and her mother's name. Unfortunately, no. Tziril's death register record does confirm, however, that the Zirl documented in the record and on her associated gravestone was, indeed, the wife of Mane. Mane was my great grandfather's, Louis', father. The pieces are fitting together.

Perhaps the nicest information is that Mane (and, perhaps, Tziril) was a former resident of Zaleszczyki, Galicia. Family lore only spoke of Radautz as the birth place of my grandmother and all her siblings. My research has been indicating that my great grandparents and their children were originally from the Zaleszczyki area (today in Ukraine). Now I have some additional confirmation that Louis Liebross' parents were from Zaleszczyki.

This is terrific, because I already knew that my great grandmother Bertha's (Louis Liebross' wife) Wenkert family was also from Zaleszczyki. While, due to records loss, it is unlikely I will ever find vital records from Zaleszczyki, if I can place both the Wenkert and Liebross families there, I will have a good notion about where my great grandparents met and started their family. When I visited the Lviv Archives in 2013, I did find other people surnamed Wenkert and Liebross in Zaleszczyki and Usciezko (Ustechko) in the 1850s. I cannot yet directly link to those people, but, again, the pieces are starting to look good.

The record shows that Tziril was 81 years old at death. That means she was born about 1810. I think that is earlier than probable. Rivke Liebross Schaffer, Tziril's eldest known child, was, based upon her records, probably born around 1850. After Rivke's birth, Tziril had at least three additional children: Ruchel, Eliezer (Louis) and Simon. United States records for Louis and Simon indicate they were born in the early to mid 1860s. If Tziril had been born in 1810, she would have been over 50 when she had the last two children. Not likely.

Tziril's death record also identifies a house number in Radautz. The house number will allow me to place her home, no. 1102, on a Radautz map. But, that's another post!

I am now anxiously awaiting birth records, which should include most of my great aunts and uncles. A sneak-peek at a list of names dashed my hope that birth records for Tziril's and Mane's two eldest Liebross children, my grandmother, Tillie, and my great aunt, Rose, will be among the mix. Perhaps they were actually born in Zaleszczyki (I may never be able to confirm that with birth records). But, it does look like I will find birth records for Tillie's and Rose's siblings - my great uncles Max, Sidney, Harry, Jerry and Irving and my great aunt Celia. Stay tuned! 

*Citation for this record:

Zirl Liebross, death record entry 115 (19 October 1891), Radautz Deaths, vol. III, 1887-1902, pp. 112-113; Rădăuți Civil Records Office, Rădăuți, Suceava County, Romania. 

Adding a significant leaf on the tree: Tsiril Liebross

Oh, I know it's not "Tombstone Tuesday," but this is one of those genealogy happy dance moments - and I want to share. I have recently received, via email, photos of my great great grandmother Tsiril Liebross' tombstone in the Radauti (aka Radautz) Jewish Cemetery in Romania (what had been the Bukovina province of the Austrian Empire).

An index of this record has been online for some time (the inventory of the cemetery was completed in 2005) associated with the Radauti kehilalinks page on JewishGen. But, it has taken me some time to find additional evidence that my great great grandmother was this Tsiril who died in Radauti.

Based upon some recent contacts, I have also been able to add another sister for my great grandfather Louis Liebross (more about that another time) and confirm that "Zirl Libruss" was my Tsiril Liebross.

Here lies an important woman

modest and proper

Mrs. Tsiril daughter of

the late Mr. Asher

Zelig Died second

intermediate day of Sukkot

5652 May her soul be bound in the bonds of the living

Devout Jewish people may not work during the first two days of Sukkot. The first two days of Sukkot are followed by intermediate days on which people may go about most of their usual work routines. So the second intermediate day is the fourth day of Sukkot (18 Tishri). In the year 5652, the Gregorian calendar date of Tsiril's death was 20 October 1891.

Her father was Asher Zelig. My great uncle, Sidney Libross (son of Louis and Bertha), was named for Asher Zelig and shared that Hebrew name. Sidney was born on 2 February 1890. Since Ashkenazi Jewish people do not name after the living, we know that Tsiril's father died before 2 February 1890. We do not know Tsiril's father's surname or the name of her mother.

My great aunt Celia Liebross' Hebrew name was Tsiril, like her grandmother. While I am not sure of Celia's exact date of birth (she had a tendency to get younger as the years went by), I know she was born after her brother Harry (14 November 1893) and before her brother Joseph Jerome, also known as Jerry (15 July 1897). So, she certainly could have been named after Tsiril who died in October 1891.

Tsiril was the wife of Mane. She and Mane had at least four children: my great grandfather Eliezer (Leizer or Louis) Liebross, Simon Liebross, Ruchel Liebross Gottfried and Rivka Liebross Schaffer.

I do not know when and where Mane died or was buried - his grave does not appear in this inventoried Radauti cemetery. However, Louis's eldest son, Max, born on 8 December 1889 in Radauti, was given the Hebrew name Mane. 

Recently discovery of Louis' elder sister Rivka Liebross Schaffer has added to information that may provide some indications regarding Mane's death. Rivka's first son (second child), born 26 September 1870 was also named Manie.[1]  So, we may assume that Louis' and Rivka's father (Tsiril's husband) died before that.*

My research leads me to believe that the family lived (or at least was registered in) Zaleszczyki before moving to Radauti. It is possible that Mane might have been buried there. Unfortunately, there are today neither records nor remnants of the Zaleszczyki Jewish cemetery.

The Radauti Jewish Cemetery Project, online via JewishGen, was kind enough to respond to my request for these photos of my great grandmother's gravestone and to allow me to use the images on my blog. 
------------------
* I am indebted to researcher Eli Schaffer who is related to Rivka Liebross Schaffer's husband Avraham Dov Ber Schaffer. He pointed me in the correct direction in recognizing Rivka as a relative and noting Manie Schaffer's birth date. 

Notes:
1. "Registrupentiu actlele Starii Civile, Radauti, Nascuti 1857-1876-N1," birth register, page 50, record 67, Manie Schaffer, born 26 September 1870; Arhivele Nationale ale Romaniei (The National Archives of Romania), Suceava.

Happy Mother's Day, L2a1l2a!

Happy Mother's Day to my late mother Norma, grandmother Tillie, great grandmother Bertha and my great great grandmother Reisel!

Bertha Wenkert Liebross

I do not know the maiden name of my great great grandmother Reisel Wenkert from the Zaleszczyki area of today's Ukraine but among her children was my great grandmother, Breindel Wenkert, born about 1868. 

I know Breindel had one elder sister, Perl Wenkert Ett, who died in Skole, Austria in 1895. Perl had five daughters, all of whom bore daughters, as well (she also had a son, but that information is not helpful for following out MtDNA results). Beyond Perl and Breindel, I do not yet know of any other siblings.

Breindel married Eliezer (Leiser) Liebross. They resided in Radautz, Austrian Empire (now Radauti, Romania) and had eight children. 

Leiser and Breindel  immigrated in 1897 and 1898, respectively, and became Louis and Bertha Liebross in New York City.

Tillie Liebross Wilson

Their eldest child was my grandmother Tillie (born about 1888 in Radautz). Tillie attended school through the eighth grade. She married Joseph Wilson in 1917 in New York City. Of Louis and Bertha's three daughters, Tillie was the only one to bear children who lived to adulthood.

Tillie was not the stereo-typical white-haired grandmother. While she was doting and a superb cook, she dyed her hair to match her former auburn locks. She was ten when she became an immigrant and in later years did not have an accent from the Old Country. I think this photo (at left) really shows her as stylish woman.

Joe and Tillie's second child was my mother Norma Circe Wilson, born in Brooklyn in 1921. The Wilson's did well financially and purchased their two-family home in Brooklyn at 31 Colin Place. 

Me and my mother Norma Wilson Garber (about 1977)

Both Norma and her brother Ira attended Lincoln High School and then New York University. Norma graduated in 1941. She worked as a bookkeeper for a few years before marrying Bernard Garber in 1947. She became a home-maker after my brother Jim was born.

Our maternal line mitochondrial DNA haplogroup is L2a1l2a. Unfortunately, our haplogroup is an exact match with 25 other people who have tested with Family Tree DNA. Thus far, there does not appear to be any discernible common ancestor among us.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Louis Liebross' 1897 Passenger Manifest

When I started my research several years ago, the first manifest I located was for the Liebross family: Bertha and her children on arriving in New York Harbor on 1 July 1898. [1] The surname was written as "Libros" and the manifest was mostly eaten by insects. I discussed this manifest in a prior post. On that manifest Briendel Libros  (later Bertha Liebross), my great grandmother, noted that she and her children would be joining her husband (and their father) in New York City. It was at that point that I started my search for Leiser (later Louis) Liebross, who had arrived in the United States sometime earlier than his family.

I located Louis indexed (on Ancestry.com) as "Lewer Lebros." I read the name entry as "Leiser Lebros." [2] On 4 December 1897, Leiser departed Bremen, Germany on the Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse and arrived at Ellis Island on 15 December 1897.

"New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 5 September 2009), manifest, Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse, Bremen to New York, arriving 15 December 1897, Libros, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: 115; Line: 4; Page Number: 107.

 Here is a detail of the left side of the manifest. 

Name in Full: Leiser Lebros
Age: 37
Sex: m
Married or Single: m
Calling or Occupation: merch [merchant]
Able to Read:   /    Able to Write:  /  [marks indicate yes]
Nationality: Austrian
Last Residence: Radincz [Ellis Island Foundation indexed it as Rahnicz. It likely should have been the town Radautz (today, Radauti, Romania).]
Seaport for Landing in the United States: N.Y.
Final Destination in the United States (State, City or Town): Bklyn NY [Brooklyn, New York]

We sometimes hear that it is best to view originals rather than images of documents. In most cases views of digital images will not provide any less information that originals and may, with enhancements, provide more information. This manifest, however, is a case where there are pencil markings likely correcting information provided in the occupation and reading/writing columns. The pencil markings are not readily readable on the black and white manifest image. I have not yet tried enhancing these digitally to see if that would help.

The right half of the passenger record: 

Whether having a ticket to such final destination: - [indicates yes]
By whom was passage paid: self  
Whether in possession of money. If so, whether more than $30 and how much if $30 or less: 100 
Whether ever before in the United States, and if so, when and where: " [indicating no]  
Whether going to join a relative, and if so, what relative, their name and address: brother NY
Ever in Prison or Almshouse or supported by charity. If yes, state which. no
Whether a polygamist. no
Whether under Contract, express or implied, to labor in the United States. no
Condition of Health, Mental and Physical. good
Deformed or Crippled. Nature and Cause. no

It was the indication of "brother" under "Whether going to join a relative..." that started me on my search for another, previously unknown to me, male Liebross lurking around Brooklyn in 1897. That's when I was able to locate Simon Liebross. When I asked my mother's first cousin Stanford Liebross if he'd ever heard of Simon, he told me that he'd been named after him. Bingo!


Notes:
1. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 13 May 2009), manifest, Britannic, Liverpool to New York, arriving 1 July 1898, Libros, citing National Archives Microfilm Serial: T715; Microfilm Roll: 25; Lines: 20-28; Page Number: 2.
2. I sent Ancestry a correction on the transcription. It is always a good idea to enter a correction for Ancestry's index when one finds a faulty transcription. Ancestry will not changed their entry, but will, once reviewed, add yours and make it also searchable. So, one does oneself and future researchers a favor by taking a few moments to correct transcriptions and make indices more accurate.  
The Ellis Island Foundation website has Louis indexed correctly as Leiser.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Simon & Ethel Liebross 1890 USA & Hamburg Passenger Lists

Early passenger lists for the port of New York often do not provide much information, but if the passengers embarked from Hamburg (or any of the other handful of places where a port of departure manifest might have been created and still exist), the genealogical researcher may be in luck. Simon and Etel (Ethel) Libros (Liebross) arrived in the United States on 25 January 1890 aboard the Rhaetia. [1] (This was Simon's second arrival in the US, the first was described in last week's "Treasure Chest Thursday" post.)

Passenger number 188, Simon Libros, age 35,  a male from Austria, arrived with his wife Etel, age 28, a female also from Austria. They had departed Hamburg, Germany and journeyed to the Port of New York via Le Havre, France.

The corresponding Hamburg manifest includes some additional information about the couple. [2]

Passengers 190 and 191, Simon and Etel Libros, age 35 and 28, respectively, were from Krasno, Austria.

Initially, I was stumped by "Krasno." There are several locations in Eastern Europe that include the name "Krasno" (including locations in today's Poland, Romania, Belarus and Ukraine) and none of them, that I knew of, were anywhere near the communities of origin for other Liebross relatives: Zaleszczyki, Galicia, Austria (today, Zalischyky, Ukraine) and Radautz, Bukovina, Austria (today, Radauti, Romania). [3]

It wasn't until I was contacted by another genealogist, Ava Cohn (aka Sherlock Cohn), that I learned of the small community of Krasna Ilski, Bukovina, Austria (today, Krasnoyil's'k, Ukraine) which is 17 miles NW of Radauti, Romania. [4] Ava is related to the Hammer family of Krasnoyil's'k. She had heard the surname Liebross in her family lore. Ethel's maiden name was Hammer. We believe that Ethel and Simon's marriage is Ava's Liebross connection, but are not yet sure of how she is related to Ethel.

While neither of the 1890 passenger lists provide much data, together they provide critical information to further our research.
 
Notes:
1. "New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957," digital images, Ancestry.com
 (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 28 May 2008), passenger list, Rhaetia, Hamburg to Le Havre to New York, arriving 25 January 1890, Simon and Etel Libros; citing National Archives Microfilm Serial M237; Microfilm Roll: 543; Line: 35; List Number: 93.
2. "Hamburg, Passenger Lists, 1850-1934," digital images, Ancestry.com
 (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 28 May 2008), passenger list, Rhaetia, Hamburg to Le Havre to New York, departing 5 January 1890, Simon and Etel Libros; citing Staatsarchiv Hamburg; Hamburg, Deutschland; Hamburger Passagierlisten; Volume: 373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 066; Page: 0; Microfilm No.: K_1740.
3. Radauti is 31 miles south of Chernivtsi (once called Czernowitz), Ukraine. Zaleszczyki is 26 miles NNW of Chernivtsi. 
4. And 25 miles SW of Chernivtsi.