Which Tolstoye Is Which?

ShtetSeeker list 5 towns in the Ukraine with the name "Tolstoye." Two of them are within the Suchostaw Region! It took us a while to sort out these two and to determine their relationship. Now that we have done so, we'd like to share with you how these two Tolstoyes can be distinguished. One Tolstoye has a latitude/longitude of 49°16´/26°05´ and we call it Tolstoye/4916. It is indicated in light blue on the map below. The other Tolstoye has a latitude/longitude of 48°50´/25°44´and we call it Tolstoye/4850. It is indicated in light green on the map below.

As Paul Fisher's grandma Gertrude SHER Greenberg reported, Tolstoye/4916 was referred to as "Little Tolstoye" and Tolstoye/4850 as "Big Tolstoye." As shown on the map, Tolstoye/4916 is near Grimaylov. Tolstoye/4850 is further south below Ulashkovtse. Tolstoye/4850 is 13 miles ssw of Chortkov. Tolstoye/4916 is near the old Galician/Russian border. Tolstoye/4850 is not. The two Tolstoyes are 34 miles apart.

According to the Gemeindelexicon, the so called Galician Gazeteer (which included all of the Hapsburg empire) the population figures for 1900 show Tolstoye/4916 as having 1991 inhabitants, 613 of whom were Jewish. The 1900 population figures for Big Tolstoye were 3771 people, 2171 of whom were Jewish. The adjectives "Big" and "Little" were comparative terms, but for us both were little towns.

To further heighten the drama, note the previous names of our two Tolstoyes. Tolstoye/4916 was formerly known as Touste, pronounced like the toasted bread you make in your toaster. Tolstoye/4850 has many names. Today both Tolstoyes are called Tovste.

SRRG is fortunate to have two wonderful Tolstoye Shtetl Leaders. For further information and clarification on distinguishing the two Tolstoyes, please get in touch with Paul Fisher and/or Renee Steinig.