Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this
site - it's been such a thrill the last few days to come across so much
information on the Jewish agricultural colonies and more specifically,
Grafskoy Colony. I have been intermittently searching for such information
for the last few years.
My grandfather, Louis Gordon (b. Leib Abramovich
Gordon) was born in Grafskoy Colony on March 4, 1884. A translation of his
birth certificate cites his birthplace as Grafsk Colony, Mariupol
District, Ekaterinoslav Province, Ukraine, Russia. The colony name I was
working with may have been the reason I didn't come across your site earlier.
From translated documents (mostly school and university records, military
papers, and passports), I have been able to reconstruct much of his life and
whereabouts starting in 1903, when he graduated from Berdyansk Gymnasia and
went to work in various pharmacies in Mariupol and Simferopol (he eventually
became a pharmacist). He emigrated to the U.S. (settling in Los Angeles) in
1922, after first serving in the military from 1914-1918, then attending
Tavrichesky University from 1918-1920. He brought his younger sister Leah (b.
1894) with him, along with his wife and two small children. They were
sponsored by an older brother already here - Ezekial (Charles - b. 1882).
However, I do not know much about his younger
years, and would welcome any information about the Gordon family in Grafskoy
Colony (or elsewhere). I do know that there were about 12 children in Leib's
family. In addition to the three that came to the U.S., one daughter went to
Israel and one son went to Argentina. I believe the rest stayed in Russia.
Leib's father was Abram Joseph Gordon and his
occupation (on Leib's birth certificate) was listed as both farmer and
bookkeeper. His mother's name was listed as Masha Sroelevna. It was so
exciting to see the map of Grafskoy Colony - it appears to me that there is a
Gordon house (near the old store), and also that there is a second building
labeled Gordon. It almost looks like that second building is labeled
Dr. Gordon - does anyone know whether that is correct or not? That
would be most interesting since Leib and his wife were both in the medical
profession, as have been many of their descendents. However, we did not know
of any of his immediate family members who might have taken the same
professional path. Also of interest was the photograph of Khana Gordon - the
two children with her look strikingly like Leib's daughter (now in her 80s)
and my father at that age - perhaps they are cousins??
I am curious to know if the Gordons were among the
original settlers in Grafskoy. If so, then my reading of the various
materials on the site indicates that perhaps they came from Lithuania - that
would be a completely new find for me and would indicate a direction for
further research. Apparently, Leib did not talk about his background much
once he had left Russia.
Finally, can anyone give me guidance on whether or
not there are other sources from which I could obtain information prior to
paying for a search of records (I would like to do as much of the background
work as possible in order to focus such a search). For example, I would love
to learn the names/birthdates of Leib's siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.
Again, thanks to everyone for putting together
this wonderful site.
Most sincerely,
Patricia Gordon-Reedy
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Research Contact: Chaim
Freedman
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Updated Thursday March 07 2024. Copyright © 1999 [Jewish Agricultural
Colonies of the Ukraine]. All rights reserved.