Bulletin Board
Notes from the Svisloch and the Wolkavysk Region
"Typical of the larger, more urbanized shtetlach was the villge of Sislevich, in the Grodno region of Poland. Known in Yiddish as Sislevich, the town had a population of more than 2000 Jews at the beginning of the twentieth century. Most of the streets were unpaved, but there were sidewalks around the central market square, and many of the larger homes were multistory brick residences. There were sixty wholesale and retail establishments in the village, and a railroad connected the town to the provincial capital of Bialystok, although some tradesmen were prosperous enough to bring goods all the way from Warsaw.
"The town was surrounded by little villages inhabited by White Russian peasants, and many of the Jewish townsfolk made their living by supplying the rural population with essential iron goods and other types of non-farm commodities. But the major economic enterprises in the town were the eight leather factories, which together employed more than 400 workers; all the skilled workers were Jews. Beginning in 1901, a series of strikes called by the local Bund took place in these factories, culminating in a bitter four-monthly stoppage in 1908. This last action involved union organizers from all over the province and at one point resulted in the appearance of the army to keep order in the town. In the aftermath of the strike, which ended with a complete victory for the factory owners, many of the skilled workers emigrated to Canada and the United States. This episode illustrate the difference between Swislocz and Aisheshujk or Skala. Swislocz's size and economic development produced the kind of political ferment that was characteristic of the large industrial cities in the Pale."
From - A Brotherhood of Memory: Jewish Landsmanshften in the New World by Michael R. Weisser, Basic Books, Inc. 1985
 | In ancient days the tri-communities of Wolkavysk, Msciibow and Svisloch were part of a shared rabbinate. Located close to the present Polish border it was historically part of the Old Polish Kingdom. Where once Mscibow may have had more influence, more prestigious rabbis, today, Svisloch is a large town. In the years before the War, it had a Jewish population of about 1200. |
| The cemetery no longer exists. The grounds have been built upon. Out of the original three synagogues, one exists which is now a movie theatre. |
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Our Family Villages by Brock Shamberg with a Description of a visit to Jalowka and Svisloch by Maurice G. Shamberg in 1972 |
| Notes Found on the Belarus Sig |
| Nearby Villages: Mscibow 53 07 N / 24 15 E ; Volkavysk 53 10 N / 24 28 E; Izabelin; Porozovo; Zelwa; Popelevo 52 45 N / 24 05 E; Nowy-Dwor; Piaski; Rosh (Ross); Zabludow; Pruzhany; Ruzhany | |||||
| Nearest large cities: Bialystok; Grodno | |||||
| Searching Porozova (coordinates are 52 56 /24 22) just south of Svisloch (53 02 / 24 06). The family names we are searching for are:: Richelevsky Shevelevitch (They eventually settled in Haifa in the 1920-1930s). My father immigrated to Canada, and thence to the USA in 1922 from Porozova when he was "officially" 17 years old, to escape induction into the Polish army. He was probably 21 years +/-. Shalom, Sam Richelew sjr1126935@aol.com JewishGen Researcher No. 46203 researching: RICHELEWSKI, RISHELEWSKI, RICHELEWSKY of Porozovo, [Grodno] Belarus SHEVELEVICH, of Porozovo, Svisloch [Grodno] Belarus and Israel. | |||||
| From: Mark Melnicove Svisloch SIG coordinator THPub@aol.com
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