Reznikovich family

►  See also Growing Up in Trashkun by Alter Resnick

The earliest known family member is Wulf Reznikovich, born in Rogeve (Raguva) sometime before 1796. The name of Wulf's wife is unknown.

Wulf's son Meyer Reznikovich was born in Rogeve in 1816. He married Malka, who was born in 1819. Meyer died in Trashkun (Troškūnai) in 1895.

The four children of Meyer Reznikovich and Malka were:

I.  Chaim Itzik Reznikovich was born in Rogeve (Raguva) in 1834. He married Etta (Ethel), who was also born in Rogeve. The daughter of Chaim Itzik and Etta:

• Merka Gitel (later Mary) Reznikovich was born ~1866 in Rogeve or Trashkun. Mary emigrated in 1905 and settled in New York City. She married Meyer Daniel Leshowitz, who was born in Rogeve on 30 May 1860 and came to the US in 1898-1900. Mary died on 27 September 1936, and Meyer died on 3 June 1942, both in Brooklyn, New York.
• The nine children of Merka (Mary) Gitel Reznikovich and Meyer Daniel Leshowitz:
• Rose (Dveyra Rochel) Lesowitz was born in Subotsh (Subačius) on 2 June 1885. In Aniksht (Anykščiai) on 12 September 1902, she married Joseph (Yosel Ber) Waldman, who was born in Trashkun on 15 January 1880. Joseph died on 12 May 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio. On 11 January 1950 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Rose married Raymond (Rachmiel) Amder (born 5 August 1886 in Dvinsk, Latvia; died 23 March 1970 in Cleveland, Ohio). Rose died on 1 August 1975, also in Cleveland.
• The four children of Rose Lesowitz and Joseph Waldman:
• Harry (Hyman) Waldman was born in New York City on 1 January 1905. Harry married four times. On 2 September 1927 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, he married Bessie Gordon (born 31 August 1906 in Cleveland, Ohio; died 26 April 1992 in Chicago, Illinois). On 23 May 1931 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Harry married Agnes Newman (born 16 June 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio; died 23 March 1945). On 4 November 1934 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Harry married Margaret Nolan (born in Ireland on 2 October 1909; died in Cleveland, Ohio, in February 1973). On 19 September 1937 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Harry married Rebecca (Beckie) B. Goda (born 6 September 1913 in Cleveland, Ohio; died 27 November 1999 in Beachwood, Ohio). Harry died in Euclid, Ohio, on 6 August 1973.
• Florence Beverly Waldman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on 15 November 1906. On 15 June 1930 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, she married William Russell Kwait, who was born ~1904 in Russia. William died in Cleveland in November 1954. Sometime after 1960, Florence married Joseph Kohn, born in Hungary on 4 November 1900. Joseph died 28 April 1983 in Miami, Florida. Florence died 16 February 1999 in Beachwood, Ohio.
• Edward (Isidore) Waldman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on 8 November 1908. On 26 October 1937 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, he married Aldea Louise Shaw (born in Chicago, Illinois, on 19 January 1914; died in Lamar County, Texas, on 20 July 2000). On 10 July 1947, Edward married his second wife, Faye Jones (born 30 December 1923 in Trenton, Tennessee). Edward died in Painesville, Ohio, on 19 August 1975.
• Dorothy A. Waldman was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on 9 August 1917. Sometime before 1944, she married Harold J. Chalkley (born in Ohio on 2 November 1914; died in Norwood, Massachusetts, on 5 October 1973. Sometime after 1944, Dorothy married Joseph Benjamin (born in Cleveland, Ohio, on 4 January 1908; died in Cleveland on 19 February 1997). Dorothy died in Beachwood, Ohio, on 1 April 1995.

• Isaac (Ike) Lesowitz was born in Ponevezh (Panevėžys) on 15 January 1887. He emigrated between 1901 and 1903, settling in New York City, where on 11 January 1914 he married Sadie (Sheina) Waldman (born in Trashkun [Troškūnai] on 8 July 1885). Sadie died on 20 November 1970, and Ike died on 27 November 1972, both in Brooklyn, New York.
  PHOTO Ike Lesowitz and Sadie Waldman (1910s)
• The four children of Ike Lesowitz and Sadie Waldman:
• Nathan Lesowitz was born in New York City on 11 December 1914 and died the next day, 12 December 1914.
• Nathan (Nat) Lesowitz was born in New York City on 8 January 1916. In Washington DC on 28 March 1947, he married Belle Edna Kaplan, who was born in New York on 13 July 1918. Nat died on 30 April 1988, and Belle died on 12 October 1997, both in Silver Spring, Maryland.
• Edward Lesowitz was born in New York on 8 May 1917. On 11 March 1978 in Crescent City, Florida, he married Inez Marie Ryals, who was born in Putnam County, Florida, on 1 February 1923. Edward died on 27 September 2003, and Inez died on 16 February 2015, both in Daytona Beach, Florida.
• [DAUGHTER], born in Brooklyn, New York, on 30 July 1924, still living.
• Samuel (Shmuel) Leshowitz was born Kurkl (Kurkliai), Lithuania, on 7 October 1889. In New York City on 17 March 1912, he married Annie Pearl (Anna) Alper, who was born in "Russia" in 1890. Samuel died in New York in June 1963. The three children of Samuel Leshowitz and Annie Pearl Alper:
• Ethel Leshowitz was born in New York on 17 August 1912. She married Reuben H. Singer (born 31 March 1919, died 12 January 1998 in Pompano Beach, Florida). Ethel died on 12 March 1913.
• Edward (Eddie) Alper Leshowitz was born in New York on 12 April 1915. He married Esther Helen Sandson (born 17 May 1914; died 18 April 1988 in Verona, New Jersey). Edward died on 21 April 2008 in Cranford, New Jersey.
• Sylvia Leshowitz was born in New York City on 10 November 1919.
• Mollie (Malka) Lesowitz was born ~1893 in Kaunas gubernia, Lithuania. In New York City on 29 July 1917, she married Philip Bleiberg (born 27 March 1896 in Bolshodey, Galicia; died in Los Angeles, California, on 20 September 1962). Mollie died on 11 December 1991 in Brooklyn, New York. The three children of Mollie Lesowitz and Philip Bleiberg:
• Ethel Bleiberg was born in New York City on 2 September 1918. She married David Blank (later Blanc), who was born in Focsani, Romania on 30 August 1913, and died in Brooklyn, New York, on 12 August 1977. Ethel died on 2 February, 2006.
• Frances Ruth Bleiberg was born in New York City on 1 April 1920. Her first husband was named Rappaport. Her second husband was Eli George Nicoll (born 16 March 1916 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; died 7 January 2004 in Orlando, Florida. Frances died on 3 August 1989 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
• Harriet Bleiberg was born in New York City on 4 April 1923. She married Irving Tucker (born 24 August 1916). Irving died on 16 August 1995, and Harriet died on 27 December 2015, both in Brooklyn, New York.
• Sara (Sylvia) Lesowitz was born ~1895 in Kaunas gubernia, Lithuania. In 1919 she married Benjamin Farber (born ~1894 in Russia; died in 1935 in New York). Sylvia died in 1984 in Somerset, New Jersey. The two children of Sylvia Lesowitz and Benjamin Farber:
• Wallace Farber was born in New York City on 28 July 1920. He married Leonora (born ~1923), and he died on 30 May 1987 in Oceanside, New York.
• Elaine Farber was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 29 September 1924. On 24 July 1942 she married Virgil H. Carroll (born 24 April 1921 in Pennsylvania; died in 2003 in New Jersey). Elaine died on 4 June 2001 in Cranbury, New Jersey.
• Charles (Charlie) Leshowitz was born 12 January 1897 in Kaunas Gubernia, Lithuania. In New York City on 22 August 1920 he married Beatrice Rebecca Gronsbell (born 27 June 1900 in Brooklyn, New York). Charles died on 12 October 1947, and Beatrice died in August 1977, both in Brooklyn, New York. The two children of Charles Leshowitz and Beatrice Gronsbell:
• Celia M. Leshowitz was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on 27 July 1921. She married Newton Taylor (born 31 October 1918 in Newark, New Jersey). Celia died on 24 December, 2008.
• Dorothy Leshowitz was born in Ridgewood, Queens, New York, on 27 May 1923. She married Morton J. Shapiro (born 1 November 1918; died in May 1979 in Fair Lawn, New Jersey). Dorothy died on 7 December 1999 in Monroe Township, New Jersey.
• Edward Isidore (Idel) Leshowitz was born in Ponevezh (Panevėžys), Lithuania, on 12 January 1897. In New York City on 6 June 1925 he married Elsie (Alice) Alper, who was born ~1902 in Russia. Edward died on 26 February 1944 in Brooklyn, New York. The three chldren of Edward Isidore Leshowitz and Elsie Alper:
• Harriet Leshowitz was born in New York City on 6 April 1926. She died as a young child in Brooklyn, New York, on 14 October 1929.
• Ethel (Edith) Leshowitz was born on 9 September 1930 in New York, New York.
• Erwin Leshowitz was born on 12 May 1933 in New York, New York. He married Margherita (born in 1940 in Naples, Italy).
• William (Schabs) Lesowitz (later Lewis) was born ~1901 in Kaunas gubernia, Lithuania. In Queens, New York, on 16 June 1929 he married Martha Kaufman (born ~1907). The son of William Lewis and Martha Kaufman:
• Robert (Bobby) Lewis, born ~1931 in New York.
• Florence (Freda) Lesowitz was born in New York City on 23 December 1906. She married Anthony SanGiorgio (born in Riposto, Italy, on 3 November 1899). Florence died in New Jersey on September 1995, and Anthony died in Toms River, New Jersey, on 22 June 1996.

II.  Moshe Itzhak ("Meshitze") Reznikovich^[NOTE]Meshitze is a contraction of Moyshe + Itze. was born in Rogeve (Raguva) in 1836. He married Hinda Zisla (born in 1838). Moshe Itzhak, a kosher butcher, was an esteemed member of the Trashkun (Troškūnai) community who was literate, educated, and responsible for recording all the births, marriages and deaths in the town. Hinda Zisla died in 1909, and Moshe Itzhak died sometime after 1926.
PHOTO Moshe Itzhak Reznikovich

• The seven children of Moshe Itzhak and Hinda Zisla:

• Leyb (Louis) Reznikovich was born in Rogeve (Raguva) on 20 January 1866. On 6 January 1893 he married Gita Freyda Puner, who was born in Trashkun in 1868. Gita died in ~1910, and Leyb emigrated to the US in 1913. His three surviving children joined him in New York in 1922-23. Leyb died on 19 February 1927. The eight children of Leyb Reznikovich and Gita Freyda Puner:
• Liba Reznikovich was born in Trashkun in 1894. She attended gymnasium (high school) in Vilna, but she died young in ~1917, during World War I.
• Malka Reznikovich was born in Trashkun in 1894. She died as a young child in 1895.
• Shachne Reznikovich was born in Trashkun in 1896, and died as a child in 1901.
• Chana/Hene Feyga Reznikovich (later Hannah Resnick) was born in Trashkun in 1898. She emigrated to the US in 1923. Hannah married Nison Weisberg (born 24 March 1897, died in September 1979 in New York City).
• Meyer Eliash Reznikovich was born in Trashkun in 1901, and died on 20 January 1902 at the age of nine months.
• Sheyna Leta Reznikovich (later Shirley Resnick) was born in Trashkun in 1902. She emigrated to the US in 1922. In ~1929 she married a "landsleit from Russia" and moved to Nicaragua. She died there in the mid-1930s.

• Chaim Daniel (Alter) Reznikovich (later Albert/Alter Resnick) was born in Trashkun on 26 January 1904. He was probably given the apotropaic name Alter (meaning "old") because three earlier siblings had died very young, and it was hoped that Alter would live to old age. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1923. Officially he took the name Albert, but he was always known as Alter. On 9 June 1935 he married Ida Greenspan, who was born in New York City on 25 May 1911. Alter died on 8 September 1982, and Ida died on 27 April 1997, both in Brooklyn, New York. The three children of Alter Resnick and Ida Greenspan:
• Gail Joy Resnick was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 28 October 1939. On 30 August 1959 in Brooklyn, she married Lewis Henry Rosen, who was born in Brooklyn on 30 August 1959. They had two children. Gail's second husband was Jack Eagelfeld, who was born in New York City on 23 December 1927 and died on 1 June 1989.
• Ronda Resnick was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 26 September 1943. On 22 February 1962 in Brooklyn, she married Robert Glassman, who was born in Brooklyn on 31 December 1940. They had two children.
• Francine Sharon Resnick was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 2 April 1948. In Great Neck, New York, on 7 June 1969 she married Donald Shames, who was born in Brooklyn on 14 April 1947. They had two children.
• Meylach (Melech) Shapshel Reznikovich was born in Trashkun on 1 January 1908. He died in Trashkun in 1919 at age 11. His brother Alter (born Chaim Daniel) explained in a 1979 interview, "He passed away in Traskun, before I was bar mitzvah, after the war [World War I], while we were running from countries, from city to city, from the gangs, from the Cossacks and other bands that were making pogroms and things like that."
• Mendel Reznikovich was born in Rogeve (Raguva) on 5 October 1871. In Rogeve in 1900, he married Pere Libe Vin (born 1866). The five children of Mendal Reznikovich and Pere libe Vin:
• Eizer Reznikovich, born in Trashkun on 20 June 1902.
• Berel Reznikovich, born in Trashkun in 1903.
• Kopel Reznikovich, born in Trashkun in 1904.
• Mikhel Reznikovich, born in Trashkun in 1906.
• Boruch Sholom Reznikovich was born in Rogeve (Raguva) in 1872.
• Mortkhel (Motel) Wulf Reznikovich was born in Rogeve (Raguva) in 1874. On 12 March 1913 in Linkeve, Ponevezh (Linkuva, Panevėžys), he married Rocha Rosenblum (born ~1885 in Linkeve). The three children of Motel Reznikovich and Rocha Rosenblum:
• Shmuel Reznikovich was born in 1914 in Yaneshik (Joniskis), Lithuania.
• Chaim David Reznikovich was born in 1915 in Vitebsk, Russia (now Belarus), in 1915.
• Zisel Reznikovich was born in Vitebsk, Russia (now Belarus), in 1917.
• Ekel Reznikovich was born in Rogeve in 1878. In 1906 he married Maryasha (born 1879).

• Sora-Tzipe Reznikovich was born in Trashkun (Troškūnai) ~1882. She married Nachman Voskoboinik,^[NOTE]other spellings: Voskoboynik, Woskoboinik, Woskobojnik son of Noah and Sara. Nachman was born in 1890 in Lukach/Lokachi, Poland (now Ukraine). Nachman was a rabbi and a shochet (ritual slaughterer), and he encouraged his children to join the Zionist movement. During World War I, the family, including Sora-Tzipe's father, were evacuated to Lyakhovichi, Russia (now Belarus).^[NOTE]In 1915, during World War I, tens of thousands of Jews were forcibly expelled to the east by the Russian authorities. Most returned to their homes after the war. They returned to Trashkun in 1922. Both Sora-Tzipe and Nachman were murdered at Payost (Pajuostė) outside of Ponevezh (Panevėžys) in August 1941.

• The three children of Sora-Tzipe Reznikovich and Nachman Voskoboinik:
• Ziskind (Ziske) Voskoboinik (later Ziske Arazi) was born in Trashkun in 1911. After finishing his studies at the Ponevezh Yeshiva, he went to Palestine in 1932 and changed his surname to Arazi. He married Pnina. Ziske lived in Kibbutz Shefayim until his death in 1952.
  PHOTO Ponevezh Yeshiva graduation photo (1927)
  PHOTO Ziske and Nechama at Foehrenwald DP camp in Germany (1946)
  PHOTO Ziske with his son Dov and sister Nechama (~1948-50)
  PHOTO Grave of Ziske (Voskoboinik) Arazi
  
• The only child of Ziske and Pnina:
• Dov Arazi, born in early 1940s. He married Eve, and he died in 1971.
• Yerachmiel (Rachmilke) Voskoboinik was born in Trashkun in 1914 and, like his older brother, studied at the Ponevezh Yeshiva. He and his wife Lea (née Kaplan) were living in Kovno when World War II broke out. Both were members of the underground resistance in the Kovno ghetto, where they were both killed on 13 July 1944.
  PHOTO Rachmilke and Nechama Voskoboinik with Hashomer Hatzair (1933)
  PHOTO Voskoboinik family in Trashkun (~1936-39)
• Nechama Voskoboinik was born in Russia in 1919.^[NOTE]In 1915, during World War I, tens of thousands of Lithuanian Jews were forcibly expelled by the Russian authorities and spent the war years in Russia. Most returned home after the war. She survived World War II by fleeing to the east (see map). In 1946, on the way to Palestine, she spent time at a displaced persons camp in Germany, where her older brother Ziske was serving as a soldier in the Jewish Brigade (see photo at right). She arrived in Palestine in June 1946 and was detained by the British at Atlit Detention Camp for six months before being released. Nechama married Moshe Halamish. In 1953, she provided testimony about what happened in Trashkun during the war. She died in Israel in 2006.
• PHOTO Nechama Voskoboinik with Trashkun branch of Hashomer Hatzair (1930)
  PHOTO Nechama and Rachmilke Voskoboinik with Hashomer Hatzair (1933)
  PHOTO Voskoboinik family in Trashkun (~1936-39)
  PHOTO Ziske and Nechama at Foehrenwald DP camp in Germany (1946)
  DOCUMENT Nechama Voskoboinik's identity card in Palestine (Haifa, 1946)
  PHOTO Nechama with her brother Ziske and Ziske's son in Israel (~1948-50)
  PHOTOS Nechama, her husband, and others at reunion of survivors from Trashkun (Tel-Aviv, 1987)
  MAP Nechama Voskoboinik's escape route (1941) and return route (1944-46)
• Shneyer Zelman Reznikovich was born in Trashkun (Troškūnai) in 1888. He married Chaya Lichtenstein (born 1892 in Orlov, Russia). Known as "Reb Shneyer," he was venerated throughout the region as an exceptionally kind and virtuous man.
  VIDEO "Reb Shneyer" remembered by Miriam Shumacher Krakinowski

III.  Etka (Etel) Reznikovich was born in Rogeve (Raguva) on 7 December 1839.

IV.  Benjamin Wulf Reznikovich was born in Rogeve (Raguva) on 21 August 1852. He married Feyga Sharfanovich (born ~1861). Benjamin died before 1921, and Feyga died after 1921.

• The six children of Benjamin Wulf Reznikovich and Feyga Sharfanovich:
• Eliash Reznikovich was born in Trashkun (Troškūnai) in 1873.
• Abram Reznikovich was born in Trashkun (Troškūnai) on 5 May 1874. In 1903 he married Rivka (born in 1876, daughter of Kalman). During World War I, the family was evacuated to Penza, Russia.^[NOTE]In 1915, during World War I, tens of thousands of Jews were forcibly expelled to the east by the Russian authorities. Many Trashkuners settled in Penza. Most returned to their homes after the war. They returned to Lithuania in 1921. The three known children of Abram and Rivka:
• Meyer (Shmuel Meyer) Reznikovich was born in Trashkun on 2 February 1904. He married Chaya Gurwich, who was born in Panevezys in ~1904. Meyer was a history teacher in a Jewish gymnasium (high school), and his wife Chaya was a nurse. At the outbreak of World War II, the Reznikovich family fled by train to Siberia. The couple's second child was born during this trip. After the war the family returned to Lithuania and settled in Vilnius, where Meyer died in 1975 and Chaya died on 27 February 1990. The two children of Meyer Reznikovich and Chaya Gurwich:
• Misha (Moshe) Reznikovich was born in Paneveys on 24 May 1936. He was a child when the family fled to Siberia in 1941. In Vilnius on 29 July 1961, Misha married Alexandra (Shira) Pazhol, who was born in Panevezys on 25 September 1937 to Grigory and Genia (Leibovich) Pazhol. They had one son, David, who emigrated to Israel in 1995. Misha and Shira emigrated to Israel the following year.
• Luba Reznikovich was born in Belarus on 22 June 1941, as her family was fleeing toward Siberia at the outbreak of World War II. According to family memory, the newborn was small and weak, and the family was urged to dispose of her. Her mother, a nurse, refused, and the child survived. She attended university in Vilnius after the war, when the family had returned to Lithuania. In 1963 Luba married Evgeny Berlovich, who was born in Saratov, Russia, in 1941 to Mordecai and Judith (Vitz) Berlovich, when the Berlovich family also was fleeing eastward at the outbreak of war. They returned to Vilnius after the war. Luba (Reznikovich) and Evgeny Berlovich had two children.
• Sheyna Reznikovich was born in ~1910.
• Binyomin Reznikovich was born in 1919, likely in Penza, Russia.
• Itzik Berko Reznikovich was born in Trashkun in 1878. In 1901 he married Mera (born 1866). The child of Itzik Berko and Mera:
• Rochel Reznikovich was born in Trashkun in 1907.
• Daniel Reznikovich was born in Trashkun (Troškūnai) on 3 March 1882. On 29 January 1910 in Ponevezh (Panevėžys) he married Eta/Etel Bloch (born ~1884 in Trashkun). Daniel Reznikovich and his family are mentioned in an account of the 1915 pogrom in Trashkun. When tens of thousands of Jews were forcibly expelled to the east in 1915, the family went to live in Kharkov, Ukraine. They returned to Lithuania in 1921. The five children of Daniel Reznikovich and Eta Bloch:
• Aria Reznikovich was born in Trashkun on 28 November 1911.
• Rebeka Reznikovich was born in Trashkun on 8 August 1913.
• Sara Reznikovich was born in Trashkun on 25 March 1915.
• Rochel Reznikovich was born in Kharkov in 1918.
• Benjamin Reznikovich was born in Kharkov in 1919.
• Meylach Reznikovich was born in Trashkun in 1884.
• Malka Reznikovich was born was born in Trashkun in 1891.

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• Compiled by Johanna Kovitz, with research by Jonathan Levine
• © 2017 Jonathan Levine & Johanna Kovitz
• Updated June 2024