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From: "Gladys Paulin" <>
Subject: Re: [APG] APG Digest, Vol 3, Issue 136
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 13:42:40 -0500
In-Reply-To: <mailman.119453.1203870386.18604.apg@rootsweb.com>
Gary,
I agree with your comments, but would like to add that given names taken by
Jewish immigrants in the western hemisphere do not always relate directly to
the given name in Yiddish or Hebrew.
The name in question appears to have been (I did not see the original post)
Kessel.
In addition to the variations you provided, I would add the possibility of
Kessel being derived from YeKusiel, which was more often shortened to Kushe
or Kushel. My great uncle from southeastern Belarus had the Hebrew name
Yekusiel, was called Kushe by the family, yet took the name Sam in Canada. I
had a hard time finding his obituary in the Yiddish newspaper until I
spotted him on, my fifth reading, listed as "Shmuel"!
So, despite our best efforts, we must always be prepared for the creativity
of our ancestors.
Gladys
Gladys Friedman Paulin, CG
Winter Springs, FL
Editor _OnBoard, the Newsletter of the Board for Certification of
Genealogists_ (BCG)
Member , Association of Professional Genealogists (APG)
________________________________________________
CG, Certified Genealogist, is a service mark of the Board for Certification
of Genealogists and is used under license by Board-certified persons who
meet program standards and periodic rigorous evaluations.
Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:19:42 -0500
From: Gary Mokotoff <>
Subject: Re: [APG] Jewish given name question
A bit of misinformation was given here. ("Shlomo, or Shmuel are closer to an
equivalent to Samuel.") Shlomo and Shmuel are not identical names. Shlomo is
Hebrew/Yiddish for Solomon. Shmuel is Hebrew/Yiddish for Samuel.
The man named Samuel in the U.S. had a Yiddish name of Kessel. These names
are no synonymous. Kessel is a variant of Kosman. Ketsl is a variant of
Gotshalk. Source: A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names. (Avotaynu, 2001).
In the 19th century most Eastern European Jewish men had two given names.
The middle name was the everyday name. It is possible this man's name in
Europe was Shmuel Kessel. His family knew him as Kessel but when he came to
the U.S. he changed his name to Samuel.
The reason the census said the man was from Bausk, Russia, rather than
Bausk, Latvia, is that prior to the end of World War I Bausk was part of the
Russian Empire. There was no country named "Latvia."
Gary Mokotoff
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