For over twenty five years I have been on a journey to connect with the history of my family, to recreate the generations. Up until this time, my efforts, while wide ranging have been limited to records available on the internet, family holdings, information obtainable from NARA and the New York City Archives, JewishGen.org and Ancestry.com. I have been fortunate to be entrusted with family stories and photos. Most of all, the letters I have shared with my family still living in Ukraine have encouraged the journey. To date, the journey has not been a solitary one. My dad and I have taken it together and have have shared many conversations about the people whose stories we are discovering. Sharing this project with him has been a gift.
For the last two years, my dad and I and my Ukrainian cousin, Ella, have been planning for me to travel to Ukraine. Without over sentimentalizing what will be accomplished there, I will truly be trying to walk in the footsteps of my ancestors. Thanks to Ella, Myroslav, a guide who is fluent in English will be accompanying me for most of the time I spend there. My travels will take me from New York to Kiev, on to Zhitomir (ancestral home of my Moldofsky/Farber family) then on to Husiatyn (where Silbermann and Buchbinder ancestors resided) then to Skalat and from there finally after so many years, to Ivano-Frankivsk, formerly Stanislawow. In this latter city I hope to discover much about our Kreisler & Gras ancestors’ lives. Ella and I will also travel to Kolomyya and Nadworne. All of these places I mention are the places our ancestors lived for who knows how long! That is actually one of the things I hope to discover. I will be blogging a journal while traveling, internet access permitting.
