Apanavičius Family Reunion

From the Apanavičius family reunion last weekend. I met the three surviving siblings of my grandmother's first husband, nearly 71 years after he passed away, and a whole slew of their descendants!

18 July 2015

Old Leitners

Among the things I got from Eddy in London was this photograph, which according to him is Moritz, Adolf, and Osher Leitner, three generations at the Leitner family villa near Vienna. That's my great-grandfather's brother, 2x great-grandfather, and 3x great-grandfather!

Moritz, Adolf, and Osher

Recent Developments

I've had a couple of pretty incredible breakthroughs on the genealogy and family history fronts, but absolutely no time to write about them. The first is that I was contacted by a professional genealogist who was hired by a distant relative to reconstruct the Leitner family tree. And she put me in contact with members of the family! There's been a flurry of emails introducing ourselves, and I even met a distant third-cousin, Eddy, who lives in London, while I was passing through a few weeks back!! It's been quite the discovery, especially since the Leitner branch is the one I've not yet started working on myself. Now, it seems, most of that's been done for me. I've even been sent a document written by Moritz Leitner (1881-1961) and translated by Herb Leitner that covers the family history going WAY back. It's long, and I've been so busy that I've not been able to look at it in detail, but that should be taken as no indication of my enthusiasm to get to it eventually.

The other thing is that I met a relative of Vytautas Apanavičius while I was in Lithuania in June. She showed my around Panemunė (a neighborhood in Kaunas), where the Apanavičius family lived -- including the exact location where one of močiute's photos was taken.

1930s / 2015
(I believe, now, the photo was actually taken from the other end)

Apanavičius House in Panemunė

In addition to this, I will be going this weekend to the Apanavičius family reunion in Ohio! The way we initially made contact is actually pretty incredible. I didn't realize it at the time that I was writing before, but the two of us decided to make contact with each other *independently* within the span of a couple days. Way back in February, I sent a letter to Raymond/Raimundas "Romas" Apanavičius (the youngest brother of Vytautas) using an address that I found in močiute's address book. I explained who I was and that my grandmother remembered his brother with great affection, even decades after he'd passed away. I believe it was a Tuesday when I sent the letter. The very next day, or perhaps two, I got a Facebook message from Raymond's daughter, Rima, and I thought: wow, that was quick. As it turned out, the letter didn't arrive until a couple days later. We both independently reached out to the other within the span of a couple days, some 70 years after Vytautas had passed away! What are the chances of that?! Anyhow, I look forward to meeting them all this weekend, and especially hearing stories from Romas about their time in the German DP camps.

One other thing that I should record in this hodge-podge post (even if I do so inadequately) is that, while in London, I paid a visit to the British Library and finally listened to the archived BBC Radio Scotland program on Lithuanians in Larnarkshire. It was expertly produced (of course) and quite moving at parts. For example, what one elderly first-generation-Scottish woman speaking about being raised in a Lithuanian-Scottish family had to say. I transcribed her words because they resonated so strongly with my own experience:

These stories mum and dad used to tell us about Lithuania -- I always felt that if I ever got to Lithuania, I'd recognize it and know it. We're very proud of our Scottish nationality, but also our Lithuanian and you can't forget that. You always feel that little bit different.

My grandparents stories were the same for me. We always felt "that little bit different", and I know from my first visit to Lithuania, especially, there was something familiar about it. It *did* feel like home, and it did feel like I belonged.

In addition, there were a couple of interesting points that could help in further research -- notably, the deportees under the Anglo-Russian Military Convention were apparently sent to Archangel from Liverpool. I'd tried to find records of this previously, so that I could verify that my great-grandfather Kazimiras was among them, but couldn't find anything. Knowing that they left from Liverpool may help. I really wish they would have allowed me to make a digital copy of the recording and post it here, but they have strict copyright protections.

Anyway, no time for more just now.

Finally Finished

It's finally done! The Lithuanian reverse migration panel for the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry has been finished. It's on display right now in the village of Prestonpans, where the effort was coordinated, and it will go on a world tour beginning this summer.

Lithuanian Scots

My actual contribution to the stitching is minimal (being that I stitched less than one and half names!), but I contributed to the story. And I'm very happy to see some of what my family experienced represented on there.

Balzekas Museum

I just spent the last week or so in Chicago at the annual meeting of the AAG, and while I was there I took the opportunity to visit the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture (and Grand Duke's Lithuanian restaurant!!). I've wanted to go for a while now, since I learned about the museum's exhibit on the Lithuanian Displaced Persons Camps in post-War Germany. Since that's where Chute and Tevuk spent several years before emigrating to the US, I hoped to get perspective about their lives and also some information about where to search for more records (since I'm not convinced the documents I got from ITS cover the extent of what exists).

Balzekas Museum
(6500 S. Pulaski Rd. Chicago IL 60629)

Beet soup!

Cepelinai!

The museum was well worth the visit, and I hope they make the "No Home to Go To" exhibit permanent. Most interesting for my family history purposes were a couple example documents that were part of the emigration process. The first is an affidavit of support from a resident family in the United States to the immigrating family residing in the German camps. Something similar must have been provided for Chute and Tevuk to come here. I am fairly certain it was the Žukauskas family in New Hampshire that gave sponsorship. I wonder if these records are kept somewhere by the US government. I don't think they would contain any information I don't already know, but I do enjoy seeing the small details they provide.

Example sponsorship document.

The second interesting document I saw at the museum was a "welcome letter" from the Displaced Persons Commission in Washington. The letter states that "Congress is interested in how displaced persons fare after settling in the United States" and that "it requires that each person who immigrated ... provide certain factual information" periodically for two years. I can't help but be cynical and believe that this had less to do with an interest in how people fare and more to do with surveillance of mistrusted or potentially dependent persons. If things were anything like they are today, there must have been politicians just looking for reasons to scale back the re-settlement programs. Nevertheless, it would be very interesting to find the reports that Tevuk would have been required to file. It's definitely something to follow up on.

Example "welcome letter"

A moldy old photocopy of Tevuk's Green Card

After looking through the rest of the museum, I asked if there was somebody I could speak to about family history research into the DP camps. I spoke with several people who took an interest in what I was doing, including Stanley Balzekas himself. I also spoke with a very knowledgeable genealogist by the name of Karile, who affirmed that I am eligible for dual citizenship and noted that she is able to do the required document translation. I am going to get the documents organized and send copies to her for preparation. Finally, it was suggested that I visit the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center, which houses many documents from the Camps and other important moments in Lithuanian history (e.g. correspondence between members of the Lithuanian-American community and the members of the Lithuanian nationalist movement.

Lithuanian Research and Studies Center
(5600 S. Claremont Ave, Chicago, IL 60636)

I went the following day to the research center, and was greeted by some very kind and helpful archivists. Not only did they help me to find records from the Wolterdingen DP Camp (where Chute and Tevuk stayed), but they helped to read/translate documents, search books, and think about other ways to find information. Sadly the records are not digitized or indexed by name, so searching is difficult. I didn't find anything about Chute or Tevuk specifically. Mostly the documents they had were from the camp school, so there were names of students and teachers, but not much beyond that. I did find, however, an Algirdas Kisielius (born 1938) from Vilkaviškis, and suspect there is a chance he is connected to the family. He appears to have been a very good student, judging by his report card.

Report Card for Algirdas Kisielius

I'm not actually certain when Chute and Tevuk arrived in Wolterdingen, or if they were transferred there from another camp. If that is the case, there may be other records at the Center. I was also told some records are filed by the various organizations or trade schools that existed in the camps, so if I know what associations Chute and Tevuk had, I may find more that way. I will need to find out more about what they were doing and where they were and then check back. I'd actually really like to spend a few months in the archive and write a history of Lithuanian displaced persons, but that is a massive undertaking and would require years of professional work. Maybe someday.

One thing they didn't know at the archive was where I might find records concerning Tevuk's conscription and forced labor by the Nazis. I'm certain these records exist, since I know that Tevuk received small reparations from the German government in his later years. He never pursued it himself, they just tracked him down through records they held and started sending him money. Anyway, there must be some way to access the documents they used to do that.

Vytautas's Death

I'm attempting to piece together some of the story of my grandmother's time in Germany after The War, including the death of her first husband, Vytautas Apanavičius. According to the documents I received from the ITS in Germany, Vytautas was treated in a hospital in Bamberg and died in Klingenbrunn / Spiegelau. Another document shows that he died specifically in house number 167 of Spiegelau. From what I remember of močiute's story, she was not there when he died. By the time she got back, "he was already gone". One of the ITS documents shows that she was still in Bamberg. I don't know why. Two others with the Apanavičius name are listed in Bamberg as well, but the dates do not overlap, so I don't know why she was there longer. Nor do I actually know if the other two (Evaristas and Birute) are connected.

Treatment in Bamberg
(doc from ITS)

Death certificate, 13 Dec 1944
(original in German; docs from močiute)

Močiute remains in Bamberg until 5 Jan 1945

Grave registration from ITS

Contact with Apanavičius Family

Now that I'm (reluctantly) back in the United States and living in Philadelphia, I decided to reach out to the family of my grandmother's deceased first husband, Vytautas Apanavičius. As I explained previously, Vytautas died shortly after the family fled the Soviets after WWII. Eventually everybody settled in the United States and, despite re-marrying (to my grandfather, Vacys Matulis), they kept contact with the Apanavičius family, who settled in Ohio. I was never aware of any of this when I was younger - perhaps they didn't think we'd understand - but they used to visit each other. A couple years ago I jotted down an address for Raimundas Apanavičius from močiute's address book. Raimundas is Vytautas's youngest brother. I sent a letter earlier in the week explaining who I was and was contacted by his daughter, Rima, on Facebook.

It was very nice to make contact. Rima, inspired by this blog, is actually planning to start one herself. I'm really looking forward to hearing some of her stories! Hopefully it will even fill in some of the gaps in my story of močiute's life. Facebook conversations have already helped me to identify the people in one of her pictures. Jurgis also apparently had three brothers (Jonas, Juozas, and Zigmas) and a sister. They possibly remained in Lithuania. Birute is actually a cousin, not a child, of this family group.

Apanavičius Family

Despite only being married to Vytautas for about a year before he died, my grandmother kept his memory close for her entire life (some 70 years beyond his death!). She carried his photo with her until the day she died, and spoke fondly of him once I began asking questions. I have some of that recorded. For now, here is a clip of her telling the (somewhat spooky) story of their wedding day and how some expected he wasn't going to live a long life.

From the wedding ceremony.

Serfdom

An interesting piece of information that I gleaned from the Exeter, NH Historical Society website is that it is unlikely that many (any?) ordinary Lithuanians emigrated before 1861. The reason is that common people were enserfed under the Russian Imperial system, and were not permitted to move from their local area (except for military service). Women moved to join their husbands' families when they married, but men were bound to their landlords. This means that I can be pretty sure of my family's origins going back quite far, if I can document them back to 1861.

About Konstantas

Last August when visiting Adolis Matulis, one of my grandfather's brothers in Lithuania, I asked what he could tell me about his mother's father, Konstantas Kemešys. He couldn't tell me much, but I took some brief notes that I'm only just now getting around to posting. Jesse filmed the conversation, but it was entirely in Lithuania and translated through Elena.

He told us the same that I had heard previously from Phyllis, Konstantas was married three times. The first two wives died young. In fact, I believe the photo below, which is from Phyllis, is the funeral of his second wife, Antonina (Phyllis's grandmother's mother, my great-grandmother's step-mother or mother). The inscription on the back is apparently from Konstantas to his daughter Petronele (Phyllis's grandmother), who was already living in the US at the time (read translation here). In a second photo he is pictured with another (much younger) woman, and the inscription reads something along the lines of: please accept that [person's name] has come here with her family to stay and be a friend.

I believe Konstantas is to the right of the casket.

Reverse of photo above. Sylvester is Phyllis's uncle, Sylvester Žukauskas.

Konstantas with third wife?

Reverse of photo above.

Adolis also told us that Konstantas had about 12 children with his three wives: 3 with the first, 4 or 5 with the second, and 4 with the last. I believe Ona (my great-grandmother) was from the first wife and Petronele (Phyllis's grandmother) was from the second.

The last piece of information that I wrote down was that a son of the first wife died in a mine in the United States. Adolis didn't know where or what had happened (but I wonder if it was in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, where many Lithuanian emigrants settled). All he knew was that the family in Lithuania received compensation payments after the accident.

Here we are visiting with Adolis and his wife Kristina in Pakiršinys:

August 2014