Poor Relief

I have my first bit of hard evidence that my great-grandfather Kazimiras Kisielius was, in fact, sent away under the Anglo-Russian Military Convention. I've suspected this for some time now, but I haven't been able to find anything documenting it. Over the weekend, I found it in an entry for my great-grandmother in the "poor books" held at the Glasgow City Archive.

D-HEW17/804 (186675)

It states that Kazimiras "went to join the Russian army" on 29 September 1917 and "left her unprovided for", suggesting that is was his choice and that he didn't bother making arrangements for her in advance. Quite the contrary, he was sent away without a choice and with little advance notice.

Another thing in the file is her signature (in her own hand!), which confirms another mystery. She signs her name "Jessie Kisielius", meaning she definitely did use that name, and she had a child out of wedlock at the age of 16!

In her hand.

There's lots more information in the document, but it'll take me some time before I can get it posted here (particularly because the copies are poor and the writing is difficult). I also collected some other documents, including poor relief records for Kazimiras' sister Marijona and three other Kisielius women (who could possibly be wives of brothers). Further to that I made copies of military tribunal records of service exemption hearings. There could be something very interesting in there.

The full record of Sofija's poor relief application is here.

Glasgow City Archive

I contacted the Glasgow City Archive (at the Mitchell Library) about the records they hold about the poor, and I asked about looking into my great-grandmother Sofija ("Sophie", "Zose", "Jessie") Kisielius, who (I suspect) was left destitute when my great-grandfather was deported to Russia under the Anglo-Russian Military Convention. They got back to me very quickly with a match, and I have ordered the books to view on-site this coming Saturday. The archivist was able to search the index and came back with this:

Name	DOB	Birthplace	Year of application	Reference
Yose Kisielius (Raulinavicule)	1898	Lithuania	1917	D-HEW17/804 (186675)

There's a couple more variants to the name. And the birth date is off by a few years, but I've got little doubt it's her. The year of application is precisely when Kazimiras would have been sent way. It's also confirms Lithuania as her birthplace, which I discovered last year, contrary to Chute's memory.

There will be more information when I go to see the actual records. This is what the archivist said:

The poor relief application contains the original petition made by the applicant, a record of the assistance provided as well as a note of any subsequent applications made. It varies from application to application as to how much information is included.

Making Meaning

In Lithuania, a second-cousin-in-law, Vygintas, is a very talented musician and artist. He's studying at the Vilnius Art Academy for a PhD. His specialty is blending the visual with the aural. Among his very interesting projects is one where he takes famous Lithuanian poetry and literature and puts it's through a series to translations using Google Translate. He usually follows a path on a map, a journey that a person might travel, and then uses the translator to put the words into the language of each place. In the end, he translates that back into Lithuanian, and the product is almost always something of terribly corrupted grammar and greatly reduced meaning. He then records it being read and creates a score to go along with it. It's a really fascinating process, and something I found inspiring.

It reminded me of when my grandmother, a few years back, did her best to translate Kudirka's poem, the Tautiška Giesmė, that is now the anthem of Lithuania. It ended up being a really emotional moment of longing for a lost homeland -- there were tears and she could barely make it to the end. It was moving for me because I understood how much those words meant to her, and though little of the translation was grammatically or literally correct, the meaning came through strongly.



Vygintas's project inspired me to play with Kudirka's words in a way that is related to my family history. I decided to take the poem on a journey along the route that my grandparents traveled as they fled the Soviet invasion (or at least the route that I believe they traveled). I know that they fled Lithuania to Germany (Munich and a displaced persons camp in Wolterdingen). From there they eventually made it to the United States. Beginning with the original Lithuanian, I translated it into each language along the way. First from Lithuanian to Russian, to represent the first Soviet invasion in 1940; then from Russian to German, to represent the Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1944; then back to Russian, to represent the second Soviet invasion; then from Russian to Polish, Polish to Czech, and Czech to German, to represent the journey on the map they probably took; and finally I translated it into English. The result follows:

Lithuanian Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų, Tu didvyrių žeme, Iš praeities Tavo sūnūs Te stiprybę semia. Tegul Tavo vaikai eina Vien takais dorybės, Tegul dirba Tavo naudai Ir žmonių gėrybei. Tegul saulė Lietuvoj Tamsumas prašalina, Ir šviesa, ir tiesa Mūs žingsnius telydi. Tegul meilė Lietuvos Dega mūsų širdyse, Vardan tos, Lietuvos Vienybė težydi!

Russian Литва, наша родина Земля героев, В прошлом ваши сыновья Нарисуйте силы. Пусть ваши дети ходят Только пути добродетели, Пусть они работать в вашу пользу И благосостояние народа. Май солнце Изгнать всю тьму, И свет и истина Наши шаги. Пусть любовь Литвы Запись в наших сердцах Ради тех, в Литве Единство цвести!

German Litauen, unser Vaterland Land der Helden, In der Vergangenheit, eure Söhne Kraft schöpfen. Lassen Sie Ihre Kinder gehen Nur der Pfad der Tugend, Lassen Sie sie zu Ihren Gunsten Und das Wohlbefinden der Menschen. Möge die Sonne Verbannen Sie alle Finsternis, Und das Licht und die Wahrheit Unsere Schritte. Lasst die Liebe von Litauen Rekord in unseren Herzen Aus Gründen der in Litauen Einheit blühen!

Russian Литва, наша родина Земля Героев, В прошлом, ваши сыновья Рисование власть. Пусть ваши дети Только путь добродетели, Оставьте их в вашу пользу И благосостояние народа. Май солнце Изгнать всю тьму, И свет и истина Наши шаги. Пусть любовь Литвы Запись в наших сердцах Ради Литве Блок цветение!

Polish Litwa, nasza ojczyzna Ziemia Heroes W przeszłości, twoi synowie Rysunek moc. Niech dzieci Tylko droga cnoty, Zostaw je na swoją korzyść I dobrobyt ludzi. Niech słońce Wygnać wszelką ciemność, I światła i prawdy Nasze kroki. Niech miłość Litwy Rekord w naszych sercach na Litwie Zablokuj kwitną!

Czech Litva, naše vlast Země Heroes V minulosti, vaši synové Odebírá energii. Nechte děti Pouze způsob ctnosti, Nechte je, aby ve svůj prospěch A blahobyt lidí. Nechte slunce Vyhnat všechny tmu, A světla a pravdy Naše kroky. Nechte lásku Litvy Záznam v našich srdcích Litva Block květ!

German Litauen, unser Vaterland Land Helden In der Vergangenheit, eure Söhne Nimmt Energie. lassen Sie die Kinder Der einzige Weg zur Tugend, Lassen Sie es zu Ihrem Vorteil Eine menschliche Wohlfahrt. lassen Sie die Sonne Verbannen Sie alle Finsternis, Ein Licht und Wahrheit Unsere Schritte. Lasst die Liebe von Litauen Rekord in unseren Herzen Litauen Block Blüte!

English Lithuania, our homeland country heroes In the past, your sons Takes energy. let the children The only way to virtue, Leave it to your advantage A human welfare. let the sun Banish all darkness, A light and truth Our steps. Let the love of Lithuania Record in our hearts Lithuania Block bloom!

My final step was to take this corrupted version generated by Google Translate and put it into my own English, a loose translation that represents, in a way, me trying to make sense of my cultural heritage. The whole thing is a process of meaning-making, of trying to understand the place my family came from. It represents the loss of meaning and the effect of accumulated history on culture and identity. Here it is alongside the official English version, which by the way is not a literal translation either.

Google's English Lithuania, our homeland country heroes In the past, your sons Takes energy. let the children The only way to virtue, Leave it to your advantage   A human welfare. let the sun Banish all darkness, A light and truth Our steps. Let the love of Lithuania Record in our hearts Lithuania Block bloom!

My English Lithuania, our homeland! National heroes, In the past, your sons were strong. Show their children the only way to virtue, Your advantage will lead   to human welfare. Let the sun banish all darkness, Shine light and truth in our footsteps. Let the love of Lithuania be etched in our hearts, Lithuania grow strong!

Official English Lithuania, our homeland, Land of heroes! Let your sons draw their strength From our past experience Let your children always follow Only roads of virtue, May your own, mankind’s well-being Be the goals they work for May the sun above our land Banish darkening clouds around Light and truth all along Guide our steps forever May the love of Lithuania Brightly burn in our hearts. For the sake of this land Let unity blossom.

My grandparents made sure that I knew where we came from and they made sure I grew up with the greatest pride in those roots. There's no doubt that what I understand Lithuania to be is different to those whose families never left, but it wasn't all lost. I still very much identify with my Lithuanian roots.

Edinburgh Gazette

The Gazette is an incredible resource!! Especially now, since it has been digitized for the 21st century. Apparently it was recently revamped, top to bottom. They've got a couple of excellent videos that explain what it's all about.

What is it?


How do you search it?


I've only scratched the surface using the search, but I got three hits for Kisielius right away. It looks like two Kisielius brother were involved in baking. I've come across Varpas before, I believe. And I've certainly come across Vincent and Anthony, though I've never conclusively linked them to the family. I'll need to see what I can turn up.

Varpas Baking Company

It appears that a couple years later "Anthony" (Antanas) became a naturalized British citizen. Maybe I can request naturalization records.

Naturalization, 1931

And finally, on 22 October 1935, there's something about a "Trust Deed" that I don't understand. The notice is written by G.C. Paterson, and says that Anthony granted the deed. Is he the creditor? Or is he the debtor?

From the Edinburgh Gazette, 22 October 1935, pg 882

North Lanarkshire

I took a trip to the North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre today to have a look into the miners photo that I mentioned before. While they weren't able to answer everything I wanted to know (e.g. who is pictured), they were able to tell me they got the photo from a "Mr Frank Dullick". They also had a fair bit of local history material on the Lithuanian community. The person working the desk was really helpful and was able to provide a lot of good leads.

A Match

Mr. Frank Dullick

Mr Dullick actually came up a few times. He appears to have been an active member in the Scottish Lithuanian Social Club. Turns out he's mentioned in the Lithuanians in Scotland book by John Millar, according to which his name was actually Frank Džiodulikas. A newspaper clipping in the collection also mentioned him with regard to a Radio Scotland program about the Lithuanian community that aired way back in 1980, on the 19th of February, to be exact. I'd really like to see if I can find that.

From page 56

On BBC Radio Scotland

It's not clear from what was in the file whether or not Mr Dullick was related to anybody in the photo, or if it was just in his possession. They had two files on the Lithuanian community: one that was mostly general history and another that was specifically about family history. They also had a microfilm name index for people who appeared in the Motherwell Times. There were no entries for Kisielius or Raulinaitis, but I did find an article on Peter Rolwich and a couple possible matches for Cassells.

Motherwell Times, 20 Aug 1981

They've got a subject index for the same paper as well, that has multiple entries under "Lithuania". It's probably worth looking at more, not so much for family history, but just for general interest.

There were copies of the various academic papers that I've read mentioned before (Rodgers 1982, Rodgers 1983, White 1975, White 2004), but there were others that I hadn't heard about (Lunn 1979, Rodgers n.d.). I haven't read them yet, but I will. I also came across a few things that mention the Anglo-Russian Military Convention, so I'll need to look into that more.

On the website it mentioned that they have the poor relief records as well, but I was told they can only be viewed during weekday hours. Although, my great-grandmother Sofija would probably not be in that book. She'll probably be in the one for Glasgow, which I was told should be at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. I was told they may even have some police or alien registration records. I'll definitely need to make time to check up on those. The Police Museum in Glasgow might be another place to check, *if* the records even exist.

Another new lead is the Edinburgh Gazette (supposedly available online), which published name changes in Scotland from around the time of the Bolshevik Revolution. They must have wanted to keep tabs of potential revolutionaries!

Finally, I was told that I would need to contact the Social History Curator, but I should be able to see the Lithuanian objects that they've got in their collection.

That's quite a lot for only going to ask about a photo! Why didn't I go earlier?

Archive Response

While we were in Vilnius, we also took the opportunity to check the archive for the documents necessary to exercise the "right of return" and apply for Lithuanian citizenship. We visited both the Central Archive and the Historical Archive and viewed some documents, but ultimately requested for a couple searches to be done on our behalf. Last Friday I received the first response, and I've been trying to decipher it ever since. I finally resorted to some help from Elena. There's some really interesting (and some uncomfortable) information there!! The short of it, though, is that the documents held at the Central Archive aren't quite enough for the application yet: they show that močiute was resident there after 1940, but not that she was a citizen. Hopefully the request we made for her birth certificate will show this.

Response from the Central Archive

The interesting (and somewhat chilling) part of the letter says that močiute's first husband served in the "Vermachte" or Wehrmacht - the Nazi military!! It's not clear if he enlisted voluntarily or was conscripted during the occupation. I really hope that it is the latter. I know that he was a police officer, so hopefully they were simply folded into the ranks when the Germans arrived. The wikipedia entry on the Wehrmact does say that "the 'voluntary' nature of such recruitment was often rather dubious, especially in the later years of the war". Nevertheless, this reflects the rather uncomfortable fact that many Lithuanians welcomed the Nazis as liberators because they had chased out the Soviets.

I don't know if the record stating all this was made by the Germans (keeping track of their troops) or the Russians (compiling a hit list of enemy collaborators), but either way the family was marked. The document this letter is referring to is the reason my grandmother had to leave Lithuania. Otherwise she most certainly would have been deported to Siberia when the Soviets eventually returned.

The next part of the letter says that there are no other documents stating that my grandmother lived at that address (135 Vaidoto gatve, Kaunas), for example when the 1942 census was taken. Which means she must have been married after 1942 and should, thus, appear on the census with her family in Vilkaviškis or in Kaunas (with an aunt, I believe).

The final part of the letter gives the census details for the rest of the Apanavičius family, which affirms that I've got a match. Močiute's best recollection of the Apanavičius family is pretty darn close. It makes me want to contact them. The best I know is that they settled in Ohio (or was it Chicago?) - anyhow, I have it in močiute's old address book.

Apanavičius family as recalled by močiute.

TRANSCRIPTION:

In Vilnius labor exchange archive section about people whose relatives worked for police or vermachte ... during 1941-1944, there is a card for Apanavičienė Marija, born 1921, lived in Kaunas Vaidotas gatve 135. It is said in file that her husband (name not included) is serving vermacht.

Based on: F. R-626, ap. 1, b. 335, 1. 37.

NOTE: There are no more documents confirming that Marija Apanavičienė lived in Kaunas, Vaidotas gatve 135, or that she was Lithuania citizen in archives, [based on the details] you gave.

Documents about census before year 1940 the archives does not have.

According to Lithuania statistics archive, national census of Lithuania general area in 1942 May 27th, in Kaunas city, A. Panemunė land, Vaidotas st. 136, residents Jurgis Apanavičius household was:
- Jurgis Apanavičius, born 1889 in Kaunas, shop owner-assistant, head of family
- Marijona Apanavičienė, wife, born 1907 in Kaunas, Pažaislis, working member of the family
- Vytautas Apanavičius, son, born 1921 in Kaunas, finance manager (working place section says "Battalion")
- Algimantas Apanavičius, son, born 1928 in A. Panemunė
- Elvyra Apanavičiūtė, daughter, born 1932 in A. Panemunė
- Reimundas Apanavičius, son, born1934 in A Panemunė
- Marijonas Apanavičius, relative, born 1924 in Kaunas.
All persons of Lithuanian nationality (F.R-743, ap. 2, b. 2001)

The Man Who Bought a Horse

While we were in Pasvalys, Juozas Matulis (our grandfather's brother) told us a very interesting story that I'm not certain I'd ever heard before. There were several years that the family in Lithuania thought our grandfather was dead. He explained that not long after Vacys was taken by the Nazis, the family received word that (from a Lithuanian friend?) that he had been killed somewhere near Kaunas. And years passed before anything to the contrary came through. Juozas told us that it was in 1953 that the family received a letter postmarked from United States with a single sentence: "The man who bought a horse in [a specific year] is writing you a letter". They knew exactly what it meant - he had survived and made his way to America - but there was no way for the authorities to determine who it was.

The primary reason he had to flee was because the Soviets would have pegged him as an enemy. Despite being forced into labor by the Nazis, the Soviets would have made no distinction and deported him (and possibly the whole family) to Siberia. He couldn't go back or allow the Soviets to know he'd ever existed. It took him 5 entire years of living in the United States before he even decided to send that cryptic message. It had been about 10 since they'd seen him.

Here's a video of Juozas recounting the story for the camera. Unfortunately I can't (yet) understand it and translate here:

(Sorry for the bad audio, I accidentally deleted the second channel)

I know that he eventually was assured that it was safe to send communications because letters, postcards, and family photos were exchanged. But he lived under fear of the Soviets even 5000 miles away. His paranoia in later years is entirely understandable given these experiences.

I just wish he was still living so that I could get his recollection of the story. I may have even gotten pieces of it before, but without the bigger context, the fine details get lost. I recall clearly him talking about the brutality of the Nazis and the starvation conditions in which they were kept. And I remember him telling stories about sneaking out at night to steal food, in full knowledge that they'd be killed on the spot if they were caught. I wonder if he actually escaped for good, and engineered the whole story of his death to protect his family. Did he ask a friend to report to his family that he'd been killed? Where'd he go after that? And when did he decide that he would flee the approaching Soviets? Sadly, all the firsthand knowledge of this is now lost. I've got just one cassette of him talking, recorded by Nick, which might hold some clues. Now I've just got to find a tape deck!

This whole story, though, makes me wonder about močiute's brother Kazimieras. Her mother always believed that he was alive and would someday come find them. I always thought that belief was maintained because nobody ever got closure on his killing, but now I wonder, is there a chance he survived, assumed another identity, and never contacted the family for fear of putting them in danger? It's far-fetched and unlikely, but not impossible. If he didn't survive until independence, maybe it never would have been revealed.