Jewish_roots help for Huffstetler-77 Brier bio father Galicia, Ukraine.

Question

I need help in several areas please Jewish_roots for my biological father Brier, Breier & his family Abraham Breier (his father b. 17 Feb 1880) from Galicia, Ukraine (migration 1902). Have been to Jewishgen.com & got lost. I also couldn’t get my DNA to or from your sister site.

Comments

searching Ancestry and Jewishgen, with all spelling variations for Schumuel and Brajer, there are only 2 men born in a time frame that would allow them to be the father of Abraham, born 1880.

Szymon Szmul Brajer

 in the Poland, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland, Births, 1550-1993

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Name:	Szymon Szmul Brajer
Birth Date:	1864
Birth Place:	Lublin
Birth Registration Date:	1864
Father's name:	Icek Hersz
Mother's name:	Matla Zyseskind
Film:	723563
Line:	246

Source Information

JRI-Poland Shtetl CO-OP Volunteers, comp. Poland, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland, Births, 1550-1993 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.

THIS MAN IS THE BEST POSSIBILITY

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THE OTHER HAS NO PARENTS LISTED

Szmul Brajer

 in the Poland, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland, Births, 1550-1993

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Name:	Szmul Brajer
Birth Date:	1859
Birth Place:	Belzyce
Film:	681167
Line:	36

Source Information

JRI-Poland Shtetl CO-OP Volunteers, comp. Poland, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland, Births, 1550-1993 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.

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Keep in mind, as you research, that Eastern European borders were changing during these decades. Poland in particular. It was part of the Austrian Empire, then was taken by Russia, then by Germany. An American descendant answering census records, etc may not have been aware of the political division his parents or grandparents were from and may have responded with what currently used in the USA at the time the record was taken. Many census workers, city hall registrars, etc may not have been well-educated in European politcs/geography .

Records giving Ukraine as a place of birth may be referring to events in Bessarabia and Moldava and after the Crimean War, Wallachia

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below is posted a record

the birthdate varies but the name may help

Hirsh would be a transliteration of Hersz, as above.

While Nakhman differs from Szmul, Jewish men had several names, often added after bar mitzvah

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I know this kind of stuff because my boss is a rabbi whose mother was a Dachau concentration camp survivor

And 16 as in Szmul above was not too young to be Abraham's father. During that time, unmarried men over the age of 16 were subject to compulsory military service and Jews were not treated well in the military, so many did marry a year or so after bar mitzvah

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Abram Gersh / Avraham Hirsh Brager / Braher

 in the Bessarabia (now Moldova), Birth Records, 1829-1910

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Name:	Abram Gersh / Avraham Hirsh Brager / Braher
Gender:	Male
Birth Date:	5 May 1880
Hebrew Date:	7 Sivan
Birth Town:	Kishinev
Birth Uyezd (District):	Kishinev
Birth Guberniya (Province):	Bessarabia
Father's name:	Nakhman
Mother's name:	Maryam
Registration Number:	M258
Registration Place:	Kishinev
Registration Year:	1880
Film:	2255343 / 2
Image:	113
Comments:	Mohel Moyshe BRUMNER
Archive Information:	NARM/211/11/156

Source Information

JewishGen.org volunteers, comp. Bessarabia (now Moldova), Birth Records, 1829-1910 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.

Original data: Jewish Congregations and Orthodox Consistory. Metrical books and Alphabetical Book of Marriages. Chişinău, Moldova: National Archives of the Republic of Moldova and Central State Archive of Moldova. 

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Oops, I may have forgotten to include that Shumuel’s(?) father was Moshe Breier & mother’s name was Zipporah & he had 2 brothers: Abraham Breier & Jacob Breier. Yes, Galicia really isn’t helpful on Jewishgen.com - they wanted towns, which I had no clue. Thank you so much, Susan

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That’s very young, through my modern eyes. This has definitely been a challenge. I appreciate your help - the record on Ancestry are mine (given all I knew at that time)! Thank you, Susan

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I noted the comments on Abram & it says Moshe (that well could be a great clue! Thanks for your time & effort, I certainly appreciated your kindness.

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I have a headache! I have been working so hard on this I think my eyes are crossed! Too many Abraham’s & Shumel’s in this family. I had an ex-wife of a distant relative contact me & was able to find out this extra tidbit: Turka, Chem in the villages of all of Locot/Lokiec / Lokec & Dydiowa, Galicia, Austria. That’s okay, I am having issues figuring out the Wiki easy to follow how to do sources system & flat out gave up! I have a Masters Degree, why can’t I do it? Just venting my frustration on my inability to do this on my own.

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I did a bit of work for you on Abraham's profile.  Through his immigration record, we were able to find he is from village Lokiec (now Poland), nearest Jewish Center (synagogue) is in Turka (now Ukraine) both being villages located in Galicia (pre-WWI). 

You are not the only one who grows frustrated with ancestry from this region.  There is a lot of information to understand regarding changing boundaries and history.  It's no different than trying to take a drink from a firehose.  The main focus for researchers is finding where records are located.  For you, this would be in Turka; however I would suggest researching all the surrounding villages of Lokiec to see where their designated Jewish Center is located.  I typically use this list: list of villages in Galicia.

The hurdle you will need to go through is that the indices for Turka would be with Ukrainian Archives; so most likely it would be in Cyrillic.

The main resource page for Galicia: Wikitree Galicia

Resource Page will explain everything you need to know.  Skip down to subheading "Researching your Galician Roots" and "Resources". 

Happy Hunting!

Answer 1

Ther is a family tree on Ancestry, Ca, California Girl 17

Susan Beth Huffstetler,she has DNA connesction.Contact her.

He was Naturalized,you would contact New York Naturalization

Likely you would need too by record,often they show parents,Lady shows his father as Shumuel no mothers name

Comments

that tree is our wikitree Susan who posted this g2g

Answer 2

Hi there. My great grandmother was Zesel Brier from Galicia. She married my great grandfather Shmuel Meyers and had my grandfather Yechiel in 1903 and his brother Abraham in the town of Turka. During their life it changed from Austria Hungary to Poland to Ukraine. Turka is on the Streyr River near Lviv/Lemberg.  Yehiel (spelled Jehel on his Ellis Island manifest) came to the US in 1923 and Zesel Breer was a witness in his wedding in 1931 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, before her passing as Zesel Meyers in the years ahead.

Comments

We’re the brothers twins? Was there a third brother? Can I assume that this Abraham was my grandfather?

We believe, now, that he was married twice: first wife ??? - second Rosa (Rose) was my father’s mother. He (my dad) had 5 brothers & sisters. So, apparently we have the same great grandfather/grandmother & our grandfather’s were brothers?

Any & all help would be most appreciated! I couldn’t find any information on Zipporah. And, really don’t understand the so many spellings of Brier. Not speaking Yiddish & not knowing Jewish traditions of naming is the issue. Then there’s the issue of all my aunts & uncle’s having passed, so there is no one really helping. You can reach me directly at cavalleygirl17@gmail.com