The Yutkowitz Family of Stopnica
When I found myself with way too much time on my hands some years ago, I began exploring the roots of my family. I started out knowing only my immediate family and a handful of relatives and the name of my grandfather's town in Poland. But thanks at first to random Googling, fragments of family lore, a lot of phone calls, and plain dumb luck, and later to the growing genealogical resources that has made history much more accessible on the web, I have compiled a fairly extensive family tree.
In so doing, I've learned a lot about the Jewish and non-Jewish history of eastern Europe, and gained perspective on the massive influx of immigrants to America the in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And when I discovered that my own relatives were among those who didn't survived the Holocaust, I realized that history is no longer an abstraction: Now it's personal.
The Yutkowitz Name
The Yutkowitz name as I spell it is rather unusual. But after some research, I've found that Yutkowitz is an Americanized, phonetic version of a name that was once common and can even today be found in Eastern Europe, including what is now Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia. Even in the United States, there are countless variations of the name, including Judkiewicz, Jutcovich, and Judkowitz (the name "Idelson" is a Yiddish-derivation of the same name). While the name means "Son of Judah," or more colloquially "Son of a Jew," few of us seem to be related, and many if not most of us are not even Jewish.
Stopnica
My grandfather came from the town of Stopnica (in Yiddish, Stopnitz) in south-central Poland, between Krakow and Kielce. An agricultural town of about 3,000, Stopnica was once about 75% Jewish. After World War, that number was reduced to zero. There is today little evidence of the Jewish past, but older residents can point out the sites of two former Jewish cemeteries, a mikveh, and other buildings once owned and occupied by Jewish residents of the town.
In 2000, I had the chance to visit Stopnica, and to write an article about my trip. If your family is from Eastern Europe, and in particular if you're planning a trip there, you might find the article interesting and useful.
The Yutkowitz Family in Stopnica, 1875-1884
These names are from the Family History Center of the Mormon Church. I'm hoping that when complete translations of these records are available a clearer picture of family relationships will emerge. A project is underway to translate all the Jewish records from Stopnica from the late 1800s to 1917. The Polish government is apparently unwilling to release records from after 1917.
Malka Hinda Judkowicz, died 1875
Chil Yudkovich, born 1876
Judka Judkowicz (age 20, son of Szlama and Bajla) married Brandla
Honig, age 19, in 1879
Yeresh Yudkovich, born 1881
Yarmia Yudkovich, died 1881
Laia Yudkovich, died 1883
Yarmia Yudkovich, died 1883
Moshe Yosef Judkowicz, born 1884
Chaim Yudkovich, born 1884
The Yutkowitz Family in America
It seems that the first member of my family, Samuel Yutkowitz, came to America in 1889 or 1892, or both, and in the following years brought three younger brothers, including my grandfather, who arrived in 1905. I knew that my great-grandfather, Yehiel, remained in Stopnica, and that one sister, Rose, emigrated to Toronto, and for many years I assumed they comprised our entire family. But in recent years, I've learned that my grandfather likely had at least one other brother and sister. The brother, Nochem, came to America in 1906, but I don't know whether he stayed here or returned to Poland. The sister was still in Stopnica at the time of Samuel's passing, in 1935.
Rose married Nathan Mainster (nee ) and had several children. Around the same time, a Bella Yutkowitz, also from Stopnitzer, married a Mainster as well. I don't know how Bella was related to Rose, or to me, or if she had any children.
Another branch of the Yutkowitz family lived on Dean Street, in Brooklyn. Gabriel had four children.
A Joseph Yutkowitz also came here from Stopnica.
One of the more poignant aspects of searching the past was the discovery that I had several family members in Stopnica at the outbreak of World War II. Only two survived. Interestingly, both ended up living in Toronto. Rose was the grand-daughter of my grandfather's brother. I haven't been able to establish how I'm related to the other.
Another researcher whose family came from Stopnica sent me a signed photograph of Jewish school children. Some of the young signatories were named Yutkowitz (or variations of it). I'm afraid to think what happened to them.
To protect the privacy of family members, I have not posted complete family trees. But if you think we might be related, please drop me a line.
When I found myself with way too much time on my hands some years ago, I began exploring the roots of my family. I started out knowing only my immediate family and a handful of relatives and the name of my grandfather's town in Poland. But thanks at first to random Googling, fragments of family lore, a lot of phone calls, and plain dumb luck, and later to the growing genealogical resources that has made history much more accessible on the web, I have compiled a fairly extensive family tree.
In so doing, I've learned a lot about the Jewish and non-Jewish history of eastern Europe, and gained perspective on the massive influx of immigrants to America the in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And when I discovered that my own relatives were among those who didn't survived the Holocaust, I realized that history is no longer an abstraction: Now it's personal.
The Yutkowitz Name
The Yutkowitz name as I spell it is rather unusual. But after some research, I've found that Yutkowitz is an Americanized, phonetic version of a name that was once common and can even today be found in Eastern Europe, including what is now Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia. Even in the United States, there are countless variations of the name, including Judkiewicz, Jutcovich, and Judkowitz (the name "Idelson" is a Yiddish-derivation of the same name). While the name means "Son of Judah," or more colloquially "Son of a Jew," few of us seem to be related, and many if not most of us are not even Jewish.
Stopnica
My grandfather came from the town of Stopnica (in Yiddish, Stopnitz) in south-central Poland, between Krakow and Kielce. An agricultural town of about 3,000, Stopnica was once about 75% Jewish. After World War, that number was reduced to zero. There is today little evidence of the Jewish past, but older residents can point out the sites of two former Jewish cemeteries, a mikveh, and other buildings once owned and occupied by Jewish residents of the town.
In 2000, I had the chance to visit Stopnica, and to write an article about my trip. If your family is from Eastern Europe, and in particular if you're planning a trip there, you might find the article interesting and useful.
The Yutkowitz Family in Stopnica, 1875-1884
These names are from the Family History Center of the Mormon Church. I'm hoping that when complete translations of these records are available a clearer picture of family relationships will emerge. A project is underway to translate all the Jewish records from Stopnica from the late 1800s to 1917. The Polish government is apparently unwilling to release records from after 1917.
Malka Hinda Judkowicz, died 1875
Chil Yudkovich, born 1876
Judka Judkowicz (age 20, son of Szlama and Bajla) married Brandla
Honig, age 19, in 1879
Yeresh Yudkovich, born 1881
Yarmia Yudkovich, died 1881
Laia Yudkovich, died 1883
Yarmia Yudkovich, died 1883
Moshe Yosef Judkowicz, born 1884
Chaim Yudkovich, born 1884
The Yutkowitz Family in America
It seems that the first member of my family, Samuel Yutkowitz, came to America in 1889 or 1892, or both, and in the following years brought three younger brothers, including my grandfather, who arrived in 1905. I knew that my great-grandfather, Yehiel, remained in Stopnica, and that one sister, Rose, emigrated to Toronto, and for many years I assumed they comprised our entire family. But in recent years, I've learned that my grandfather likely had at least one other brother and sister. The brother, Nochem, came to America in 1906, but I don't know whether he stayed here or returned to Poland. The sister was still in Stopnica at the time of Samuel's passing, in 1935.
Rose married Nathan Mainster (nee ) and had several children. Around the same time, a Bella Yutkowitz, also from Stopnitzer, married a Mainster as well. I don't know how Bella was related to Rose, or to me, or if she had any children.
Another branch of the Yutkowitz family lived on Dean Street, in Brooklyn. Gabriel had four children.
A Joseph Yutkowitz also came here from Stopnica.
One of the more poignant aspects of searching the past was the discovery that I had several family members in Stopnica at the outbreak of World War II. Only two survived. Interestingly, both ended up living in Toronto. Rose was the grand-daughter of my grandfather's brother. I haven't been able to establish how I'm related to the other.
Another researcher whose family came from Stopnica sent me a signed photograph of Jewish school children. Some of the young signatories were named Yutkowitz (or variations of it). I'm afraid to think what happened to them.
To protect the privacy of family members, I have not posted complete family trees. But if you think we might be related, please drop me a line.