The First Telefus!

A few months ago, JewishGen.org posted census records, or “Revision Lists” from the town of Khotin Ukraine (formerly Russia and Romania) from the years 1835, 1848, 1854, and 1859. These records have been transcribed, translated into English, and posted to be searched as part of their JewishGen Romania-Moldova Database. It includes *tons* of entries for the Telefus family. With this information, I was able to piece together what I believe to be the original Telefus family. 

The oldest direct Telefus ancestor I’ve been able to identify is named Leyba, who would have been born between 1725 and 1740! I’m reasonably confident that that the entire Telefus family is descended from him.

Here is some supporting information.

• Leyba’s son, Khaim Telefus, was born ~1752 and died in 1837. He was listed in the 1834 Revision record, described as “Belonged to Khotin Kahal. Pale face; Height 2 arshin, 3 vershka; grey hair; grey eyes; moderate nose.”
• I looked that up. He was about 5’ 1” (155cm) tall.
• Khaim had five sons: 
• Shemaria, Froim (Ephriam), Ios (Joseph/Yosef), and Genzel. They each had substantial families
• Froim was the only son listed in the 1834 records. He was described as having an “Oblong face; Height 2 arshin, 5 vershka; dark brown hair; grey eyes; crooked nose.”
• Jewish surnames were not mandated in this part of the Russian Empire before 1804. It is possible that Khaim ben Leyba was the first person to take the surname Telefus.
• There are no Telefus records in those revisions that don’t list Khaim as the father of the head of household. That is, there are records of the five brothers and no additional Telefus families.
• It is possible that there is another family in a nearby town where the records haven't been transcribed yet. I'll keep on checking. 
• I had previously identified two other Telefus families in the US/Israel, with Khotin roots, who were not part of the branch that I’m a part of. 
• I named them “Telefus Family 2” and “Telefus Family 3.” I haven’t been able to positively connect them to the attached tree, but I have suspicions about where they fit, based on the given names. Both of those families are included at the end of the attachment.
• There are other Telefus families in the US who are more recent immigrants from Russia, as well as a number of  Телефус names on Facebook.  I suspect that they are descended from branches of the same family.
• My branch of the family is descended from Khaim’s son Shemaria. That is based on the following information:
• My great-grandfather, Itzak Telefus (Isador Telles) listed his father as Chaim Hersh Telefus in documents. There is a record of a Chaim Hersh Telefus, the son of Aron, in a Duma voter list on JewishGen. The Revision List records include a Chaim Telefus, son of Aron. The dates and locations line up perfectly. Note that middle names weren’t used in the Revision Lists.
• Shemarya is my Hebrew name, in honor of my grandfather Sam (Shemarya) Telles. It is likely that he was named for his own great-uncle (Shemarya Telefus) who was named for *his* grandfather (Shemarya Telefus).
• My aunt, Phyllis Telles Badanes, has the Hebrew name “Feyga.” Her recollection was that she was named for a family member who had died young. There are two Feygas listed in this branch of the tree.

The records that would positively connect all of the families I've found would come from vital records dated between 1860 – 1890. I’m hopeful such records exist, and that they’ll be translated and posted eventually. Until then, there is still some guesswork to do. 

If you are reading this and have any ideas or missing pieces, please let me know.

Leyba Telefus, b. circa / /1729

+unknown spouse

└── Khayim Telefus, b. / /1752, d. / /1837

    +Pesya (--?--), b. circa / /1778

    ├── Shmaria Telefus, b. / /1789

    │   +Rukhlya (--?--), d. before / /1854

    │   ├── Aron Telefus, b. / /1817

    │   │   +Ester (--?--), b. / /1822

    │   │   ├── Feyga Telefus, b. between 1830 and 1850, d. before / /1854

    │   │   ├── Khana Telefus, b. / /1839

    │   │   ├── Sura Telefus, b. circa / /1843

    │   │   ├── Chiam Hirsh Telefus, b. / /1850 at Khotin, Bessarabia, d. after / /1909 at Khotin, Bessarabia

    │   │   │   +Mary Cohen, m. before / /1865

    │   │   │   ├── Rachel Telefus, b. circa / /1865

    │   │   │   │   +(--?--) Marcus

    │   │   │   │   └── Bluma Marcus, b. / /1897

    │   │   │   └── Sheava Telefus, b. between 1/ /1872 and 1/ /1873, d. 12/7/1955 at NY

    │   │   │       +Aron Fisherman, b. between 5/ /1869 and 5/ /1870 at Khotin, Bessarabia, m. / /1892

    │   │   │       ├── Louis Fisherman, b. 10/26/1894 at Khotin, Bessarabia

    │   │   │       │   +Sadie (--?--), b. 7/ /1901 at NY, m. 10/15/1918 at NY, d. 3/29/1929 at NY

    │   │   │       │   +Rose (--?--)

    │   │   │       ├── Minnie Fisherman, b. 2/15/1898 at Khotin, Bessarabia, d. 11/28/1987

    │   │   │       │   +Melvin Presser, b. 12/19/1903, m. / /1948, d. 3/4/1988 at FL

    │   │   │       ├── Anne Fisherman, b. between 1/ /1901 and 2/ /1901 at Khotin, Bessarabia, d. 4/12/1984

    │   │   │       └── Mickey Fisherman, b. between 1/ /1902 and 2/ /1902 at Khotin, Bessarabia

    │   │   │           +Roberta (--?--)

    │   │   │   +Leah Berenstein, m. circa / /1875

    │   │   │   ├── (--?--) Telles, b. at Khotin, Bessarabia, d. at Khotin, Bessarabia

    │   │   │   ├── Pesach Telefus, b. at Khotin, Bessarabia, d. / /1970 at Tirat-HaCarmel

    │   │   │   │   +Frida Appelboim, b. at Bessarabia, d. / /1935 at Bessarabia

    │   │   │   │   ├── Lea Telefus, b. / /1919 at Khotin, Bessarabia, d. / /2004 at Tirat-HaCarmel

    │   │   │   │   │   +Rafael Faige, b. / /1922, d. 5/4/2011

    │   │   │   │   └── Chana Telefus, b. / /1931 at Bessarabia

    │   │   │   │       +Efraim Sholimovich, b. / /1931 at Kostansa, d. / /2002 at Tirat-HaCarmel

    │   │   │   │   +Rivka Vrombrant, d. / /1967 at Tirat-HaCarmel

    │   │   │   ├── Anna Telefus, b. 5/20/1887 at Khotin, Bessarabia, d. 12/1/1968 at Riverdale, NY

    │   │   │   │   +Chaim Telefus, b. / /1887, m. 6/25/1910 at NY, d. 4/20/1922 at NY

    │   │   │   │   +Max Lichtenstein, b. 1/4/1877 at Odessa, m. 7/28/1931 at NY, d. 10/25/1961

    │   │   │   └── Isador Telles, b. 3/14/1891 at Khotin, Bessarabia, d. / /1951

    │   │   │       +Sarah Birnberg, b. 3/17/1893 \d. 4/ /1965

    │   │   │       ├── Meyer Jack Telles, b. 10/12/1913 at NY, d. 11/23/2003 at CA

    │   │   │       │   +Helan Konsky, b. 10/17/1915 at NY, m. 7/4/1936, d. 1/18/1994 at CA

    │   │   │       ├── Sam Telles, b. 7/25/1917 at NY, d. 12/12/1972 at Borough Park, NY

    │   │   │       │   +Rose Broitman, 

    │   │   │       └── Harris Telles, b. 10/18/1923 at NY, d. 11/12/2002 at TX

    │   │   │           +Miriam Nacht, b. 3/18/1924, m. 6/22/1946

    │   │   ├── Mortko Telefus, b. / /1852

    │   │   │   +Perla (--?--), b. / /1836

    │   │   ├── Shmerya Telefus, b. / /1855 at Khotin, Bessarabia

    │   │   └── Rakhel Telefus, b. circa / /1857

    │   ├── Rosya Telefus, b. / /1821

    │   ├── Feyga Telefus, b. / /1825

    │   └── Mendel Telefus, b. circa / /1833

    │       +Perlya (--?--), b. / /1836

    │       ├── Shmarya Telefus, b. / /1856

    │       └── Ios Telefus, b. / /1857
            ├── Froim Telefus, b. circa / /1795 (PossibleTelefus Family 3)

    │   +Reyzya (--?--), b. circa / /1795

    │   ├── Itsko Telefus, b. / /1831

    │   │   +Tsivya (--?--), b. / /1831

    │   │   ├── Khaya Telefus, b. / /1850

    │   │   ├── Mendel Telefus, b. / /1851

    │   │   ├── Frima Telefus, b. / /1854

    │   │   └── Marya Telefus, b. / /1857

    │   └── Nekhama Telefus, b. / /1834

    ├── Ios Telefus, b. circa / /1803

    │   +Wife 1 (--?--)

    │   └── Yankel Telefus, b. circa / /1826

    │       +Etya (--?--), b. circa / /1829

    │       ├── Khaim Telefus, b. circa / /1853 (Possible Telefus Family 2)

    │       ├── Khesel Telefus, b. / /1856

    │       └── Khaya Telefus, b. / /1857

    │   +Zlata (--?--), b. / /1815

    │   ├── Manuil Telefus, b. / /1834

    │   │   +Leya (--?--), b. circa / /1838

    │   │   ├── Zlata Telefus, b. circa / /1854

    │   │   └── Gensel Telefus, b. / /1858

    │   ├── Tsipa Telefus, b. 12/1/1839

    │   ├── Tsina Telefus, b. / /1842

    │   ├── Khaim Telefus, b. 9/8/1842

    │   ├── Shlioma Telefus, b. 9/1/1843, d. 1/21/1880

    │   ├── Ezra Telefus, b. 9/1/1843, d. 10/25/1902

    │   ├── Rukhlya Telefus, b. 9/1/1846

    │   └── Ester Telefus, b. / /1852

    │   +Etlya (--?--), b. circa / /1817

    │   ├── Ushir Anczel Telefus, b. 9/11/1855

    │   ├── Gensel Telefus, b. / /1858, d. 7/7/1908

    │   └── Sura Leya Telefus, b. / /1864

    │       +Sender Sklyarov, b. / /1859

    └── Genzel Telefus, b. circa / /1805, d. / /1848

        +Khantsya (--?--), b. / /1815

        ├── Leya Telefus, b. / /1838

        ├── Menya Telefus, b. / /1840

        ├── Khaim Telefus, b. / /1842

        ├── Sheyna Telefus, b. / /1844

        ├── Yankel Telefus, b. / /1845

        └── Reyzya Telefus, b. circa / /1848

Always proud of Grandma Rose!

I'm always proud of my Grandmother, pictured above courtesy of the NJ Jewish News. At 92 years old she has good days and bad - but she retains her spark! She was quoted in a recent article about high school students coming to learn about history from those who have lived it. The article even gives her a quote:

The Daughters of Israel residents were all smiles, full of stories about their lives. Rose Shoshana Telles described to her interviewers how she moved from Russia to Canada and eventually to Brooklyn.

“I was a teacher,” she told a reporter, “and these students are very bright. They’re brighter than I was.”

Now you see where I got my love of history! You can read the entire article here.

Is a Puzzlement - Piecing together the Telefus Tree (Part 2)

In my last post I laid out the puzzle. Three TELEFUS families, each from Khotin, Ukraine. How do the three relate to each other? When I finally felt my internet resources were tapped, a few of the descendants of these families decided to hire a researcher in Europe. I've had success in the past this way, but only when the archivist was recommended. The researcher is based in Chişinău, Moldova, where some 19th century census records for Khotin are archived. (If you'd like a recommendation for this researcher, please contact me directly).

The archivist in Moldova found records for Telefus in the 1848, 1854, and 1874 censuses and revisions! Information about the censuses can be found here. The censuses were incomplete, often ignored female family members, and are known to have been inaccurate. Still, they are records, and I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Image from the 1854 revision of the Khotin census. Record for TELEFUS

From these records - plus some likely related records at JewishGen - I was able to piece together two 19th century TELEFUS families (below). The names in the first family below correspond to my family (my grandfather's Hebrew name was "Shemarya," and so is mine - an uncommon name to be sure), but the dates don't match up. The problem is that the information gathered in US records only goes back to the 1880s and 1890s, and these records stop in the 1870s. Vital records from 1880 - 1900 would help us make the connections among the current families and the 18th century records, but those records seem to be missing. Maybe DNA testing would shed some light on the connections. For example, my great-grandfather was Itzak TELEFUS (#20), the son of Chaim Hirsh TELEFUS (#41). And there is a father/son pair named Izak TELEFUS and Haim Hirsh TELEFUS below (#226 & #231). But the age difference between the two Izaks is 20 years! That is too wide to be a simple error.

So, for now, this is a wall. I'm not sure it is a genealogical brick wall; hopefully it's one we may be able to climb one day. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

19th Century TELEFUS Family 1

Haim Telefus (204), d. before 1848

+Pesea (--?--) (205), d. between 1848 and 1854

├── Shmaria Telefus (220), b. 1789, d. 1848

│ +Ruhlea (--?--) (221), d. before 1854

│ ├── Aron Telefus (224), b. 1817

│ │ +Ester (--?--) (225), b. 1816

│ │ ├── Feiga Telefus (230), d. before 1854

│ │ ├── Hana Telefus (228), b. 1839

│ │ ├── Sura Telefus (229), b. 1840

│ │ ├── Haim Hersh Telefus (226), b. 1850

│ │ │ +unknown spouse

│ │ │ └── Izik Telefus (231), b. 1872

│ │ ├── Mordco Telefus (227), b. 1852

│ │ ├── Shmary Telefus (232), b. 1854

│ │ └── Srul Telefus (233), b. 1862

│ └── Mendel Telefus (222), b. 1833

│ +Perla (--?--) (223), b. 1836

│ └── Shmary Telefus (234), b. 1855

├── Yos Telefus (206), b. circa 1803

│ +Zlata (--?--) (207), b. 1823

│ ├── Yanckel Telefus (211), b. 1826

│ │ +Etea (--?--) (212), b. 1829

│ │ ├── Haim Telefus (235), b. 1850

│ │ │ +unknown spouse

│ │ │ └── Shleoma Duvid Telefus (236), b. 1868

│ │ ├── Hessel Telefus (237), b. 1855

│ │ └── Azril Telefus (238), b. 1867

│ ├── Manoil Telefus (208), b. 1834

│ ├── Ezra Telefus (209), b. 1844

│ └── Shleoma Telefus (210), b. 1849

└── Ghetsel Telefus (213), b. 1805, d. 1848

+Hantsea (--?--) (214), b. 1815

├── Haim Telefus (215), b. 1836

├── Leiia Telefus (217), b. 1838

├── Menea Telefus (218), b. 1840

├── Sheila Telefus (219), b. 1844

└── Yanckel Telefus (216), b. 1845

19th Century TELEFUS Family 2

Hasckel Telefus (239), b. before 1777, d. before 1848

+unknown spouse

└── Froim Telefus (240), b. 1795

+Reiza (--?--) (241), b. 1795

├── Nehama Telefus (243)

└── Itsko Telefus (242), b. 1831

+Tsiva (--?--) (244), b. 1831

├── Haia Telefus (245), b. 1850

├── Mendel Telefus (246), b. 1850

│ +unknown spouse

│ └── Ghershko Telefus (247), b. 1871

└── Froim Telefus (248), b. 1869