Name changing (Lithuanian)

[momat]

I have the same problem with a Lithuanian Name .
My Grandfather's name was Bromm and I have found at least 12 variants on Documents for my Family.
They eventually changed to BROWN .Big help that was.

[Andrew C.]

What a coincidence I was just talking to my mother last night on this subject. She was telling me a Mitchell family had moved in across the street and she was saying she didn't think she knew them and she thought they might be Lithuanian Mitchells!

I can't be of direct help however of interest to you might be the book images of Bellshill which has a large section on Bellshill Lithuanians. You have probably already did this but I did a google search of Bellshill + Lithuanian and it threw up some interesting sites.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/5317/viewall-page-5 is a worlwide Lithuanian genealogy forum.

I also discovered Vincas Kapsukas who seems to be a famous Lithuanian Socialist lived in Bellshill after escaping from a Serbian prison after the Russian uprising of 1905!

[mcblondie]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the info, I already am a member of Network 54. The people online there are of a great help. Also I read about Kapsukas a very interesting man. As for the Mitchell's I'm still searching and hoping, eventually something will turn up, it always does

Thanks again to you all

[fatjock]

Has anybody done any searching in Lithuania? I'd like to know how hard it is if you don't speak the language and what's available in the way of records.

My wife's grandfather Joseph Mitchell was born in Vilkiviskis in Lithuania in the 1880s. He went to Dublin first and later moved to Manchester where he married a Lithuanian girl before finally settling in Islington in London. His father was called Casimir Matulaitis and he was a farm worker.

My wife's father went there just before the war and the family was still living in the same house. But he can't remember where it is exactly. From what I can see Matulaitis is not an uncommon Lithuanian name.

[paddyscar]

Hi Katie:

I thought of you when I read DavidWW's post the other day
http://talkingscot.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ht=russian

DavidWW wrote

All, however, is not lost, as, firstly, there may still be memories in the Lithuanian community in Scotland regarding such surname changes.

This leads to the question - have you checked with the Lithuanian Association to see if they have historical membership info? That might give you some 'likely' name changes or some addresses you might be able to link to possible names.
Frances

[mcblondie]

Hi Frances,

Thanks for that... I called the Lithuanian Club in Bellshill many months ago, as i remember my family saying that my grandfather used to attend. Like yourself, i figured there must be some sort of register or membership papers of sorts. The gentleman that i spoke with couldn't really help me, he said that he didn't believe there were any records left or if there were he didn't know about them and that there were very little people attended the "lithy Club" anymore. Those that did attend were 3rd and 4th generation, and anyone over 60 who attended probably wouldn't remember too well???

That left me feeling rather deflated. So i don't know whether i just got someone who was having a bad day and didn't want to help or maybe he just didn't know. The only thing he did say was "there are Lithuanian speaking classes every Tuesday at 7pm"

Katie

[DavidWW]

...... snipped ...............

wouldn't remember too well???

....snipped ...............

Katie

I'll bet there's a few oldsters who will only be too happy to talk about times past; the key is going to be how to make contact with them.

Perhaps, as a first step, go along one Tuesday evening, and see how things develop in terms of contacts, - it might take a few telephone calls and a few more visits, but I refuse to believe that there's not someone there who can help you.

David

[Andrew C.]

Would it not be better writing to them and also to Holy Family chapel across the road (Calder Road) and asking them to put up poster looking for information?