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VOLKOVYSKY UEZD
 

VOLKOVYSKY UEZD INFORMATION:
Biskunicy, Boyarskaya, Derkachi, Dobrovol, Dombrovolskaya, Gornostaevichi, Gornostaevichskaya, Holstov, Izabelin, Izabelinskaya, Kolonnyi, Kremyanickaya, Levkovo, Luplyanka, Lyskovo, Lyskovskaya, Mal-Lopenica, Mezhirechskaya, Mogilevtsy, Mstibov, Mstivobo, Mstibovskaya, Narevka, Novodvory, Orancy, Penyugovskaya, Peski, Peskovskaya, Piesk, Podbolote, Podorsk, Podorskaya, Porozov/o, Porozovskaya, Ross, Rosskaya, Samarevicheskaya, Shidlovichi, Shidlovichskaya, Shimkovskaya, Slavatichi, Sventica, Svisloch, Svislochskaya, Tarpolskaya, Tolochmanskaya, Vereiki, Vereikovskaya, Vichukovskaya, Volkovsyk, Yalovka, Yushovskaya, Zelzin, Zelzinskaya, Zelva, Zelvyanskaya

Volkovsyky Uezd Population by Religion in 1887
 

Religion	Volkovysk			Volkoviski uezd
	men	women	men	women
Orthodox	717	606	63747	25321
Catholic	1118	1107	16476	21325
Protestant			133	1527
Jewish	1574	1274	78241	90738
Mohammedan	11	9	27	865
Total	3420	2996	61207	129776

1887 Volkovysky Uezd Population by Social Class
 

	Title of the Estates	Volkov			Volkovyski uezd
		men	women	men	women
Nobility	1) hereditary	32	27	603	532
	2) personal	101	92	77	88
	Clergy	1) Orthodox "White"	3		64	66
1) Orthodox "Monkish"
2) Catholic "White"		1		40
2) Catholic "Monkish"
3)
4)			1	1
5) Jewish	1		15	14
6) Moslem
Urban Estates	1) Citizens (hereditary)			14	18
	1) Citizens (personal)	22	17	5	7
	2) Merchants	65	4	41	61
3) Middle-class	2649	2601	8188	8188
4)	105	96
Rural Estates	1) State peasants	42	34	16309	16002
	2) Settlers	7	19	149	149
	3) Peasants-proprietors			33593	33503
4) town peasants
5) Free people
6)
Military Estates	1) regular troops	315	68	526	4
	2) irregular troops
	3)	46	17	1462	1069
4) retired lower ranks	15	9	1099	1099
5) soldiers' children	10	4	268	264
Foreign	VI. Foreign Subjects	6	8	273	182
	VII. People who do not belong above<= /TD>				32	44
	TOTAL	3420	2996	64876	61207

 

Volkovysky Uezd, Grodno gubernia fairs in 1887

Volkovsyk: 29 Jun

Zelva: from 25 Jun til 25 Jul

Porozov: 9 May, 13 Jun, 15 Aug, 8 Sep, 1 Nov, 6 Dec

Svisloch: 4 Mar, 20 May, 23 and 24 Aug

Yalovka: 7 Jan, 13 Jun, 15 Sep

Mstibov: 23 Apr, 24 Jun, 26 Nov

Ross: 1 Apr, 23 Apr

Volkovysk town and Volkovyski uezd Livestock in 1884:

Horses: 380/15321

Cattle: 820/46012

Sheep, simple: 325/44385

Sheep with thin fleece: 0/11931

Pigs: 682/40119

Goats: 250/283

Donkeys/mules: 0/0

Total livestock in Volkovysk: 2457

Total livestock in Volkovsyki uezd: 174,008

Buildings in Volkovysk in 1887: stone/wood

Habitations =96public: 3/

- church/monastery: /4

- social: 2/1

- private: 30/739

Public shop:

Social shop:

Private shop: /1

Social store:

Private store: 252/80

Theater:

Total: 287/825

Volkovysk 1887 Statistics for these zashtatnye cities, places, and pos= ady
 

Name of Settlement	1887 Population	Distance from Gubernia city=	Distance from district city=	Lat/			Long			Postal Address (P.S)
Volkovysk	6416	84		53	10	42	38	Volkovysk
Zelva p.	3094	108	24	53	9	42	59	Zelva
Izabelin p	310	101	10	53	5	42	43	Volkovysk
Lyskovo p	1285	121	37	52	51	42	46	Podorosk
Mal-Lopenica p	339	111	14	53	1	42	40	Volkovsyk
Mstibov p	1166	101.75	16	53	6	42	25	Volkovsyk
Novodvory p	1305	94	40	52	50	42	31	Volkovysk
Pesky p	1915	70	24	53	21	42	47	Pesky
Porozovo p	2279	84	28	52	57	42	32	Volkovysk
Ross p	844	70	15.75	53	17	42	34	Ross
Svisloch p	2424	70	29.75	53	2	42	15	Svisloch

Volkovyski uezd 1887 camps and Volosts with postal addresses

volost=smallest administrative/territorial unit of pre-Revolutionary Tsarist Russia;

Guberniya=Basic administrative/territorial unit of pre-Revolutionary Russia;

1 desyatina=  1.0925 hektar; 1 hectar = 10,000 square meters
 

Camp	Desig-nation	Name of district camps	name of places: camp flats & volosts govern- ment	Post Address	Distance from camp flat	Distance from district city	Distance from gubernia city
1st		1st camp	place: Izabelin	city: Volkovysk		10	101
1st	Volost	Izabelinskaya	place: Izabelin	city: Volkovysk		10	101
1st	Volost	Podorskaya	village: Podorsk	Podorsk	14	24	100
1st	Volost	Penyugovskaya	village: Slavatichi	city: Volkovysk	26	36	110
1st	Volost	Mezhirechskaya	village: Mezireche	city: Volkovysk	15	24	100
1st	Volost	Zelvyanskaya	place: Zelva	place: Zelva	20	24	108
2nd		2nd camp	place: Lyskovo	place: Zelva		37	121
2nd	Volost	Zelzinskaya	village: Zelzin	Podorosk	25	35	110
2nd	Volost	Lyskovskaya	place: Lyskovo	Podorosk		37	121
2nd	Volost	Porozovskaya	place: Pozorovo	city: Volkovysk	20	28	84
2nd	Volost	Gornostaevichskaya	village: Gornostaevichi	city: Volkovysk	22	20	88
2nd	Volost	Tolochmanskaya	Vel. Sventica	city: Volkovysk	32	20	84
3rd		3rd camp	place: Svisloch	place: Svisloch		30	70
3rd	Volost	Svislochskaya	place: Svisloch	place: Svisloch		30	70
3rd	Volost	Boyarskaya	village: Kolonnyi	place: Svisloch	12	30	82
3rd	Volost	Dombrovolskaya	village: Dobrovol	place: Svisloch	15	42	86
3rd	Volost	Shimkovskaya	village: Yaklovka	place: Svisloch	14	41	82
3rd	Volost	Yushovskaya	village: Luplyanka	place: Svisloch	18	46	82
3rd	Volost	Tarpolskaya	village: Levkovo	Narevka	32	60	92
4th		4th camp	place: Ross	place: Ross		15.75	70
4th	Volost	Rosskaya	place: Ross	place: Ross		15.75	70
4th	Volost	Vereikovskaya	village: Vereiki	city: Volkovysk	18	22	57
4th	Volost	Shidlovichskaya	village: Shidlovichi	city: Volkovysk	22	20	8
4th	Volost	Mstibovskaya	place: Mstivobo	place: Ross	24	16	102
4th	Volost	Vichukovskaya	village: Orancy	place: Ross	18	12	75
5th		5th camp	place: Peski	place: Peski		24	70
5th	Volost	Peskovskaya	place: Peski	place: Peski		24	70
5th	Volost	Samarevicheskaya	village: Podbolote	Zelva	17	22	84
5th	Volost	Kremyanickaya	village: Derkachi	city: Volkovysk	20	12	76
5th	Volost	Biskunickaya	village: Biskunicy	city: Volkovysk	23	5	76

Volkovyski Uezd 1887 Surnames and Occupations
 

TOWN	OCCUPATION	SURNAME	First Name	Pharmacy Number
Piesk	physician	Bitner	Cheslav Nikolaevich
Peski	pharmacy manager	Dlugosh		#59
Mogilevtsy	physician	Dzyakonski	Kazimir Evstafjevich
Ross	physician	Karo	Nikolai Eduardovich
Porozovo	physician	Mazurkevich	Vikenti Osipovich
Zelva	pharmacy owner	Panotski	Ooma	#58
Parozovo	pharmacy manager	Sabishinski		#60
Peski	pharmacy owner	Saroseka	Ivan	#59
Holstov	physician	Shenskovich	Mustafa Ivanovich
Parozovo	pharmacy owner	Tochilovski	Ignati	#60
Svisloch	physician	Bitner	Vladimir Zdislavovich
Volkovysk	physician	Krushevski	Yulii-Ivan Yulievich
Svisloch	pharmacy owner	Milgof		#57
Svisloch	pharmacy manager	Shidlovski	Karl	#57
Volkovysk	pharmacy owner	Tyminski	Andrei	#56

Volkovyski uezd towns

Izabelin, Zabelin:

Kagan and Levin (Yiddish and Hebrew Encyclopedias of Lithuania): ?274. 

Yizkor: Piesk V'Most, 1975.

1836 rabbi: Yitzak Elkhanan Spektor (1817-1896) but he later went to Kovbo.
1868 rabbi: Yakov David Wilovski (1845-1914) called "Ridbaz".

Piesk (Piaski, Peski) in 1921:
Bialystok province, 650 mi ENE of Bialystok. Flour mills, Jewish community in trade and crafts.
Jewish population: 1847-662; 1897-1,615 (67%); 1921-1,249. [Source: Kugelmass, Jack and Boyarin, Jonathan. From a Ruined Garden, p. 271, see 71]

see Piechotka, Maria and Kazimierz. Wooden Synagogues, 1959.

1912 rabbi: Zvi Hirsh Kviat (1870-?)

yizkor: Piesk V Most, 1975 and Ayarah al chol, 1968 by Rach= el Shtilerman.

Volkovsyk (Volkavisk):

Kagan and Levin (Yiddish and Hebrew Encyclopedias of Lithuania) 2611.

yizkor: Volkavisker Yizkor Buch, 1949.

EJ article.

1887: Hamelitz correspondent was Menela Tamarin.
1889-at least 1894 rabbi: Yosef Eliasberg.
birthplace of Boston City Councilman, US congressman, Spanish-American War captain, composer of "God Save America," Samuel Hyman Borofsky (1865-?) .

see Piechotka, Maria and Kazimierz. Wooden Synagogues, 1959.

Yaluvka (Jalowka):

Kagan and Levin (Yiddish and Hebrew Encyclopedias of Lithuania) 3949.

mention in yizkor: Piesk V'Most, 1975.

Zelva (Zelwa, Bolshoye Selo/Velkaves/Malaya Zelva):

Kagan and Levin (Yiddish and Hebrew Encyclopedias of Lithuania) 3228. 

EJ article.

birthplace of Isaac Broyde 1867-1922, immigrated 1900 and was Jewish Division librarian of NY Public Library.

Zelva is a small town, center of Zelva district, situated on the left bank of the river Zelvyanka about 129 kilometers from Grodno on the Volkovysk-Slonim road. 1992 population: 8300. The town is first mentioned in the Chronicles of 1470 when Michail Nachovich established a Catholic church in Big Zelva. In 1477, a Catholic church was established on the estate "Small Zelva" that belonged to Ivan Geneitavich. In the sixteenth century, the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania presented Small Zelva to the governor of Zhaimoityi: Stanislav Yanovich Kezhgail. In the beginning of sixteenth century,  the hospital belonging to the church of Big Zelva was established. In the first half of the sixteenth century, Zelva belonged to Ivan Vishnevski, Yuri Illinich, Ivan Zaberezinski, and Mihail Zenovjevich. In 1524, according to the documents, Big Zelva was called a mestechko [town] of Volkovysk povet. In 1536 and in 1565, it was privately owned. In 1550-1560, Malaya Zelva belonged to Stanislav Komarovski and Bolshaya Zelva belonged to Yan Glebovich. In 1568, Yuri Illinich presented Bolshaya Zelva to Mihail Krishtaf Radzivil who then presented it to Yazerski in 1581. The name "Zelva" was adopted at this time.

In the first half of the seventeenth century, Zelva belonged to Sapega. I n 1616, the mestechko consisted of a market, three streets (Dvornaya Street, Myazheritskaya Street, and Volkovyskaya Street), seventeen taverns, and two mills. In 1643, Kazimir Sapega met there with a king of Rechpospolitaya [Poland], Vladislav IV. Beginning 1655, it belonged to Duke Polubenski. From 1685-1831, Zelva belonged to Sapega again. In 1690, it was a center of Volkovysk povet with ninety houses. In 1720, Zelva obtained the right to hold fairs . In 1739, Piyary established a residence there.

In the second half of the eighteenth century, the Zelva fair were considered to be among the biggest in all of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The people mostly sold horses. In the middle of the market place was a hotel and two hundred shops. In 1795, Zelva was governed by the Russian Empire and was a volostj center of Volkovysk povet. In the end of eighteenth century, there were 147 houses.

In 1809, there were 143 houses. In 1831, Zelva was confiscated from Sapega by the state. In 1863, there were 163 houses, 1315 people, a Catholic church, an Orthodox church, three synagogues, a mill, a school and a brewery. In 1897, there were 2879 people, a technical school, a hospital, one mill, a brewery, a honey factory, and a candle factory. In 1908-1913, woodcutting factory existed.

I n the twentieth century, Malaya Zelva merged with Bolshaya Zelva. During the World War I, Germany occupied it. In 1919 and 1920, the Polish Army occupied Zelva. Beginning in 1921, Poland governed it as a gmina [town] center in Volkovysk powiat of Belostok voevodstvo. In 1939, it belonged to the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Beginning January 15, 1940 it was a small town and district center. On July 1, 1941, occupying Nazis killed 6049 people in Zelva and its region. In July 12, 1944, the Red Army liberated from Nazi control. In 1962-1966, it belonged to Volkovysk district. In 1971, the population of 4300 had a construction plant, a buttery, a public service factory, three secondary schools, a forestry school, a music school, a sports school, a youth center, a kindergarten, a House of Culture, a cinema, two libraries, and a Monument to the Heroes. Architectural landmarks: Troitskaya Church (19th century), the Catholic Church of Lady Maria (early 20th century). 1.5 kilometers to the west is an  archeological site: settlement "Goprodistche" and an ancient site to be excavated. A Belorussian poet Geniush lived there.

Sources:

Sachenka B. I [editor], Encyclopedia of the History of Belarus. 1996, Volume 3, p.455.

Ksiega Adresowa Handlowa, Warszawa Bydgoszcz 1929
 
 

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