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From a Shtetl Called Michalishuck
Finding my Palestin Family
"There are now 513 direct descendants of Shmuilo Palestin of Michalishuck on my Palestin/Polstein family tree, going back to the early 1800s."
Great-Uncle Feivel Palestin
It all started in 1995 with a small family reunion in Connecticut. We knew that my mother's father, Isador Polstein, had come to this country from a shtetl called Michalishuck in the early 20th century. Three of his brothers and a sister had also come around that time. It was wonderful to see my cousins and to meet many other family members. There were photos, singing, anecdotes and much warmth. I was given a family tree with what was known at that time, along with some information about family members. Well, I put it away. In 1997 my brother retired from his medical practice. A friend of his suggested that he get into genealogy as a retirement hobby. He tried it and decided that it was more likely to be “up my alley.” Boy, was he ever right! From that family tree from 1995, I contacted everyone I could in order to get names, dates, places and other information on them and their families. I found that Michalishuck was in Lithuania (Vilna Gubernia), Poland or Russia, depending on the time period. Now it's called Mikhalishki and is part of Belarus.
I learned at the family reunion that some cousins had come here first in the late nineteenth century. They had changed the family name from Palestin to Polstein and all Polsteins were related. I wanted to find out how these early arrivals were related to the rest of us. I found JewishGen and entered the names I was researching. I searched the 1897 Lithuanian Census at JewishGen. From the Vilna Archives I obtained all the birth, marriage and death records that they had; they told me the rest were lost in fires and wars. I looked at naturalization records, census records, Ellis Island records, but still I could not find the family connection. I did learn that my grandfather's grandfather was Israel-Iankel Palestin, and he had sons named Josel-David (my great-grandfather), Feivel and Mikhal-Zusman.
I was beginning to realize that I needed to get more information from the “old country.” I contacted a Lithuanian genealogist who sent me copies of items from the 1874 Alphabetical List of the Jews of Vilna uyezd. Israel-Iankel was there and his sons - Josel and Feivel and Mikhal Zusman. Mikhal-Zusman's children were also there - Yudel-Leiba (Louis), Meyer, Josel-Hirsha (Joseph) and Itzko-Rubin (Isaac). As a bonus Israel-Iankel's father was also named - Shmuilo! So now I could connect the whole family in Michalishuck! But what about the Polsteins in the US? I was lucky to find the 1938 New York Times obituary for Joseph Polstein (the Josel-Hirsha born in Michalishuck). It mentioned his surviving siblings - Isaac (Itzko-Rubin), Meyer, and a sister I had not known about - and his descendants. I also found a marriage record for Meyer which listed his parents as Zusman and Annie Polstein. I emailed Joseph Polstein's obituary to my family tree list. One cousin informed me that Joseph was in Who's Who in American Jewry 1928. Yeshiva University had the book. They faxed a copy of the listing to me and - lo and behold - Joseph's parents were named - Michael and Anna Polstein!! From my posting on JewishGen, relatives in Montevideo, Uruguay, found me, and a whole new group of cousins was added to the family tree. They are descended from Israel-Iankel's son Feivel. There are now 513 direct descendants of Shmuilo Palestin of Michalishuck on my Palestin/Polstein family tree, going back to the early 1800s. I am thrilled to get photos and news from relatives in Jerusalem, Uruguay and all over the US. September 2009
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