Descendants of Louis Bronstein, Phila PA
In three successive efforts (1772, 1793, 1795) Austria, Russia, and Prussia removed Poland from the map by dividing its territories among themselves.In 1772 large parts of the country were divided among Frederick II of Prussia, Catherine II of Russia, and Maria Theresa of Austria.In 1793, after it had become apparent that the remaining portion of independent Poland was showing signs of regeneration, Russia and Prussia invaded the country and took more land.Only the central section of Poland remained independent, and the three powers took that in 1795.Poland's partition was confirmed by the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), with Russia getting the largest portion.
During these times it became necessary to perform a census of the inhabitants and therefore of the Jews, who were not citizens, but constituted a class of the populace who had lived there for nearly half a millennium.Most commonly, a Prussian officer would set up a table in a public place and the Jews would line up to be assigned family names.There was probably a man who was responsible for placing a stone over the mouth of the well in each small shtetl in central Poland.The person who kept the water supply safe, by placing a stone over the well to keep small animals from falling in and contaminating it, might have been labeled Bronstein by the census officer.
Many of these Jews migrated to the area of Russia, beneath the Pale of Settlement, where Russian law directed them.I believe that the Bronstein family, I know, traveled to the Ukraine in the 19th century.They went to a place called Bogoslav, near White Church, in the State of Kiev.However, my memory is that my grandfather Louis Bronstein called it "Buslova," so it might have been Borispol, or Brusilov, or some little village with a similar name.It is now in the Ukraine, no longer Russia or the U.S.S.R.
Tsar Alexander II, known as the Liberator, ruled Russia from 1855 to 1881.He emancipated the serfs in 1861.He was assassinated on March 13, 1881, the infamous day that dramatically changed the lives of the Jews in Russia.Alexander III was determined to suppress terrorism and curtailed the reforms of the previous regime.The persecution of religious dissenters, Roman Catholics, Protestants and especially Jews was legitimized.Pogroms began within the Pale of Jewish Settlement.
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Re: Descendants of Louis Bronstein, Phila PA
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Re: Descendants of Louis Bronstein, Phila PA
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