Also just called the pail by many Jews. It was all part of the Russian empire.
I thought you might be interested in some information, since you're on this journey. I've done some research and investigating over the years and find it fascinating. Odds are your grandparents came from what is now Ukraine, Poland, Belarus or a few other places that were considered Russian until the 20th century. Documents and passports said Russia, family history spoke of towns and regions.
Both sets of my grandparents came from "the pail" but there was movement around the region.
Here's some information from Google and Wikipedia. Didn't copy the links.
"The Pale of Settlement included all of modern-day Belarus, Lithuania and Moldova, much of Ukraine and east-central Poland, and relatively small parts of Latvia, and what is now the western Russian Federation. It extended from the eastern pale, or demarcation line inside the country, westwards to the Imperial Russian border with the Kingdom of Prussia (later the German Empire) and Austria-Hungary. "
What did the Pale of Settlement do?
Originally formed in 1791 by Russia's Catherine II, the Pale of Settlement was a region designated for Jews. For political, economic, and religious reasons, very few Jews were allowed to live elsewhere.
Some Jews were allowed in Russia proper, most likely scholars and physicians, musicians and craftsmen, but most lived in the pail and emigrated from there if they were able. Families would bring others over, or serve as a starting point for their life in a new country.
My paternal relatives lived in the towns of Pinsk and Minsk, which were in Belarus, and spoke of Bialystok, which is in Poland. They said the borders had shifted over the years and people moved.
"Pinsk was first mentioned in 1097 and was the seat of a Russian princedom. It passed successively under Lithuanian (13th–16th century), Polish (1569–1793), Russian (1793–World War I), Polish (1920–39), and then Soviet rule (with German occupation during 1941–44). Pinsk lies at the eastern end of the Dnieper-Bug Canal"
My mother's family landed in Canada, came from the edge of the pale, Latvia and Romania.
My dad's family landed in NYC and stayed
Do you know if your family land in Ellis Island?
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