Sunday, April 22, 2018

My (Possible) 4th Great Grandfather

Back in March, I wrote about discovering my 3rd great grandfather's name--Leibish Diamant.  What I didn't mention then is that I think I may also have my Diamond/Diamant 4th great grandfather's name.  I'm just not positive.  Here's what I have; please let me know your thoughts!
Yankel Diamant Death, 1859

Yankel Diamant of the town of Kiselin in Vladimir district died on January 13, 1859.  His cause of death (at the age of 63) was "maladies of old age."

Now, Kiselin is the same town where my great-great grandfather Hillel was living when he got married and had children.  Other than this one death record, there are no other Diamants mentioned in available vital records for Kiselin that do not involve Hillel.  Could Yankel be related to Hillel?  Could he actually be his grandfather?  (And if so, WHY OH WHY was his father's name not included in this death record?)
Yankel Diamond Birth, 1861
Hillel's son Chaim was born in 1856.  Hillel's next child born was also a son--named Yaakov (Yankel is the Yiddish form of the Hebrew Yaakov).  It does make sense that if the Yankel who died in 1859 was Hillel's father, the next son born would be named for the late grandfather.

In addition, Hillel had a much younger brother, Yankel.  (Yankel had 2 sons who survived the Holocaust, the Segal brothers, with whom my family is still in touch.)

So between the naming patterns and the town, I'm thinking that Yankel Diamant was my 4th great grandfather.  I'm working to find the Diamants in an 1858 census that should be in Zhitomer archives, so hopefully that will answer this once and for all.  (And hopefully that census will have Yankel's patronymic!)  So stay tuned!


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  1. I assume there's no headstone for Hillel that reveals his father's name, no marriage, death, or birth record? Good luck!

    1. This would actually be Hillel's grandfather. I do have a marriage record for Hillel, but none for his father Leibish. The cemetery in Kiselin was entirely destroyed.

  2. Oh, I was confused because you asked "whether he [Yankel?] could be Hillel's father"---I assume now you meant grandfather. I figured you'd have already tried the more usual sources. Hope you can find another clue.

  3. :) (Glad it wasn't that I am just a sloppy reader!)

  4. It certainly is good evidence. When I get this close, I enter the person in my family tree with the facts that I do know, and a comment explaining what is missing in proof. Because, who knows? That need proof may magically appear one of these day.

  5. Good luck, Lara. Here's hoping the 1858 census gives you the confirmation you need.

  6. Sounds right, but as someone once said, "To prevent jumping to conclusions, when you don’t have full documentation, even when you are sure you know, don’t record it until you have one more piece of evidence."