Yankel/Yacov Hersh Stasevich + Hene Seidenberg
from Nowy Dwor, Maz, Poland

In early 2023 my sister and I, having previously tested on MyHeritage, took Ancestry DNA tests.
In addition to the sheer number of relations, there were intriguing matches with two people from the Stasevich family. I contacted Mario, with whom I shared 208 cM, 3% of DNA, and estimated to be a 2nd to 3rd cousin.

I first thought these might be descendants of my grandfather's brother Joseph, said to have gone to Argentina.
I made contact and learned that this family had gone to Cuba, then Miami, and were not descended from Joseph, but from Yankel Hersh Stasevich + Hene Seidenberg and his son Max/Mordechai/Motl/Mordka Stasevich.

But they did come from Nowy Dwor, and were, as is my family, of the Levy tribe.


 
Mathew Mattias Matityahu Nosan HaLevi Stasiovich (1855-1926) was my great grandfather. This photo was taken about 1918 and comes to me from Randy Baer Lewis from her mother Bebe Supovitz Baer from her mother, my father's sister Fanny Stackowitz Supovitz, daughter of Isaac, son of Matys. The photo of Yankel Hersh Stasevich (c1864-?) is undated and comes from his great grandson Allen Stasevich and his father Mario Stasevich and his father Max/Mordechai/Motl Stasevich.

They are rough contemporaries.
Are they brothers or cousins?
Matys' parents were Shepsl/Siapsia Stasiovich (c1816-?) and Bayl Nusanovichov (c1831-?) Who were Yankel Hersh Stasevich's parents?

Traces of the family on gravestones and Polish documents
 


Inscription on the gravestone of Yankel Hersh's son Max Stasevich, 3/6/1901-6/20/1984
Mordechai son of Yacov Hersh halevi


Inscription on the 3/19/1910 gravestone of Fruma Fannie/Frances Starshevitz Slotnick, Mathew's sister
Frume daughter of Shepsel
Shepsel is a nickname for Shabtay


Inscription on gravestone of Mathew Stachowitz 5/22/1926
Matityahu Natan son of Shabtai, haLevi

8/17/1871, Nowy Dwor Marriage record of my great grandfather Matys Stasiowicz spelled his name Стасіовичь.

And, as with the help of Nowy Dwor JRIPoland Town Manager Alan K'necht,
I'd collected all available possible family documents from Nowy Dwor,
I had this one on file, even though it did not fit into my known family:

1884 Death Chaim Icek Stashevich, Nowy Dwor, akta 17 [Russian Language]
parents: Jankel Hersz Stashevich and Gena Zajdenberg
Янкеля Герша Сташевичъ and Гена Зайденберг
hint: paste these transcriptions of the Russian into Google Translate

This Chaim is not known to the present-day family I've talked with,
but Jankel Hersz Stashevich and Gena Zajdenberg seem likely to be Yankel Hersh Stasevich + Hene Seidenberg.
the Russian letter Г, "gee," is pronounced like an h; so Gena=Hene.
If so, we now have a spelling of their names in Russian, though not necessarily how they spelled their names.

And then I found two more documents from this family!
and they give the parents' ages

1900 Birth of twin Mordka STASIJEWICZ, Nowy Dwor, akta 194 [Russian Language]
registered in Nowy Dwor Dec 21, born Dec 14, 1900
son of Hersz Jankel, worker, 36 and Chana nee ZAJDENBERG, 40
JewishGen The Polish Given Names Database Mordka lists variants in several languages, including Max, Mordechai and Motl
Is this Max/Mordechai/Motl? Yes! Family knew he had a twin.


1900 Birth of twin Binem STASIJEWICZ, Nowy Dwor, akta 195 [Russian Language]
registered in Nowy Dwor Dec 21, born Dec 14, 1900
son of Hersz Jankel, worker, 36 and Chana nee ZAJDENBERG, 40
JewishGen The Polish Given Names Database Binem lists variants in several languages, including Benjamin

World War I Soldiers from Nowy Dwor
Hymie Dultz WWI
 
1916, Hymie Dultz. Born ND: 25 Sep 1895. US Army.
Valerie Kent collection (UK).

1920 circa. Sam Stackowitz. Born Poland 26 Mar 1895, US Army Corporal.
Sam & Hilda Stack/Allan Stack/Marsha Stack Sylvia collection (US).

 1918 circa. Israel Seidenberg (born circa 1901) and Max Stasevich (Born Poland 06 Mar 1901). Polish military of some sort. from Brenda Seidenberg Zecharia (IS).  
The mothers of Hymie Dultz and Sam Stachowitz were sisters in the Oldstein/Altstein family.    
  Max Stasevich and Sam Stachowitz were cousins, as were Max and Israel Seidenberg.  

 

The big question remains: who was Yankel Hersh Stasevich's father?

Attempt #1 to Establish Parentage of Yankel Hersh Stasevich: Gravestone
 
At one point Mario mentioned a man in Toronto who had photos of Polish gravestones. Alan K'necht said it wasn't him. The only project I knew was one my JGS had supported for years: Jewish Cemeteries in Poland (formerly Kirkuty). I contacted Director Dr. Krzysztof Bielawski in February, 2024, and he responded that he was planning to visit Nowy Dwor, Maz, and to upadate reporting on its Jewish cemetery. He did so in August, 2024. The report at the link can be translated from Polish to your preferred language. Right-click for a contextual menu. Scroll down for names found on broken headstones.
Outcome: There were no listings of Stasevich or pairings of Yankels and fathers. My Uncle Jack (1903-1990) was fondly called Yankel by my father. His Hebrew name was Yakov. This website spells this name "Jaakow." I also searched this name and saw no likely prospects.

Attempt #2 to Establish Parentage of Yankel Hersh Stasevich: Voter Lists
 

In August, 2024 I re-examined my research notes and noticed this:

Russia, Duma Voter Lists, 1906-1907
STASEWICZ, Jankelew; Father: Szepsel 1907
Landlord 1873 Warszawa
Gub: Warszawa

STASEWICZ, Matis Nusen; Father: Szepsel 1907
Tax of Lodging 1872
Warszawa Gub: Warszawa

On Ancestry
Russia, Duma Voter Lists, 1906-1907
Name Jankelew Stasewicz
Patronymic Name Szepselew
Gender Male
Residence Date 1907
Residence Place Warszawa, Warszawa
Voter List Number 1873
Father Szepsel
Voting Qualification Landlord
Data Source Poland - Warszawa Gubernia Duma Voters Lists, 1907

Outcome: Matis Nusen STASEWICZ, son of Szepsel, is likely my great grandfather. Is his brother Jankel Max's father, Mario's grandfather? I am seeking the original Russian version, but so far it appears to be unavailable.

Attempt #3 to Establish Parentage of Yankel Hersh Stasevich: DNA
 
Cheered by the possibility that Jankel was the brother of my great grandfather Mathew, I re-examined the Ancestry DNA results for evidence of Mario and I being second cousins one removed. Ancestry reports 208 cM, or 3% shared DNA, which they claim to be in the 2nd – 3rd Cousin range. Generally accepted measures place second cousins once removed at 2-6% shared DNA. Henry M. Chajet and I would be third cousins. Ancestry reports 67 cM, or 1% shared DNA, which they say is in the 3rd to 4th cousin range.
Outcome: It is very possible that Yankel Hersh's father was my great great grandfather Szepsel.

Attempt #4 JewishGen Documents
 

8/27/2024: I searched again on JewishGen with a different spelling and found: 1862 Zakroczym Birth Jankiel Hersz STASZOWICZ Akta 10. There was no link, but Altstein cousin Alan K'necht found it for me! It's in Polish. Zakroczym is about 7 miles west of Nowy Dwor.

It happened in Zakroczym 19 Jan 1862 at 2 in the afternoon, appeared Szapira Staszowicz, laborer age 37 with witnesses Hersz Naperstok age 58 and Kiwa Epsztejn age. 37 residents if Zakroczym and stated that 11 January this year at 8 in the morning his wife Bayla nee Kusen age 25 gave birth to a son who was given the name Jankiel Hersz.
 
Father Szapsia Staszowicz
Mother Bayla Kusen
Baby Jankiel Hersz
Outcome: This is the proof we have been seeking!
Same document in the context of Stachowitz family genealogy

Matis and Yankel were brothers.

 


Waldheim Nowy Dwor Memorial listing Yankel H. Stashevich
Gate 208 at Waldheim belonged to a Novy Dworer mutual-aid society or "verein."
The Nowy Dwor Society in Chicago

Novy Dworer: a Virtual Cemetery - Find a Grave
Gate 208, Waldheim

I have a page devoted to the evolution of our family name STACK

Stack/Stackowitz/Stachovitz Genealogies

Nowy Dwor, Mazowiecki, Poland

Contact me

This aggregation of evidence is © Barbara Toby Stack where not otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.
Family members are invited and urged to freely download and collect images and documents.