LITHUANIAN GABRILOVICHS

The compilations of census and other public records available at JewishGen and Ancestry.com offer the most extensive listings of Gabrilovichs I have ever found.

While there are some Belarusian records available at these sites, the number of Gabrilovichs listed is quite small.

In contrast, the Lithuanian records document dozens and dozens of Gabrilovichs, most of whom lived in the province of Kaunas, in the towns of Ariogala and Raseiniai.

That's the good news. The bad news is that sifting through the records is like trying to put a giant jigsaw puzzle together.

However, with that said, I have put together a single tree that traces the descendants of a Berel Gabrilovich (born circa 1770) of Raseiniai, who had at least three sons. One was Ossip (born 1802), grandfather to Ossip the pianist. Another was Abel (born 1796), who spawned many descendants. A third son Orel, does not have descendants recorded.

The descendants of the aforementioned Abel Gabrilovich (born 1796) are easy to ascertain as their are several redundant recordings of his progeny. Abel's father was definitively Berel, however, it is not absolutely certain that Abel's siblings were Orel and Ossip. However, there is enough evidence to make a strong case for such a relationship.

The descendants of Abel Gabrilovich (born 1796) include Albert Kapengut, a former Soviet Chess Champion, as well as a distinguished line of Medical Doctors and Ph.D.s including Dr. Abel Gabrilovich (1871-1942), Dr. Mikhail Gabrilovich (1913-1968) and his descendants.

The 19th century Gabrilovichs in Lithuania appear to have been very prosperous. In fact, the census records specifically list comments such as "well-to-do," or "owns property."

I have heard from one descendant of the family that he was told the Lithuanian Gabrilovichs were lumber barons. It is documented that many Jews in Lithuania were engaged as lumber merchants. However, whether the Gabrilovichs made their fortune from such commerce has not been substantiated.

To receive the family tree tracing the many descendants of the aforementioned Berel Gabrilovich (born circa 1770), please email me at info@gabrilowitz.com.

Additionally, I have a separate chart tracing the descendants of a Gabrilovich branch in Ariogala, Lithuania; also dating back to around 1770. I believe that the progenitors of the Ariogala branch and the Raseiniai branch are the same people (Berel and Berko), but I don't have enough corroborating evidence.