The well-to-do Zlotnikovs of Minsk
marry into the Jonas Family

The extended Zlotnikov family - Sara is the little girl in the front row, first from left. Sara's parents, Rebecca and Mordecai are on the far right hand side. The Rabbi in the middle of the picture is Sara's grandfather.

Sara (centre, arms folded) and her immediate family here (about 1870)

RESEARCH SITES OF INTEREST

Take a look at these wonderful, old postcards of Minsk pre-1920s.

http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/images/theater.jpg - theatre in Minsk
http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/images/street.jpg - street scene Minskhttp://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/images/building.jpg - building in Minsk http://www.jewishgen.org/belarus/images/park.jpg - park in Minsk

The whereabouts of records is a problem, as is language and script unfamiliarity.

The problem is compounded by the fact that my Jewish family - with a penchant for the stage - and for reasons of paranoia (justified), changed their names constantly.

egs. Henri/ Henry/ Hershel - Alf,/Adolph - Joel - Dora/ Debora - Itcha/ Isaac/ Alfredo.

It was Sara's maiden name that presented the major problem because I couldn't easily put it on surname lists or search online records if I did'nt know what it was. Three of Sara's son's gave it on their marriage certificates variouly as: 'Zelinovcaff', 'Slotnicoff', 'Zlotnicoff'.

The mystery was solved when I found the Belarus page with useful lists of names from Minsk and Grodno with more Jonas's than I have seen anywhere as well as plenty of ZLOTNIKOV'S. So until I find otherwise, this is the trail I am following.

Sara's father Mordecai was a farmer - by looks probably a small but wealthy landowner - and her grandfather was a Rabbi.

Their descendents would have been targetted by the Bolshevik regime and later on by the Nazis, as the lists on the Belurus page indicate.