Gomel - myth or reality?
We had long thought that our Iliatovitch/Gitovitch family came from Gomel. Parents and grandparents spoke of it - though not very often - and the town took on something of a mythical character for us. So this journey was originally planned as a visit to Gomel. We even hoped to fly straight there, maybe via the Belarus capital Minsk. Fortunately we didn't manage to sort out a route, as the research has led us to a succession of other places across the west and south of the country.
Mikhlya Levin's family was from Streshin, a shtetl some 50km from Gomel. Dovid Iliatovitch was from Lida, in the north-west, and all their children were born there. At some point after 1891 they moved to Gomel, possibly after the death of Dovid, presumably so that Mikhlya could be nearer to her own family, including brother Leib (Leibisch).
We now know that 2 of Mikhlya and Leib's brothers, Itzka and Aron, both had children born in Gomel, between 1890 and 1907. Will we find any trace of them, or their descendants?
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