Sambursky family
from towns in the Poltava Guberniya
(now Chernigov Oblast) in the Ukraine

My relatives lived in large and small towns in the Poltava Gubernyia (district) of Russia in the late 18th century until the early 20th century. Part of that area is now the Chernigov Oblast of Ukraine.

The towns included Srebnoye/Serbne (now Sribne), Lokhvitsa/Lachwitz (now Lochvycja), Ichnya (now Icnja) and Priluki, as well as Zolotonosha in the Cherkasy Oblast.

Information on Chernigov and other towns in region.

The first person we have information about is Klonimus who may have lived in Sambor. (Sambor [49°31'/23°12'] in Eastern Galicia, Lwow Area was in Poland until 1772, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1772 to 1915, Poland again from 1915 to 1939 and currently is in Western Ukraine. The Sambor Yizkor Book has details about the history and people of the town.)

Our family history says that Sara, the wife of Klonimus brought their teenage son Yoseph-Moshe from Sambor to the Ukraine so that he would not be drafted into the army. (A new law had been issued in Austria during the reign of the emperor Joseph II saying that the Jews too should be taken into the military.) Initially the family, which may have included Yoseph-Moshe's sister Yocheved, settled in the town of Zolotonash on the Dnieper River. Later they moved to Priluki [50°36'/32°24]. In his old age, Yoseph-Moshe lived in Ichnya, with his son Simcha. He died in 1858 and was buried in Priluki.

It is more than 395 miles from Sambor to Zolotonosha. (See map.) Around 1800, the trip would have been made by foot or by horse-cart. There are no connecting waterways and it was long before railroads. In 1797, there were a little over 1,000 Jews living in Chernigov province, (the region then north of Priluki, but now including Priluki). Fifty years later, there were 18,000 Jews living there. Jews were migrating in from both the west and the north (Belarus and Lithuania).
Some family names of people who married into this Sambursky line in the Ukraine: Bechholtz, Belenichky, Cohen, Finkelstein, Haft, Ipapa, Kabak, Kahan, Kahana, Karisik, Karminsky, Klimodilsky, Latinsky, Levi, Lifshitz, Mendelbaum, Ochman, Orinin, Polonsky, Rosenthal, Slutzky, Swiadoz, Toupelev, Walowitz, Warshansky, Yarowsky, and Zolotorofe.

Sambursky Family Tree
Klonimus Nissan SAMBURSKY & Sara
  Yoseph-Moshe SAMBURSKY (~ 178? - 1858 Ichnya) & Fruma Yarowsky (1785-1857 Priluki)
   

Zalman-Yoseph Sambursky (1813 - 1873)
     

Shiya Sambursky (1837-1863)
Masya-Khana Sambursky (1846 - ) & Avram Yarovoy (1845 - )
Leah Sambursky( 1855 - ) & Ioska Mikhel Fainberg (1849 - )
Tamashe Elke Sambursky
Rachel Sambursky
    Yishaiahu-Tsvi Sambursky (1818 - 1884 Srebne) & Bahdeneh Lifshitz (1820 - 1884 Demitrovke)
      Sara Sambursky (~1840 - 1911) & Marim Yanpolsky
      Nissan-Eliezer Sambursky (~1842 - 1929 NY) & Shassa Malka Karminsky (1844 - 1929 NY)
        Menachem Mendel Sambursky (~1867 - 1935 Tel Aviv) & Zelda Kabak (abt 1872 - 1931 Danzig)
          Shmuel Sambursky (1900 - ) & Esther Rabinowitz
Shlomit Sambursky
Daniel Sambursky (1909 - ) & Hermona
        Moshe Sambursky (1869 Poltava - ?) & Malka Polonsky (~1874 -? )
Meier/Meyer Sambursky & Anna
Simcha/Semion Sambursky** (1879 - ) & Rose/Rosa Haft (1888 - ?)
          Beatrice E /Basheva Sambursky (1913 - 2000)
Milton/Shlomo Melech Sambursky (1918 - ) &
        Elke Roise/Rose Sambursky (1882 - 1929 NY)
Zalman Yossef/Sol Sambursky (1883 - US) & Rose Harber
Feigele/Fanny Sambursky (1883 - ?NY)
Frumeh Tsipeh Sambursky & Shmuel Haft ( - 1927)
          Yishaiahu Tsvi/Harry Haft (1885-1942) & Clara (1892-1973)
Rose/Rosa Haft** & Simcha SAMBURSKY
Rachel Haft & Nathan Kahan
Behdeneh Haft
Iteh Haft
Freindel Haft & Max Braunstein
Simcha (Sam) Haft & Ida
Noah-Avraham (Avraham) Haft & Fanny
William/Velvul Zev Haft (1906-1995) & Hance/Hannah (1908-1997)
      Simcha-Yosel Sambursky (~1844 - 1896) & Batia Haft (1844 - )
        Leibe/Lewis Sambursky
Leoy-Yitzhak Sambursky
Hillel Moshe/Harry Sambursky
Elkeh Roise/Rose Sambursky
Feige/Fanny Sambursky
Bahdeneh Sambursky
Fruma/Flora Sambursky
      Yirmyah/Jeremiah Sambursky (~1846 - ) & Chaya Slutzky
        Eliezer Sambursky
Pessieh Sambursky & Yaakov Rosenthal
Batia Sambursky & Avraham Wolovitz (1873 - )
Rose/Rois) Sambursky & Walowitz (1876 - )
Feigeh Sambursky
      Batia Zlatah Sambursky (~1848 - young)
Reva Chaia SAMBURSKY** (1851 - 1926) & Nissan (Nathan) ZOLOTOROFE (1853 - 1935)
        Bessie/Batia/Basha ZOLOTOROFE (1871 - 1931) & Joseph JACOBSON (1869 - 1932)
Mosheh Aaron/Morris ZOLOTOROFE* (1872 - 1943) & Chaya Lifshitz (1873 - 1931)
Mosheh Aaron/Morris ZOLOTOROFE* (1872 - 1943) & Fanya
Louis/Leib ZOLOTOROFE (1875 - 1929) & Dora Edith Slutsky (1882 - 1955)
Samuel/Zalman ZOLOTOROFE (1881 - ) & Viola Souweine (1885 - 1956)
Harry/Yishaiahu Tsvi ZOLOTOROFE (1885 - 1939) & Ceil Feinstein (1885 - 1972)
Bernadine/Bahdene ZOLOTOROFE (1887 - 1945) & Charles Blacher (1887 - 1969)
Sidney/Simcha ZOLOTOROFE (1889 - 1950) & Julia (Jay) Goldschmidt (1889 - )
Irving/Israel ZOLOTOROFE (1890 - 1953) & Ethel Cohen (1890 - 1978)
      Chaya Shasse Sambursky (1854 - 1918) & Chaim Moshe Lifshitz (went to Konigsburg 1877)
     


Elka Roise/Rosa Lifshitz & Dr. Chaim Ipapa
Herman/Yishaiahu Tsvi Lifshitz ( - 1916)
      Rachel Sambursky (~1856 - ) & Yakov Kahana (Cohen)
       

Feigeh Kahana (Cohen) & Alexander Bechholtz
Rose Kahan & unknown Oronin
Tsvia Kahan
Behdeneh Kahan
Chasse Kahan
Yishaiahu Tsvi Kahan
      Itkah Sambursky (~1858 - ) & Menashe Eliezer Ochman/Orinin
        Feigeh Ochman/Orinin & husband Belenichky
Elkeh Roise/Rose Ochman/Orinin & Hillel Toupelev
Leibe Ochman
Yishaiahu Tsvi Ochman
Frumeh Ochman/Orinin & husband Finklestein
      Frumeh Liebeh Sambursky (~1860 - ) & Leibe/Louis Bricker (1859 Priluki - US )
        Abraham Bricker & Ida Bricker
Sylvia Frost (1913 - 1998) & Alvin Slipyan
Bahdeneh Bricker & Avraham Lifshitz (~1852 - )
Feigeh/Fanny Bricker & Shmuel Levi
Asher (2) Bricker
Yishaiahu Tsvi Bricker
Moshe Bricker & Isobel
Simcha Bricker
Itkeh Bricker & Simcha Mendelbaum
    Simcha SAMBURSKY (? - bef. 1888) & Batia Kinsbursky (abt 1823 - ) (lived in Ichnya)
      Ephriam Dov/Alter SAMBURSKY (~1859- ) & Chaya Sara unknown
        Simcha SAMBURSKY(2) (in Ichnya records 1903)
      Keileh Sambursky & Tsvi Latinsky
     
Manville Latinsky
      Elkah Sambursky & husband Swiadoz
        Simcha Swiadoz
Frumeh Leah Swiadoz
      Bahdeneh SAMBURSKY & Wolf Slutzky
        Simcha Slutzky
Sheindel Slutzky & Alter Warshansky
Sara Slutzky & Aharon/Harry Love ( Chicago)
Frumeh Slutzky
Dvora Slutzky
Elkeh Slutzky
Yochoved Slutzky
Rachel Slutzky
Reisel Slutzky
      Sara Iteh Sambursky & Ephrai'im Karisik
        Sheine Karisik
Yahve Karisik
      Yocheved Sambursky & Husband Polonsky
        Alexander Sissel Polonsky
Simcha Polonsky
Rueven Polonsky
Moshe Polonsky
Yakov Polonsky
Yishaiahu Tsvi Polonsky
Alteh Polonsky
    Elke Roise/Rose SAMBURSKY (1826 - 1870) & Zalman ZOLOTOROFE ( abt. 1825 - 1880)
     

Sara Feigeh ZOLOTOROFE (1845 - )
Israel ZOLOTOROFE (1851- 1868)
Nissan/Nathan ZOLOTOROFE (1853-1935) & Reva Chaia SAMBURSKY** (1851 - 1926)
Shmuel ZOLOTOROFE (1857 -1858)
Fruma-Beylya ZOLOTOROFE (1859 - )
Matlya ZOLOTOROFE (1861 - )
Yishaiahu ZOLOTOROFE (bef 1868 - aft. 1930)
  Yocheved Sambursky (around 1780 - ?)

*indicates more than one spouse.
**Indicates cousins and therefore names appear twice.
(2) indicates more than one person with the same first and last name.
Note: dates with ~ in front are approximate dates, best guesses and nothing more.

Much of the early information on the family was provided by Menachem Sambursky, who left the Ukraine for Konigsberg around the turn of the century. Details are described on the Lifshitz genealogy page. He died in Israel in 1936.

Information about other families, other towns and genealogy can be found on the JewishGen web site and the Chernigov web site.

In order to insure the privacy of relatives, I have tried to included only non-living relatives. If someone is included or excluded in error, please let me know and I will make changes.

Notes

The photo at the top of the page includes my great grandmother Reva SAMBURSKY ZOLOTOROFE (in white). Nissan-Eliezer Sambursky is on the left. Another brother, possibly Yirmyahyu/Jeremiah Sambursky is on the right. The photo was taken the United States around 1920.

The name Klonimus/Klonymus.
1. In the middle ages there was a famous rabbi in Italy named Rabbi Klonimus. In later centuries there have been several well known eastern European rabbis with the first name of Klonimus. It was not uncommon to name a child after a well respected rabbi.
2. According to Beider's Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Kingdom of  Poland, "Klonimus" is derived from Greek "beautiful name". In Latin it  is "Kalonymos".

The name Yoseph-Moshe
1. Yoseph-Moshe, the son of Klonimus came from Sambor. A well known rabbi of the town of Sambor was Yoseph-Moshe (son of Yekutiel-Zalman). He had come to Sambor about 1760. In 1780 he made a pilgrimage to the Land of Israel; he died in 1781 in Zefat.
2. If our ancestor Yoseph-Moshe Sambursky was about the same age as his wife Fruma (who was born in 1785) it is possible that he was named in memory of the famous rabbi.
3. For information about the known descendents of Rabbi Yoseph-Moshe of Sambor, including his son Rabbi Yizchak Harif (d. 1813), and his grandson Rabbi Yakov-Naphtali Heisselbeck (d. 1825) , please contact the SIH group.

Updated April 2008

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