Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Adolphe Werblowsky or Verblovski

Adolphe Werblowsky or Verblovski

Male 1861 - 1934  (73 years)

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  • Name Adolphe Werblowsky or Verblovski 
    Born 8 Jun 1861  Vilnius, Vilniaus Apskritis, Lithuania Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 2 Dec 1934  Nice, Alpes Maritimes, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I1135  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Father Zakhar or Zacharie Werblowsky or Verblovski,   b. Abt 1829, of Vilnius, Vilniaus Apskritis, Lithuania Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F76  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Elisabeth Herzenberg,   b. 25 Dec 1866, Kuldiga (Goldingen), Courland, Latvia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 19 Jun 1942, Nice, Alpes Maritimes, France Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 75 years) 
    Married Abt 1892  of Saint Petersburg, Russia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Catherine Werblowsky or Verblovski,   b. 8 Oct 1893, Saint Petersburg, Russia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 8 Jan 1972, Nice, Alpes Maritimes, France Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 78 years)
     2. Natalie Werblowsky,   b. Abt 1895, of Saint Petersburg, Russia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Abt 1897, of Saint Petersburg, Russia Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 2 years)
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F218  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Photos
    Adolphe Werblovsky
    Adolphe Werblovsky

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. Various emails from my hired researcher Vilius Boytrius in Vilnius [], mail address: Jonazoliu 10-18, Vilnius 2043, Lithuania. I was not happy with his research and judgment:
      A. 25 Apr 2009 - using the $150 I sent, he reported only the following non-pertinent information: "Regarding another Verblovsky who may or may not have some relationship:
      "Aizik Geshel VERBLOVSKI was born 5th. December, circumstated [circumscribed] by Kushel Hofman in 12th. December 1861 in Vilnius town community. Father mentioned: Ov?sey(?) Leiba son of Azriel, Mother's name: Rasha Ita daughter of Hirsh.(Ink spot happened on father's name writing on Russian page but it's clear on Hebrew side, but I can not read it). Record line #596. Local Historian archive File 708-2-300. [Images of this record, both side pages, attached to email.]
      B. 25 Apr 2009: Regarding the above message. I think this is perhaps a stretch since Aizik would normally be Isaac. I don't see the relationship in the second paragraph since the family name SOBEL makes no sense. Mr. Boytrius responded:
      "Adolphe is absolutely non Yidish, local Jewish language name. I never saw that name in Jewish records before. So if we talk about a boy, Aizik could be changed later to Adolphe as the First Guild merchants usually changed Yidish names to Russian names. Aizik's grandfather "Azriel" also sounds similar like Zacharie. But it would be contradiction of one generation.
      Also I check the date 8th. June in 1862 too. Nobody. But in 7th. June in 1862 in Vilnius the girl Chaya-Sore SOBEL was born. Father: Zachariy son of Leiba, Mother: Freida."
      C. I did not agree to Mr. Boytrius' response especially in light of the following census I found on Jewish.gen dated 30 Sep 1874 for Vilnius, (page 414v, publication and fond: Merchant List LVIA/515/26/178) supports my determination that Ovsey is not the right family for Zachary. We don't see either Adolph (or Abraham/Aaron) in the census nor Genrikh his brother. It looks as if Aizik is now Georgy in this census):
      "VERBLOVSKY Ovsey; Azriel; Head of Household, 34,merchant of 2nd guild, arrived from Jurbarkas
      VERBLOVSKY Roza Girhsa Wife, 33
      VERBLOVSKY Georgy Ovsey Son, 13
      VERBLOVSKY Elena Ovsey Daughter, 12
      VERBLOVSKY Maks; Ovsey; Son, 11
      VERBLOVSKY Masha; Ovsey; Daughter, 10
      VERBLOVSKY Flioza; Ovsey; Daughter, 9
      VERBLOVSKY Azriel; Ovsey; Son, 8
      VERBLOVSKY German; Ovsey; Son, 4
      VERBLOVSKY Rozaliya; Ovsey; Daughter, 1
      D. Mr. Boytrius responded saying that he agreed that the census I found is for the same family he found with Aizik in 1868. He notes that there are some archival files known as the "Additional Revision List" issued after 1858 when the Main List was created. He wanted to charge $500 to search it, but I felt the price was not reasonable and I did not proceed. He also recommended looking at military draft records which were made for each young man even if he did not become active army service. These records usually include the names of the father and brothers, ages, etc. Mr. Boytrius wanted $175 for this potential service, which I declined thinking it would be better to contact the actual Archives for their research services.

      2. Received the following and currently I do not see any direct connection. Flora's father appears to be Ossip (Joseph?) whereas Adolphe's is Zacharie. Email dated 11 Feb 2009 from Mark Rybak. "I am looking for some info regarding Flora Verblovsky (fathers name Ossip). "Mine" Flora was married for a short time? to Leopold Feitelsohn (they divorced in 1885). I know that the person with the same name was mother of the famous Russian poet Mandelstam. She married at age of 23 in year 1890. Could it be the same person? If something here rings the bell, please let me know at mrybak@012.net.il"

      3. From Jewishgen "A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames in Russian Empire": Verblovskij can also be seen in the Lithuanian form: Verzhbolovskij.

      BIOGRAPHY:
      1. Owned and managed a restaurant in Nice by the name of "Tiptop" as well as a separately located hotel on Ave. Shakespeare in Nice (now destroyed) by the name of "Pension Provencale".

      2. Last name: Werblovsky (French spelling).

      3 Random memories of Irene Petersen:
      A. As a young girl recalls many arguments between Catherine and her mother Elizabeth. The arguments were frequent and always in German so the Irene could not understand them.
      B. Catherine became pregnant at one point out of wedlock and had an abortion, which her mother convinced her to do. She always deeply regretted for the rest of her life having the abortion.
      C. Arik was always upset with his mother Catherine for having left him in the care of nannies and Catherine's parents as a six-month infant as his parents left on their diplomatic travels that took the young couple across the Russia to Japan, then Canada and Washington DC. Irene felt that it was in retrospect a good thing because of all the Revolutionary uprisings in Russia. Arik apparently left with his grandparents through Finland to Germany.
      D. Irene remembers talk that her grandfather Werblovsky had a mistress.
      E. Irene remembers her mother telling her as a young girl that the parents of Adolf Werblowsky would entertain Price Radziwill. There were many Radziwills in Lithuania and Poland and which Radziwill this may be is unknown.

      4. Letter received in Russian and translated by John Slatter as follows addressed to Irene Petersen:
      "Dear Irena!
      At your request (you and I spoke together at Anchorage in August 1991) I report that until 1917 merchant of the first guild, hereditary honorary citizen, member of the management board of the Northern Mining Company Adolf Zakharovich Verblovskii and his wife Elizaveta Eduardovna Verblovskaia resided in St Petersburg at No. 16 Chernyshev Pereulok [pereulok = lane, side street - JS]. The street name remains to this day.
      Forgive a certain delay with this letter. I am sending it with someone. Receive my Christmas and New Year greetings. I wish you good health and happiness.
      Tatiana S. Fedorova,
      Central State Navy Archive
      36 Millionnaia ul.
      St Petersburg 191065"
      [Note: When I traveled to St. Petersburg in June 2009 as part of a tour, I tried to find this address. It is in the area near the Kirov ballet, but the area is now quite rundown and a warren of small alleys and unmarked streets. I had limited time and ultimately could not find the exact address in the few minutes I had.]

      5. From Oct. 7 to Oct 10, 2016, I and my mother Irene visited Lithuania by car. We entered from Latvia on the west coast along the Baltic Sea traveling from Kuldiga in Latvia. We passed through the Lithuanian port city of Klaipeda before turning inland to Jurbarkas. According to my research on Jewish.gen, there was a presence of some Verblovskys in Jurbarkas. This locality is a rural farming and small industry area with no real town center. It is mainly surburban housing and there was no place for local history nor historical buildings of any interest. No time was spent here except to view the area.
      From Jurbarkas, we drove down south along the Russian border of KalinIngrad. Kaliningrad is what used to be Prussia of Germany and it remains in Russian hands since WWII. From the border gate about 7 kilometers east is the small village of Virbalis, which is believed to be the source village for the name Verblovsky (see separate discussion on this). This area was under Polish administration for many years which explains the -sky ending in our name, which means from such and such a place. the Jewish people here most likely spoke German. There are a few old buildings among the both the older and modern suburban homes, but there is no Jewish presence here nor much more than a small city hall and a library. We were here on a Saturday and nothing was open nor does there appear to be any research opportunities there.
      From Virbalis, we traveled to Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania. There is a synagogue that is about 140 years old still remaining and well worth the visit. Nazi Germany used the building as a warehouse and it survived that time period. There was a caretaker couple there who also confirmed that the previous small village of Virbalis is most likely the source for our surname. They were will-informed and knew no on with our surname. They did provide us a contact by the name of Galina Baranova at the Lithuanian State Historical Archives, Gerosios Vilties 10, LT-03134, Vilnius. She is a Director in the facility and the Jewish expert.
      We then traveled to Vilnius and spent two days. We first visited the Jewish Gaion Museum, which was a disappointment for research purposes. It was more of an art museum with some history as well, but certainly not a research resource. I did learn in one exhibit that at in the very earliest 1800s, the authorities required the Jews to take on surnames since they were instituting excessive taxes on them and needed to better account for them. This would mean that the Verblovsky name probably only came into existence a generation before Zacharie. Also it was interesting to learn that at one point in history, Lithuania had the hightest per capita of Jews which amount to almost 20% of the population.
      Our next stop in Vilnius was to the actual Archives where we were able to meet with Galina Baranova. From our short visit I learned the following:
      1. She confirmed that Virbalis could very well be the source of the Verblovsky name. It doesn't necessarily mean that our family came directly from there, but it could very well be the source of the name.
      2. She did not feel that our Verblovskys were of Vilnius even though they may briefly lived there.
      3. She was able to locate the streat name Bolshaha where Genrikh Verblovsky lived in 1915. It is now called Didzioji and is one of the most prestigious streets in the old city. It fronts the City Hall and the Philharmonic Hall. Today it is the most fashionable street for international fashion houses. It would indicate that Genrikh was probably well off financially.
      4. She confirmed that until the early 1900s, there was no civil registration of vital events. Each religious group kept track of these events; i.e. the Catholic Church, the Russian Orthodox, and the Jewish shetls. The only source of births for our family would be Jewish records. She also used and recommended the same site I do which is the Lithuanian history site https://www.litvaksig.org/. She said that there are occasional updates, but unfortunately some areas have good records and others have none -- so it is hit and miss.
      5. She also confirmed that if the family was financially well off, then they could have easily paid a poorer family for their sons to render military service in their behalf.
      6. She indicated that Virbalis records, if any, could perhaps be in Polish archives since this area was under their dominion at certain parts in their history.
      7. Since Adolphe achieved First Guild status in his lifetime according other sources we have, she indicated that Russian Archives may have more information on our family.
      8. The Lithuanian Archives does not do research, but they do offer a reading room. The documents are mainly Russian, who had dominion over Lithunia from 1795 to the modern era. She did not think a search would be to fruitful unless there was a specific village we could prove we are from. Their cataloging is mainly by locality. She was not very hopeful about this approach, but she says there may be some government document that mentions our family in passing.

      6. Research work done from Russian sources in St. Petersburg, January 2021, by Konnor Petersen:
      A. Z. VERBLOVSKY'S MINERAL-MINING PLANT. PETROGRAD. 1903-1918.
      Central Government Historical Archive - Saint Petersburg. Fund 586
      FUND DESCRIPTION
      FUND INFORMATION
      Shortened name: A. Z. VERBLOVSKY'S MINERAL-MINING PLANT. PETROGRAD.
      1903-1918.
      Date ranges for documents: 1903-1913
      Summarization of Documents:
      The predecessor of the Northern Mining Joint Stock Company was the Partnership "AZ Verblovsky and Co", founded on April 15, 1903 by the Petersburg merchant of the 1st guild AZ Verblovsky and the pharmacist L.Ya. Herzenberg (I'm not confident on who this is. It could be an unknown son of Jacob Herzenberg - brother of Edouard/Elias - or it could be Leonhard Herzenberg - son of Eleazer brother of Edouard/Elias - but I'm not sure that Eleazer's name in Russian would start with a Я) for the construction of a mineral grinding plant. The enterprise planned to produce artificial cryolite under a patent acquired by A.Z. Verblovsky from the Hertigswalde chemical plant in Saxony (Germany).
      On May 19, 1904, A.Z. Verblovsky rented from the owner of the machine-building plant I.A. Goldmer the premises of the copper boiler room and part of the forge to accommodate the mineral-grinding plant, where cryolite, ground heavy spar, gypsum, putty chalk, concrete sand, gravel and crushed stone were produced.
      In 1907, the Partnership entered into an agreement with the Sindikat firm for exploration of deposits of heavy spar on the Yuzhno-Oleny Island of the Petrozavodsk region (Olonets province), and since 1908 it has been engaged in exploration of mineral deposits in the Arkhangelsk and Vologda provinces, as well as the exploitation of sand and gravel deposits in the St. Petersburg province.
      On February 17, 1909, the composition of the Partnership was expanded to include Yu.A. (most likely Julian Von Landau) and M.A. Landau (Maximilien Landau). On February 5, 1910, to manage his own enterprises, A.Z. Verblovsky established the Northern Mining Joint-Stock Company. In this regard, the Partnership actually turned into an agent-commission office, which consisted of, on January 15, 1911, A.Z. Verblovsky and his employee, the Luga tradesman G.A. Herzenberg (I'm not sure who this would be).
      On March 17, 1913, the Partnership was liquidated, and all its assets were transferred to the Northern Mining Joint-Stock Company. Former representatives of the Association were introduced to the board of the Society.
      In August 1913, A.Z. Verblovsky, together with the new owners of the Society, railway engineer G.A. Martirosyants, G.A. Herzenberg and Yu.A. Landau, concluded an agreement with the chairman of the Special Commission for the Construction of the Marine and Main Artillery

      Ranges for the construction of earthworks for the Priyutino-Ladoga Lake highway.
      The joint-stock company was liquidated, and the plant was nationalized on the basis of the Council of People's Commissars' decree on June 28, 1918.
      Composition of documents:
      Agreements on the establishment and transformation of the Partnership (1903; 1909–1911); on the lease of the premises of the machine-building plant of I.A.Goldmer (1904) and land in the Olonets province. for the development of fossil deposits (1907-1916). Contracts and correspondence on orders for the production of works by the Northern Mining Society (1913–1916).
      Permanent link: https://spbarchives.ru/infres/-/archive/cgia/586

      At the corner of 1st Murinsky Prospect and Mezhevaya Street, a land plot with a house was owned by a merchant of the first guild, hereditary honorary citizen Adolf Zakharovich Verblovsky. He owned an broker's office for the sale of silk, cloth and manufactured goods in Gostiny Dvor, and also owned a mineral-milling plant on the Stroganovskaya embankment. https://thelib.ru/books/sergey_glezerov/severnye_okrainy_peterburga_lesnoy_grazhdanka_ruchi_udelnaya-read-8.html

      DEATH:
      1. Transcription from French of death certificate in the possession of Irene Petersen, his granddaughter: "The 2nd of December 1934 at 15:30 hours [3:30 pm] died in his apartment at 46, Blvd. Gambetta in Nice, France: Adolphe Werblovsky born in Vilnus (Russia) [added in "Latvia"] the 8th of June 1861. Unemployed. Son of Zacharie Werblovsky and of (last name and first name) not known by person declaring his death. Spouse of Elisabeth Herzenberg without further information." Photo accompanies death certificate.

      PHOTOS:
      1. One photo attached to Family Search and in the possession of Irene Petersen is a postcard addressed from Catherine to her father Adolphe Werblowsky in Russian. The following is the translation:
      In English:
      "To A.Z. Verblovski
      Petrograd, Chernyshev per. 16
      Dear Dad!
      We ask you please to come here tomorrow, on Saturday, since we leave for X. on Tuesday. If we depart later on, it will be hotter, and we won't be there for long time. Nikolai Ivanovich also says that you should come ащк that business now, it is more convenient. Big trouble with train tickets as well. We look forward to seeing you the day after tomorrow. Maybe I should have a … power of attorney? Please inquire and arrange for it if necessary.
      In the meantime I kiss you warmly,
      Your loving daughter Katyusha
      May 15th 1915"
      In Russian:
      "А.З. Вербловскому
      Петроград, Чернышев пер. д. 16
      Дорогой папа!
      Мы очень просим тебя приехать сюда завтра в субботу, так как во вторник мы уедем в Х. Если уехать позже, будет жарче, поедем наверное не на очень долгий срок. Николай Иванович говорит, чтобы ты для дела приехал теперь же - это тоже удобнее. Большое затруднение с билетами. Ждём тебя послезавтра. М.б. мне лучше иметь доверенность … узнай пожалуйста и если надо устрой.
      Пока целую крепко,
      любящая дочь Катюша.
      15 мая 1915 г."

      SOURCES_MISC:
      1. City of Nice civil registration for wife.

      2. Death certificates for parents and child #1.

      3. Temple Index Bureau card for child #1.