Henoch Hirsch Horwitz/Gurevitch/Gurvich

1838 - 1909  (71 years)

• Name	Henoch Hirsch Horwitz/Gurevitch/Gurvich
  	According to the 1897 All Russia census taken in the Rezekne area his name was listed as Gurevitch Genoch Girshev. The Girshev is the patronymic for son of Hirsch. Our researcher, Aleksandrs Feigmanis, notes that this is an error. The Rezekne vital records entry at July 5, 1882, recording the birth of their son, Yeruchim (Reuben), shows his name correctly as Genoch-Girch Gurvitch, son of Getzel-Leizer Gurvitch. His wife was shown as Baseva, daughter of Morduch. Because of all the different languages spoken and written in this region of the world the same name is written in many different ways in the official records. They are all the same name: His first name was Henoch, Genoch, Henech, Genech they are all variations of the Bible prophet Enoch (English). His second name was Hirsch, Hirsh, Girsh which are all versions of the same word meaning stag deer. Dave Howard Aug 2007 His last name was Gurevitch, Gurvitch, Gurevich, Hurwitsch, Horwitz, Horowitz
  Nickname	Genech Girsh Gurvitch
  Born	1838	Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia   [1]
  	On April 17, 1979, just a month or two before she passed away, I had the pleasure of meeting with Aunt Bessie, Henoch's youngest child. She could hardly remember her father or her mother. Aunt Bessie said that she came to America in 1910 when she was age 11 one year after her father had died at age 71. She thought she had been born in 1888 but according to her daughter Sylvia, she was born in 1896. Assuming she came to the US in 1910 she would have been about 14. Accordingly, if Henoch died in 1909 at age 71 his year of birth would have been about 1838. In the 1874 Russian census Henoch is shown as age 37 indicating a birth year of about 1837. In the 1897 All Russian Census Henoch was listed as age 55. This would indicate a birth year of 1842. For the purposes of this history we will use 1838. In the Rezekne Family List he is shown as 59 in 1896 which would make the year of birth 1838 which agrees with Aunt Bessie information.
  Gender	Male
  Died	18 May 1909	Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia   [2]
  Notes	According to Aunt Bessie, her father was in the timber business, where they cut the trees and floated them down the river. She said he was in business with his father and his brothers and that they were well off. She said her father's family was originally from Moscow. I had assumed this was Moscow, Russia. However, I have discovered that there is a district in Riga along the edge of the river named Moscow and it was an area occupied by Jewish people. They would gather up the timber that had been floated down the river. Riga is not on the Baltic Sea but on the banks of the River Daugava and was a major export center for timber. Ships came from Briton so freqently there was a large Church of England cathedral in Riga for the crews. Ships also came from France to pick up wood. The Daugava was a very important river that served as a gateway to Central Europe from the Baltic Sea. The Swedes at one time had a major presence in Easter Europe and controlled the Baltics. They viewed access to the Daugava as strategic. Today the Daugava defines a portion of the border between the countries of Latvia and Lithuania. The second largest city in Latvia is Daugavpils which is a key inland port on this river. When this area was part of Russia the city was named Dvinsk and had a very substantial Jewish population. Daugavpils is about half way between the very important city of Vilnius, Lithuania about 100 miles to the south. Vilnius was known as Vilna during the era of Polish and Russian dominance and was the capital of the Jewish sub-Polish state in the Lithuanian region. The city was governed by Jews. Today Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania but has only a tiny Jewish population as a result of the very effective extermination of Jewish people in the Baltic region during World War II. About 100 miles to the north of Daugavpils lies the city of Rezekne, the capital of the Latgale Region, also a city with a large Jewish population. Our family comes from Rezekne but they clearly had Horwitz relatives in Daugavpils and Riga to carry out their very important timber business. Dave Howard Aug 2007 He married again and Bessie did not get along with her new step-mother. Her family was living in Latvia. Bessie did not know the name of the first wife. She had died many years before. Bessie was the daughter of the second wife who she said was Basheva Yaffa. Bessie explained that the family paid for their relocation to America by working and saving. They also sold the family home and cows. They settled up with their step-mother and used what was left to go to Chicago. Bob Schwartz has Bertha Louria as the wife of Henoch Hirsh. This is something we will have to work on. The 1897 census stated that he was literate that he had been educated in the parish school and that the was etiher a flax merchant or timber merchant. Aleksandrs said it was difficult to read the text and there is only a sight difference between the way the two words are spelled. He though flax merchant might be a better translation. However, wood merchant would be consistent with what Aunt Bessie said his business was. They were residing in a single family dwelling at house 10 on Dvoryanskaya Street in Rezekne, Latvia. The house was wooden and covered with wood. He was apparently a hard working, wealthy, soft spoken (never used strong language)man. He was in business with his father and brothers. Their family was known for their financial success in the lumber business. Dave Howard Aug 2004.
  Person ID	I993	Complete
  Last Modified	1 Dec 2021

  
  

  DNA Tests	1 DNA test is associated with Henoch Hirsch Horwitz/Gurevitch/Gurvich
  	Test Type	Taken by	Haplogroup	Test Information
  	Y-DNA-172	Living	Q-Y3028 (Ashkenazi Jewish)

  
  

  Father	Getzel Leiser Horwitz/Gurewitsch,   b. Abt 1814, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. aftr 1896, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvie  (Age ~ 83 years)
  Mother	Itka,   b. 1818, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. After 1896, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia  (Age 79 years)
  Family ID	F3388	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Feiga,   b. 1838,   d. Abt 1878, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia  (Age 40 years)
  Married	Abt 1858	Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia
  Children	+ 1. Eliah Horwitz,   b. 1859, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 5 Jan 1906, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia  (Age 47 years) + 2. Zalman Ber Horwitz,   b. 1864, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. Abt 1938, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA  (Age 74 years)   3. Bashe Gene Horwitz,   b. 1866, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 17 Sep 1866, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia  (Age 0 years) + 4. Iser Jankel Horwitz,   b. Abt 1872, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. Abt 1935, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA  (Age ~ 63 years)   5. Hirsch Horwitz,   b. Jan 1872, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 1 May 1872, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia  (Age ~ 0 years) + 6. Khaysore Dobe Horowitz,   b. Abt 1873, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. Abt 1941, SHOA, Latvia  (Age ~ 68 years) + 7. Max Hurwitz,   b. 22 Apr 1875, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 15 July 1944, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA  (Age 69 years)
  Photos		Dave Howard on Barona Street, Rezekne, Latvia in Octoer 2003 Horwitz Family Home in Rezekne, Latvia was on Barona Street per 1897 All Russia census the family of Henoch Horwitz lived on this street at house number 11.
  Last Modified	6 Nov 2021
  Family ID	F320	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Basheva/Basseva Joffe,   b. 1857, Druya, Disna District, Belarus ,   d. Abt 1904  (Age 47 years)
  Married	Abt 1879	Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia
  Children	+ 1. Abe Rafael Horwitz/Gurevich/Gurvich,   b. 18 Jan 1880, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 21 Oct 1946, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA  (Age 66 years) + 2. Nathan/Nottie/Notta/Natha Gurevitch/Horwitz,   b. 18 Jan 1880, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 8 Dec 1941, Rumbula, Riga, Latvia  (Age 61 years) + 3. Reuben Horwitz,   b. 5 July 1882, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. Abt 1948, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA  (Age 65 years)   4. Getzel Leizer Horwitz,   b. Abt 1885, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 14 Aug 1888, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia  (Age ~ 3 years) + 5. Simon Horwitz,   b. 26 Oct 1886, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 14 Jan 1940, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA  (Age 53 years)   6. Aizik Horwitz/Gurevitch/Gurvich,   b. 1887, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 28 Aug 1888, Rezekne, Latgale, Lavia  (Age 1 years) + 7. Morris Horwitz,   b. 25 Aug 1891, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. Abt 1945, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA  (Age 53 years) + 8. Ida Horwitz,   b. Abt 1893, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. Abt 1977, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA  (Age ~ 83 years) + 9. Florence Horwitz,   b. 25 Sep 1896, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 16 Feb 1967, Inglewood, CA  (Age 70 years) + 10. Bessie Horwitz,   b. 25 Sep 1896, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia ,   d. 15 May 1979, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California  (Age 82 years)
  Photos		Dave Howard on Barona Street, Rezekne, Latvia in Octoer 2003 Horwitz Family Home in Rezekne, Latvia was on Barona Street per 1897 All Russia census the family of Henoch Horwitz lived on this street at house number 11.
  Documents		Birth Record for Abe and Notte Horwitz Maryana Panyarskaya (MaryanaP) wrote: Jun 3, 2011 Hi, David! While checking Your tree I found the writing about the birth of your grandfather http://img1.lvva-raduraksti.lv/rabinati/005024-0001-000255/LVVA-005024-0001-000255-0061-M2.jpg May be You have it. There under the numbers 20 and 21 there are twins Aba Rafael and Nata. They were born on 2 March 1880 Their parents were the philistine of RĒZEKNES Gener-Girshov Leiserovich (fathers name) Gurvich and his wife Baseva. This town was not very far from the town where my great-great-grandparents lived. Maryana
  		July 5- 1882- to Genech-Girsh- son of Getsel-Leizer Gurvitch- citizen or Rezekne- and wife Baseva- daughter of Morduch- born son Yeruchim
  Recordings » Slide Show		Aunt Bessie Remembers Her Father 0:23 Her father came from Moscow, a section of Riga along the shore of the river which was where many Jewish people lived. He was in the timber business with his father and brothers. He died at age 71 when Bessie was about 10.
  		Life was not so good in Europe 0:59
  		Story of Florence falling in the River 0:49 This story is well known in the Horwitz family of the time the twins, Bessie and Florence, had gone down to the river to watch the women do the laundry. There was a crowd around and Florence was knocked into the river. Bessie called for help and Florence was saved. But they made Bessie take her dry clothing off for Florence. Bessie was cold and naked. They were both about 10 years old. The year would have been about 1906, one year before they came to America.
  		Notte Returns Home Unexpectedly 1:37 This is a great story about Bessie encountering her brother Nottie (Nathan) in the back of their home. He was an identical twin to Abe. When Florence refused to go out back to lock the barn door Bessie obeyed and went out back. Nottie was just arriving on a sleigh. She thought he was Abe. She asked if it was Abe and he said he was Nottie. She was so excited she passed out in the snow. The whole town was so excited about Nottie's safe return that they stayed up all night to celebrate.
  		Bessie Remembers Her Older sister Sara 0:47 The area where the Horwitz family lived the homes had Saunas (Spitz Bath) in the back by the "barn" and outhouse. Sara stayed in Europe and had five children. As far as we know they all perished in the Holocaust.
  Albums		Rezekne Museum (31) Photos Taken Inside Rezekne Museum by Dave Howard in October of 2002
  Last Modified	1 Dec 2021
  Family ID	F426	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 3	Brocha Daug of Jankel,   b. 1864, Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia
  Notes	This record was in the Rezekne Family records at Jewishgen. I copied the information. He did have a third wife who came to the marriage with children of her own. I am not so sure she is the one. This could be a duplicate of Basheva. His existing children hated the third wife. She would hide food from them to save for her own children. This was a motivating factor to leave home and come to America. Aunt Bessie told me this, as I recall. Dave Howard -
  Last Modified	8 Jun 2020
  Family ID	F1512	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map	Load the map	Born - 1838 - Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia Married - Abt 1858 - Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia Died - 18 May 1909 - Horwitz Family Residence, Rezekne, Latgale, Latvia  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Henoch Hirsh Gurevich (Horwitz)- back of photo. The studio was in Latvia.
  		Henoch Hirsh Gurevich (Horwitz). Photo taken in Rezekne- Latvia.
  		Henoch Hersh Horwitz Face

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		yDNA Haplogroup Q-F1680 (Probably) +L245 +M378 +L275 +L232 + M242 David Howard and Jeff Horwitz have have their yDNA tested and we are both are in Haplogroup Q which probably evolved in Siberia about 20,000 years ago. About 4% of Northern European Jewish (Ashkenazim) men are in this group. Only Jewish men appear to have markers +L245 and +F1680. So far not many other Horwitz families have this marker. There is a lot of speculation how this got into the Jewish family. Only Jewish men have this marker in the Northern European population.
  		History of Horwitz Surname Article on Horwitz Surname by Dr. Alexander Beider
  		The Name Hirsh among Russian Jewish People The Deer as the symbol for Hirsh, Stands for the Tribe of Naphtali, Hirsh means Deer in German/Yiddish and is Tsvi or Zvi in Hebrew.

  
  

  Albums

  Riga Latvia - Oct 31, 2002 (11) Riga is a lovely city on the banks of the Daugava River just as it enters the Baltic Sea. There is an old town which has been beautifully preserved or restored. This area is mostly a walking area. Cars may enter but must have pass cards. There rest of the city is modern and spread out. Since the fall of the Soviet Union almost all signs are in Latvian or English. There are suburban areas with wide roads and stand alone stores. Latvia exports large quantities of timber from its forrested lands. The Daugava River used to carry the logs to the seaport. Now trucks carry the logs to Riga. The Daugava was an important entrance into Central Europe for the Vikings in ancient times.

  
  

• Sources

  [S3] Rezekne Family, Family 138 (Reliability: 3). [S3] Rezekne Family, Family 138 (Reliability: 3). Gurewitsch, Genech, son of Getzel, age 59 in 1896 died 18 May 1909 in Rezekne.