Sue,
I think it's quite a breakthrough to be able to place the family in a formerly Russian town, that was close enough to Germany to enable direct (probably illegal) immigration.
Jill Whitehead (whom you should contact via JewishGen) wrote:
My ancestors came from Vishtinetz which was Polish in the 1860's (Wistieniec) when they came over and only became Lithuanian (Vistytis) after 1914 (the borders were very fluid). However, Vishtinetz is on the border with Konigsberg/Kaliningrad (separated by a lake) and the ancestors crossed the lake to do their business on the German side. I know that it was considered "posher" to say you came from Germany on your Census return and that often the ancestors spoke German better (as it was like Yiddish) but not Polish or Lithuanian so well. My mother told me that my great-great-grandmother and her children made a point of saying they were German on their Census return when they were not, and that this was quite common to confer them with some kind of social status. They also preferred to speak German hence their name Brin became Braun and then Brown.You might consider joining the Suwalki Lomza Interest Group
http://www.jewishgen.org/suwalklomza/Index.html for further guidance.
Peter Bork's website in German (
http://bork-on-line.de/adressbuecher/start.htm) provides online access to several postal directories for Memel and the surrounding area.
I found the following entries:
1921: Julius Smoliansky of Heydekrug
1929: David Smolenski, businessman of Toepferstrasse 12, Memel (see also
http://www.rootschat.com/links/08x3/)
1930: Meyer Smoliansky, businessman of Heydekrug
Now, the first site cited by Peonie lists Isaak (wife, Sara), David and Hanna Smolianski in Memel. Links to the GedBas site indicate that Issak Smolianski (David's father) had moved to Memel, i.e. was not born there.
However, the surname Smolianksi does not appear in a Memel directory. This suggests that David Smolenski / Smolianski are one and the same.
Food for thought...
Have you investigated the birthplaces of any other Smolenskis in the Liverpool area in the 1911 census. Could perhaps, Eli Smolenski (tailor in Toxteth Park), have been an elder brother?
Justin
