Global True Lithuania Encyclopedia of Lithuanian heritage worldwide

Global True Lithuania website is dedicated to the Lithuanian sites and heritage worldwide.

For a nation merely 3 million strong Lithuanians left a remarkable legacy, ranging from Europe to as far away as America and Australia and covering massive castles and churches, grand artworks and tragic genocide sites. These traces represent a unique history a spectacular survival against the odds and major contributions to various other nations of the world. The Lithuanian heritage is there for You to find and explore.

See also: map of Lithuanian sites abroad. The website is developed by Augustinas Žemaitis who is also the author of all its articles.

A map of Lithuanian diaspora, each square Lithuanian flag representing 50 000 diaspora members and each smaller flag 10 000

A map of Lithuanian diaspora, each square Lithuanian flag representing 50 000 diaspora members and each smaller flag 10 000


Eastern Europe Lithuanian sites

In Medieval times, Lithuania was the continent's largest country (10 times larger than it is today), leaving after it many grand castles, palaces, monuments, and monasteries all over Central-Eastern Europe. These romantic Grand Duchy of Lithuania buildings are now among the favorite tourist sights of the region. As Lithuania declined, Eastern Europe became full of much sadder Lithuanian sites: mass graves of Lithuanians murdered in the Soviet Genocide.

Belarus, which has more Lithuanian Medieval castles than Lithuania itself
Belarus
Lithuania controlled most of Ukraine once, fortifying it with many castles as it was the border with Islamic world
Ukraine
Poland and Lithuania spent over two centuries (1569-1795) as a single country and there is much common heritage in its former capitals, now located in Poland
Poland
Latvia is the Lithuania's brother nation and when the situation became tough in Lithuania, Lithuanians sought for jobs and education in Latvia, leaving much behind
Latvia
Russia occupied Lithuania for centuries, kidnapping and murdering hundreds of thousands Lithuanians, the graves and murder-sites of whom are now in Russia
Russia
Georgia constructed Lithuanian sites in thankfulness for the Lithuanian support in Georgian-Russian war of 2008
Georgia
The easiest-to-reach memorials to Soviet exile victims are in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan

Other Eastern European countries that have Lithuanian sites: Bulgaria, Hungary, Tajikistan.


Western Europe Lithuanian sites

For centuries, Western Europe has been one of the centers of the political world. Its key cities, therefore, has numerous impressive traces of Lithuania's aspirations to be a key part of that center or to draw its support in times of peril. Furthermore, Western Europe became the favorite target of Lithuanian emigration since the 2000s, creating many lively communities there (although not Lithuanian sites so far).

Italy, where Rome is teeming with histroic Lithuanian sites as it is the capital of Lithuania's Catholic religion and thus the shadow capital of Medieval Europe
Italy
Belgium, where Brussels, the capital of the European Union, symbollically hosts shards of all the member states, including Lithuania
Belgium
United Kingdom, the main destination of modern-day Lithuanian emigrants and also the only Western European country where pre-WW2 emigration from Lithuania was also significant, thus hosting numerous historic Lithuanian sites
United Kingdom

Other Western European countries that have Lithuanian sites: Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Switzerland, Vatican.


USA Lithuanian sites

The USA has been the dreamland for Lithuanians since ~1865. A million of them emigrated there. Although many loved the American freedom and economy, most still remained culturally Lithuanian for generations, putting their hard-earned money into hundreds of lavish patriotically-themed Lithuanian halls, churches, monasteries, schools, parks, cemeteries, and other buildings that became unique "Lithuanias outside Lithuania" in the midst of American industrial cities and mining towns. Many of them are impressive to both Lithuanian and non-Lithuanian alike.

Chicago, Illinois - the Lithuanian-American capital
Illinois
Pennsylvania - America's oldest Lithuanian colony with ~150 Lithuanian heritage sites
Pennsylvania
Massachusetts and its numerous Lithuanian cities (Boston, Worcester, Brockton, Lawrence, Lowell, Athol) with 50+ Lithuanian sites
Massachusetts
Connecticut, America's most Lithuanian state (0,9%) with some of its most important Lithuanian sites
Connecticut
New York City (a Lithuanian hub for 100+ years) and the Lithuanian industrial towns of upstate New York
New York
Michigan, with century-old Lithuanian heritage in its industrial cities and Lithuanian camps in its wilderness
Michigan
Maryland, with the tallest Lithuanian church and one of the greatest Lithuanian Halls in Baltimore
Maryland
Washington may lack a strong Lithuanian community but as the US capital it has many greatly symbollic Lithuanian locations
Washington, DC
Ohio, with its Lithuanian garden, club, and numerous churches in Cleveland and Dayton
Ohio
Maine and its Kennebunkport Lithuanian monastery and massive park - one of the America's most-famous and best-kept Lithuanian sites
Maine
New Jersey with numerous Lithuanian churches in its towns and NYC suburbs
New Jersey
Wisconsin, where nearly every lakeside city had a Lithuanian church and community
Wisconsin
New Hampshire, where thousands of Lithuanians worked in Nashua mills and left many traces there
New Hampshire
Indiana includes Chicago suburbs which have some of the highest concentration of Lithuanians in the continent, especially so in the Beverly Shores resort
Indiana
California and Los Angeles, one of the most important post-WW2 Lithuanian-American cities
California
Vermont, with a massive Lithuanian Neringa camp in its wood
Vermont
Rhode Island, where Lithuanian independence day is officially a holiday
Rhode Island
Nebraska and its lively Lithuanian hub in Omaha - the westernmost historic Lithuanian 'colony'
Nebraska

Other US states with Lithuanian sites: Alaska, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, Washington (state).


Canada Lithuanian sites

The story of Lithuanians in Canada may similar to that of Lithuanians in America. However, the Lithuanian-Canadian community is younger, many of them have come after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania (1940). That's why many Lithuanian buildings in Canada (clubs, churches, monasteries, monuments) are newer, and a smaller percentage of them are closed.

Ontario, where most of Canada's cities and Lithuanian sites are located
Ontario
Quebec and Montreal, the only historic Lithuanian community in a French-speaking land
Quebec
Alberta and its remote Lithuanian outposts of Endomnton and Vilna, named after Vilnius
Alberta

Australia Lithuanian sites

After the Soviet Union has occupied Lithuania (1940), Australia was among the few countries accepted Lithuanian refugees. Most of these refugees were intellectuals (the prime target of the Soviet regime) and so they eventually got disproportionate influence in Australia (especially its art). They centered their lives around patriotically-designed Lithuanian Homes, a new type of institution there. At least one such Home has been constructed in every Australian megalopolis, often housing a Lithuanian restaurant, theater, newspaper, school, museum, and more.

South Australia where, in Adelaide, two Lithuanian clubs, museum, and church are located
South Australia
Victoria, with Australia's largest historic Lithuanian club in Melbourne and another one in Geelong
Victoria
Canberra's Lithuanian monuments
Canberra (ACT)
New South Wales, with Lithuanian heritage in Sydney
New South Wales
Queensland, with a Lithuanian Hall in Brisbane
Queensland
West Australia, where a mountain has been named after Olegas Truchanas
West Australia

Latin America Lithuanian sites

As the USA curbed immigration in the 1900s, most Lithuanian emigrants turned towards South America, undevastated by World War 1 and still full of untapped agricultural lands. While South America proved to be poorer than the USA and Lithuanians and they had less money to spend, they still managed to construct their churches and clubs in the key cities, while Sao Paulo even has a Lithuanian district.

Brazil, which has the Lithuanian district furthest from Lithuania
Brazil
Argentina, the site of the Latin America's liveliest and most extensive Lithuanian community
Argentina
Uruguay may be similar to Lithuania in population, but there were enough Lithuanians to leave their mark still visible today
Uruguay

Other Latin American countries with Lithuanian sites: Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.


Africa and Asia Lithuanian sites

Africa and Asia were never targets of Lithuanian emigration or mass colonization, yet there are still several interesting Lithuanian sites there.

The Holy Land of the Catholicism, Lithuania's prime religion, as well as the country where many of the Lithuania's Jews moved to
Holy Land (Israel/Palestine)
Gambia is the sole country in Africa to have been (indirectly and partly) colonized by Lithuania
Gambia
Japan, keen to research the different external world, including Lithuania
Japan

Other Asian/African countries with Lithuanian sites: Turkey.

History of Lithuanian diaspora and heritage abroad

The full history of Lithuanian diaspora is here

Despite being attached to their land culturally a large number of Lithuanians left or were forced to leave their homeland over the centuries. Therefore many places are related to Lithuania in lands as distant as Siberia, America or Australia, let alone Europe. Surely there is much more Spanish, French or British heritage all over the world than there is Lithuanian, but few other nations merely three million strong could compete with Lithuanians in the mark they left on far-away shores. Who knows, maybe you could find shards of Lithuania without even leaving your homeland?

In 13th-16th centuries Lithuania was an independent Grand Duchy that encompassed not only modern-day Lithuania but also Belarus and Ukraine, parts of Russia, Poland, Moldova, and Latvia. Noble Lithuanian families of the era had manors and build castles far outside ethnic boundaries, sometimes intermarrying with local nobility. Most of these can be found in modern-day Belarus and Ukraine.

Lithuanian peasantry dominated beyond current boundaries as well. The processes of assimilation, sometimes forced upon, eroded these ethnic exclaves by the second half of the 20th century, but a few of them remain, such as Punsk (Punskas) and Sejny (Seinai) in Poland. In much more of such villages and towns there are few if any Lithuanians left, but the history is nevertheless well visible. The best examples are in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia that forms the bulk of Lithuania Minor ethnic region.

In the 19th century, Lithuanian words and culture spread much further than ever before. Railroads and ocean-going steamships allowed Lithuanians to leave their agricultural hinterland for the industrial and educational wonders elsewhere. Many were lured by the industry of modern-day Latvia in Riga and Liepaja. Others went to Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire.

Starting in late 19th century more and more Lithuanians crossed the Atlantic for the USA. They settled primarilly in New England and Midwest, building their elaborate churches and cemetaries with massive tombstones. Lithuanian districts formed in cities like Chicago and Detroit. Lithuanian-inspired placenames appeared on the maps in Pennsylvania and Canada.

When USA curbed immigration from Eastern Europe in 1908 Lithuanians switched to South America building sizeable communities in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay.

During the same era, Lithuania's Jews preferred South Africa as an emigration destination. Today as many as 70% of South Africa's Jews trace their descent to Lithuania.

The tragedy of World War 2 and Soviet occupation had terrible consequences on Lithuania and forced large numbers of additional people away. Hundreds of thousands of Lithuanians were deported to Siberia by the Soviet regime. Stripped of most belongings these people left few traces except for humble crosses in permafrost.

Hundred of thousands of others avoided the Soviet genocide by fleeing westwards - mostly to the USA via Germany but also to Canada, Australia, Colombia and Venezuela. While those who were left beyond the Iron curtain were largely isolated from the outer world, the Lithuanian communities abroad, already some 1 million strong, contributed much to the world culture.

After the restoration of independence Lithuanian emigration restarted. New Lithuanian communities were established in United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Spain.

Comments (53) Trackbacks (0)
  1. I am Lithuanian born [Ukmerge] living in New Zealand. There is a small dedicated Lithuanian community here and we are all related to communities in Lithuania, Australia and the U.S.A. Finding out our heritage is interesting and exciting and provides the tools for passing on information to our descendants,whose blood is being diluted with each generation that passes.

    • Thank you. As far as I understand the New Zealand Lithuanian community is new (post-1990). However, perhaps there is something in New Zealand that could be considered Lithuanian heritage, e.g. memorial plaques for Lithuanians, Lithuania-related monuments and locations, Lithuania-related placenames, graves of famous Lithuanians, buildings related to Lithuania? If so, please note it and I will add a page on New Zealand Lithuanian heriatage.

      • There was a postwar colony of Lithuanians in New Zealand and Genius Procuta, now of Toronto, Canada, was a child there. New Zealand distinguished itself because it permitted widows to immigrate along with their children after the war when most other countries did not. Procuta’s father had died of TB shortly after the war in Europe, and New Zealand came to the rescue of his family and that of others.

        • Thank you for sharing interesting information!

        • I emigrated to Chicago in 1950 at the age of 9 1/2 along with my parents and a younger brother. Among our acquaintances,there were several families consisting of widows and children,so apparently, America, was also one of these countries,with the same policy,as New Zealand.

      • My mother’s family moved to New Zealand after the DP camps in Germany, because they were in the British zone, and New Zealand was looking for laborers. They finally made it to the US in 1962. They lived in Dunedin, where there were less than a handful of other Lithuanian families, and they still have NZ citizenship today. Not sure if there was anything there as far as memorials, plaques, and so on. But they were definitely there post-WWII.

        • So far, we were not able to find any Lithuanian *sites* in New Zealand. I think there was likely none, as the community was simply too small. Lithuanian communities (i.e. at least a few Lithuanians) probably existed in most countries at some time, yet only the largest Lithuanian communities have actually left something after them in the form of buildings, monuments, placenames, etc.

  2. My dad is half Lithuanian from Chicago. My family moved from Kaunas in 1907 and regained contact with our relatives after independence was restored

  3. My great grandparents were of Lithuanian decent. The only information we have is that he came from Lithuania and traveled to the U.S. but that’s about it. I have names but was interested in how I can find out more Lithuanian ancestry. Thanks

  4. Labas Augustinai, We at the National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame love your website, and we post information from it. By the same token, you may find interesting information on our facebook page that you may want to share.

    I am encouraged to see that Lithuanians are sharing information and helping each other out. Sekmes!

    • Labas Jon. Thank you for sharing information from the global.truelithuania.com and truelithuania.com websites. Indeed I have noticed that as I check who links to truelithuania.com sometimes. I am also checking your Facebook page sometimes. I have also “liked” the National Lithuanian American Hall of Fame Facebook page on the official Truelithuania.com Facebook account. Continue the good job on providing information on Lithuania-related issues!

      P.S. If you know additional information about the Lithuanian heritage in locations that already have articles about them on global.truelithuania.com, or would like to share photos of things that still have no photos at the global.truelithuania.com site, please do so (copyright of photos will be noted). All kinds of Lithuanian heritage interests me: former and existing Lithuanian houses, clubs, churches, parks, museums, cemetaries, satues, memorials; Lithuanian inscriptions; streets/roads/plazas/towns named after Lithuania(ns); graves and former homes of famous Lithuanians. The goal (hardly achievable) is to document all such locations beyond the Lithuanian borders.

  5. Just wonder why you have no info about the Lithuanians in Colorado. My grandfather, Klemensas Paznokaitis,aka K. Paznokas, aka K. Clemens, worked for the United Mine Workers Union, and traveled all over Colorado during the early 1900’s trying to organize and get better working conditions for the miners. He was also the treasurer for the Lietuviu Socijalistu sajunga. I have his ledger book and the red cards. There were many Lithuanians who settled in Colorado and worked in the coal mines. I understand there is a growing Lithuanian community in the Denver area now.

    • Thank you for your information. The aim is to cover entire Lithuanian heritage abroad, so an article about a new place is added once every couple of weeks. There is much Lithuanian heritage though so while the site has been started 2 years ago there is still much to add until it will be complete.

      That said, this site is about Lithuanian heritage rather than simply Lithuanian history. That is, about Lithuanian churches, monuments, cemeteries, clubs, graves and (former) homes of famous Lithuanians, streets named after Lithuania(ns), memorial plaques for Lithuania(ns) and other things which are in a particular location and may be seen. Is there such heritage in Colorado? If you have information, please share.

      Currently the states that I plan to do articles on in the near future are Florida, Iowa, Maine, Texas and Missouri (I found information on Lithuanian heritage in each of them) as well as articles on cities/areas: Philadelphia, Scranton, Springfield, Grand Rapids, Lowell/Lawrence. Of course, if I’ll get information about Lithuanian heritage in Colorado I’d add it to the list as well.

    • I lost touch with Barbara Clow more than ten years ago and haven’t been able to find her until I saw this message. We research the same family and I have updates. Could Barbara please contact me at my email address? Thanks.

  6. I am proud of my lithuanian heritage. Having grown in Argentina with my widowed mother (no other family), since I was 5, the lithuanian community was my family, all the clubs, church, they were home to us. It was and still is really amazing in this trouble world, how we all stick together. Now living in New York, I miss all the events that are still part of Buenos Aires lithuanian clubs.

  7. My mother’s parents came from near Vilnius to Colorado (USA) about 1901. I don’t have any exact dates. They are all dead and I am sad that I don’t know more.
    My Grandfather worked in the mines near Lafayette (CO) and their home was there. My mother and her brother and sister grew up in Lafayette. I was surprise to see on the Lafayette website that no mention was made of the Lithuanians who lived and worked there and most died there. My aunt Mary went to school and became the Secretary-Treasurer of the Denver Stockyards! My mother and father had 2 companies that invented parts for and repaired diesel engines. My grandfather didn’t only work in the mines, he also ran hunting camps and any work he could find. He was self-educated, and very intelligent; a marvelous story-teller, as was my mother and her oldest brother.Their last name was changed by Immigration to Warsavage, but in Lithuania it was similar to Warsovich? There were cousins in Lithuania. I wish I could trace their ancestors, and mine. My mother and aunt and their mother were wonderfully creative and smart women. And their sense of humor is legendary!

    • Thanks for sharing. As for original surname it’s hard to tell. Direct Lithuanian transliteration would be something like Varsavičius, but Google search finds no such surname. Perhaps Ardzevičius? To mae the matters more complex Polish was frequently used as literary language back then, meaning that Lithuanians would use a Lithuanian version of their surname in some contexts and Polish in some others; moreover Lithuanian language itself was not yet standartized, meaning that surnames had no official spelling even back home. More info on pre-WW1 variations of Lithuanian surnames in the articles on Poles of Lithuania and Lithuanian Pennsylvanians.

      • my great grandfather came to the US in 1912 under the surname of Berekeviche. His wife followed in 1914 with a listed surname of Berekeciene. Can you explain the difference? any idea of direct transliteration?

    • My grandparents also settled in Lafayette. My mom probably knew your mom. I have started a genealogy of Colorado Lithuanians. I have documented many families in Lafayette including yours. Contact me if you are interested in knowing more about these families.

  8. Hello! My name is Vicki Sadilek Dunlap and I am trying to research my family history. I have run into a road block with my grandmothers side. Her name was Alvina Youdris Sadilek (married Vincent Sadilek Jr in 1926 in Chicago, IL). She was born in Chicago on August 1, 1905. Her parents listed on her birth certificate were Charles Youdrea (place of birth, Lithuania) and Barbara Patarak (place of birth, Lithuania). On her certificate of baptism it shows parent names as Casimir Juodraitis and Barbara Patrakiczie. I also have the names of her mothers parents that were listed on her death certificate. They were Casimer Paterakas and Brigitte Petraite both born in Lithuania. That is all the information I have on them. I am hoping you may assist me or lead me in the right direction to find out more. I appreciate any assistance you may give. Thanks so much for your time.

    • Hello,

      I will leave a few notes. Firstly, as is described in the article on Lithuanian heritage in Pennsylvania, early Lithuanian Americans commonly had their surnames changed during migration (migration officials commonly misheard them, for example, while iliterate and/or non-English-speaking migrants could not have corrected them). I think that is what happened to your forefathers as well. Juodraitis is likely the original surname (Youdrea – the corrupted version).

      Also, Lithuanian Christian names are different than the recorded English ones: Brigitte would be Brigita, Casimer / Casimir would be Kazimieras, Barbara would be Barbora. It is possible that Petraitė was Petraitytė. As for the original of Paterak / Paterakas / Patrakiczie I think it may be Patarakas for males and Patarakytė for female daughters of the family (see the article on Lithuanian language to learn more about how Lithuanian male/female surnames are formed).

  9. My grandparents on both sides came from Lithuania and settled in Rochester NY. They were part of St. George’s Lithuanian Church. I went to school there for 8 years. My father was Petras Zemaitis married to Mary Vascuyknas. My grandfather was Frank Vascukynas, and he is seen on the city census in 1918 as working at Hickey Freeman, the mens’ clothing company as a presser. I cannot find him on lists for Ellis Island, but he told me that he entered the US that way. He died in 1974. Any idea how they could have spelled his name when he first arrived?

    • It is impossible to know but it may be possible to guess. That is because immigrants from Lithuania were often asked what is their surname, and then the surname would be written down by US officials who didn’t know Lithuanian spelling. Thus they written down what they believed to be the correct spelling: it may use English or Polish orthography, it may drop Lithuanian ending, but is typically still pretty close to original in pronouncation. So a guesswork is needed. If you know approximate time of entry, it is easier. Also if he was born in Lirhuania “Frank” would likely be “Pranas” but it may also be spelled in various ways.

  10. my great grandfather came to the US in 1912 under the surname of Berekeviche. His wife followed in 1914 with a listed surname of Berekeciene. Can you explain the difference? any idea of direct transliteration? We have tracked my great grandmother through Ellis Island. Verbal history says Gramps traveled to Boston initially before meeting his wife 2 years later in Sheboygan, WI

  11. can someone help with these names like preiskel and lebow. Also perhaps with this ancestry

    I have a family tree (see partial image below) but am having problems with ancestors and some dates. All appear to be from Vilna, Vilniaus, Lithuania and the Ghetto. Many died in pogroms and holocaust. Do not have many relatives that were in Lithuania. Have checked Jewishgen and other sites to no avail. Lebow is NOT the original name for this family. They changed their name once they came to America and it has been spelled many ways. i am having problem with burial plots as well for some who died in USA… I have been told many were cremated and records were not kept:
    Aaron Lebow
    1912–1992
    BIRTH MAY 23, 1912 • Vilna, Vilniaus, Lithuania
    DEATH 7 APR 1992 • Solana Beach, San Diego, California, USA
    ****Parents of Aaron Lebow:
    Joseph Abba Lebow lebowicz lebowitz
    1888–1967
    BIRTH MAY 1, 1888 • Russia or Vilna, Vilniaus, Lithuania or Poland (Vilna Ghetto)
    DEATH OCTOBER 1967 • Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA or brookline, norfolk, mass
    Keita Clara Preiskel Prescell (Preskell) (Prescal) Preiskell
    1886–1972
    BIRTH JULY 10, 1886 • Russia and Poland (Vilna Ghetto)
    DEATH SEPTEMBER 22, 1972 • Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA
    ****Keita’s father:
    Moshe Yitzchak Preiskel Prescell (Preskell) (Prescal)
    ****Joseph Abba Lebow lebowicz lebowitz parents:
    NAIMAN (Menacham Nachum Nochum) Lebow (Lebowicz Leibovitz)
    Rebecca (Reva from Hebrew) PUNSKY (GOLDMAN)
    BIRTH Russia
    DEATH
    **** JOSEPH LEBOW’S BROTHER:
    Samuel Lebow Lebaw
    1882–1959
    BIRTH MARCH 16, 1882 • Vilna, Russia (POLAND)
    DEATH 14 OCT 1959 • Roxbury, Suffolk, MA, USA
    MOSHE had many sisters of which only 1 survived the death camps and slaughtering of Jews in what i am guessing was Vilna.

    • You have written the likely surnames yourself, such as Lebowicz / Lebowitz instead of Lebow (Lithuanian version would be Leibovičius / Lebovičius). As for Peskell, likely Lithuanian version would be Preiskelis (there are Jews with last names Preiskelis and Leibovičius currently living in Lithuania).

      However, it should noted that local Jews would have typically used the versions of their surnames in the language that was dominant at the time. So e.g. somebody who used Lebovičius as Lithuanian citizen may have also used Lebowicz (which is a Polish version of the same surname) while Vilnius was ruled by Poland, and such (and, as you already know, shortened to a more English-sounding Lebow in the USA).

  12. Hello Augustinas Žemaitis, I am Linguistic Professor at Unioeste, a public university in Paraná, Brazil. I am currently developing a research including place, comercial and personal names of Vila Zelina . The data of your text about will be extremely valuable for me. I would like to know if there would be any problem on my using and citing your photos on papers I intend to write to publish the research results

    • I permit you to cite our website and use its pictures (with the author cited).

      I am glad Villa Zelina is being researched.

  13. I hope you can help me. I am of 99.8% Lithuanian descent and live in USA . All my grandparents came from Lithuania. Or are you information I am hoping you can respond . I have been trying to find out my heritage but have had no luck . I have my grandfather’s original birth certificate with dates and surnames. Ty Jeanne (Zurauskas) Morena

  14. After 55 years I meet my family in the U.S.
    Nobody from U.S. and from Lithuania never think to see eatch other.
    There were big surprise!
    My aunt found my family photo in the ancestry.com and after few years I take a visit to see our family in U.S. from our great-grandparents.
    My great-grandfather leave Lithuania about 100 years ago. Later take great-grandmother to U.S and after their youngest son of four sons. Three oldest their sons lived, worked and are dead in the Lithuania. Some of they some time spend in the Siberia.
    But times are changed and after more years we found eatch other.
    Yes, my family in the U.S. are more bigger than in the Lithuania. I have my sure three aunts and two uncles whom are long way away at the Lithuania.
    It’s sad because time don’t go back and we can’t to change anything but we know that we are and we are doble family from the very old times at the our great-grandparents.
    Nice to know that lithuanians familys live around this small peoples world and around this little our earth.

  15. Sveiki Augustinai, girdėjau apie Jūsų idėją iš Leonardo Šablinsko, mačiau per TV. Taigi, esu rokiškietė, vienos NVO pirmininkė. Man idomu, ar pavyko Jums kokių pėdsakų aptikti apie kunigą Antaną Deksnį, vėliau jis tapo Europos katalikų vyskupu. Bet tarpukariu nuvykęs pas dėdę, irgi kunigą, Čikagoje kūrė ateitininkų draugiją, vėliau Sant Luise atstatė sudegusią bažnyčią. Plačiau apie vyskupą rasite čia: http://rokiskiovvg.lt/upload/Failai/2018/0220034830-Deksnys_sutvarkytas.pdf

    • Dėkui. Žmonės ir jų istorijos nėra pagrindinis mūsų projekto tikslas – aprašome ir žemėlapyje žymime visų pirma lietuviškas vietas, pastatus, nekilnojamąjį paveldą. Tačiau, kas be ko, už kiekvienos lietuviškos vietos slypi ir žmonių istorijos (architektų, finansuotojų, užsakovų, kūrėjų, gelbėtojų). Deksnio atveju, minėta Rytų Sent Lujiso bažnyčia tebestovi ir yra puikiai išlikusi, ir yra viena įspūdingiausių ir lietuviškiausių bažnyčių JAV. Ją lankėme, nufotografavome, pažymėsime žemėlapyje ir aprašysime šioje svetainėje (žemėlapyje žymėsime kaip “1 kategorijos” objektą – t.y. tarp ~25 svarbiausių lietuviškų vietų JAV). Taip pat “į “Gabalėliai Lietuvos” jau seniau yra patekusi ir Lietuvių aikštė Bad Viorishofene (žr. mūsų straipsnį, kur paminėtas ir Deksnys, čia: https://global.truelithuania.com/lt/germany-1013/ ). Tačiau ta veikla, kuri tiesiogiai nepaliko kažkokių iki mūsų dienų išlikusių objektų, jau yra už mūsų projekto ribų.

  16. Recently started to explore my family tree again and look forward to travel to Lithuania. Also, I am curious about eligibility and if so, the process on dual citizenship – a great grandparent was born In Lithuania end of 1800s and then moved to US and married and a few branches later, here I am 🙂 any insight or recommendations on exploring Lithuanian and Polish histories and the above, is appreciated. Ačiū!

  17. Thank you!!1

  18. I have just discovered this wonderful web site and community. My Great Grandparents both emigrated from Lithuania (from Kaunas and Marijampole) in the early 20th Century, believing they were travelling to the USA they actually were landed in Scotland and settled in Dalkeith and later moved to the Ayrshire coast on the southwest of the country.

    The pair actually met in Scotland and were married in 1912 and my Grandfather (born 1917) Kazemier Katalikaitis moved to Nottingham, England after serving with the British army during the second world war. Due to unfortunate racism in Scotland and England at the time the family name was changed to Lyon. In fact my Grandfather even changed his first name to Charles, completely losing the Lithuanian names. I was told it was the only way he was able to obtain work at the lucrative coal mines, rather than working as a bus or truck driver which was his original employment.

    Despite the loss of the name, myself and my cousins and other relatives from that side of the family remain proud of our Lithuanian heritage.
    I was brought up in England but now live in Texas, United States. I visited Lithuania in 2016 for the first time. It doubled my interest and pride in my Lithuanian ancestry.

    When the United Kingdom opted to leave the European Union I did explore the opportunity to take Lithuanian nationality in order to retain a European Passport but I was informed that dual nationality was not permitted. At the time I could not give up my British nationality because my Residence in the USA required it. Therefore I did not explore this further.

    I am keen to learn more about Lithuanian diaspora and heritage here in the USA.

    • Hi Andrew,

      I know this comment is from 2021 but I’m currently working through my family tree and think we may have a connection.

      My great grandfather was John Lyons (born 1920) and his father was Jonas John Katalikaitis Lyons and was born 1876 and buried 1960 in Auchinleck.

      Would love to connect with you and see where our trees cross if at all.

      Thanks,
      Reece

  19. Labas
    Our Family name

    “Grybaitis”

    I can find nothing. Except a donation in a paper in Canada 1982. To the Homeland
    My father has never spoken about our family, he is 85

    My grandma has passed, my Aunty‘s too
    They must of had a terrifying experience,
    I’d like to connect with any surviving family members

    Please help !

    Anufras David Grybaitis
    Australia. Gods Blessings

  20. The Chicago Lithuanian community information needs to be updated. SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church on 126th and Halsted has closed. The last mass was in June, 2022 and it closed completely at the end of November. My maternal grandparents, Theodore and Marian Zutaut, were founding members in the 1910’s.

  21. Would it be deemed as colonialism or diaspora? When you put out that Africa was one of the few ”continents” that did not have to go through mass-colonization of Lithuania. I heard that Lithuania did not colonise for instance Gambia, but rather that it was Latvia that did it during mid/ end of 1600s. And i also heard that the coloniazation of Gambia and Tobaco was from Jacob Kettler, and he was ”baltic-german”.. I heard smth that Jacob Kettler was in fact ”forcing Latvian peasants” to colonise Gambia, idk if its true though. Just making sure if its true or not.

    • Yes, it is true what you say. There were no nation-states as came to be later at the time. So, the truth is like this:

      The colonies in Gambia and Tobago belonged to the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. This duchy had a Latvian population majority but was led by ethnically German dukes. This duchy was also a fief of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (and Grand Duchy of Lithuania) beforehand. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was nominally a union of Poland and Lithuania but the Polish culture increasingly predominated there.


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