Help break down Eastern European Ashkenazi Jewish brick wall?

Question

I have been trying for what feels like forever to break down the brick wall that is my great-great-grandfather, Sam Smith. All of the information I have been able to gather about him is on the page I created for him, but sadly there is very little information. Sam Smith is a pseudonym he took on upon arriving in the US (and abandoning my family). Based on my great-grandfather's tombstone and his sister's marriage record, I know his Hebrew name and possibly the name he also went by in Russia was some variation of "Zalman" or "Salmann." I also have the surname that the rest of the family went by before arriving in the US, "Niepomniascza," but I have always been told that my great-great-grandfather took on this last name for the family in order to avoid conscription into the Russian army and you can tell this because the last name is composed as if someone turned the verb to "not know" into a last name.

As I've written on his WikiTree page, I've identified a city directory that indicates he remarried a woman named Jennie in Chester, Pennsylvania, and my great-aunts have told me all they know is that he started a new family in the United States. I (and my great aunts) would really like to find more information about him and see if he has any living descendants from this second family. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

I did find a record for an Esther Nepomniachy (born 1906) from Pereyaslav arriving at Ellis Island in 1923. Her contact in the US was a brother, "Sam Small" of 160 Thompson St., New York. Her father and contact back home was Nochim Nepomniachy. (I think Nochim may be an attempt to render the name Joachim).

When it comes to the former Soviet Union/Russian Empire, I highly recommend hiring a local genealogist to do lookups in the state archives. While I realize this may require spending some money, it will probably yield much better results, as very little genealogical data has ever been transcribed and translated into English and put on the internet. See: State Archival Service of Ukraine | Official webportal (archives.gov.ua) and maybe contact them to see if they have a genealogist who you could hire.

Answer 2

It sounds like you have a long hard road ahead of you with all the mystery of name added to the research difficulty for Jewish families in Eastern Europe.  I did find the following information at jewishgen.org that may be useful:

Bessarabia Death Records
Name NEPOMNYASHCHY / NEPOMNYATCHA, Meyer Vulf / Meir Zev
Father Abram 
Residence Novgorod
Comments Died in Kishinev Jewish Hospital, petty bourgeois from Novgorod
Date ofDeath 25/9/1897  (DD/MM/YY)
Hebrew Date 11 Tishri 
Age 28
Cause of Death typhoid fever
Town Kishinev
Uyezd Kishinev 
Guberniya Bessarabia
PlaceRecorded Kishinev
Year 1897
Record # M540
Microfilm 2292606
Item 1 
Image 204 
Archive / Fond NARM 211/11/380

The Boston Jewish Advocate “Seeking Kin” Database
Date of Publication 03 Nov 1921
Person being Sought
   Name TEATSCH, Azriel
   Residence Greater Boston

Person Seeking  
   Name NEPOMNIACHI, Chaim-Wictor
   Relation [Not given]
   Residence Kishineff, Roumania
   Agency New England Bureau for Jewish Relief

JewishGen Online Worldwide Burial Registry
Name NIPOMNIACHI, Samuel
Date of Death Dec-1918
Plot Row: 109 Plot: 17
Cemetery Name Cementerio Comunitario de Liniers
City / Country Buenos Aires / Argentina

Name NIPOMNIACHI / ניפומנישצי, Avraham / אברהם
Date of Death 15-Jun-2000
Date of Birth 1909
Hebrew Name אברהם
Plot נד טז 37
Father Solomon / סולומון 
City / Country Rehovot / Israel 

Answer 3

zalman results on geni

I just did some searches and came up with some potential diamonds. I have taken 3 screenshots, which I don't know how to upload, but can send via another message system perhaps.

In addition to this find, many are from the region, if not exactly the correct place, but many are Rabbi, which should mean they have traceable worthwhile info - 

Prague Munk Ukraine Beloruss Vilinius etc

Rabbi Avraham ben Zalman Magid MP

"Ragoler"

Žemaičių Naumiestis, Šilutė District Municipality, Klaipėda County, Lithuania

(1722 - 1804)

PS I did this without subscribing

Answer 4

Unfortunately I don’t have an answer (and I know this post is pretty old) but I couldn’t help but notice that you mentioned his last name could have been some variation of the name “salman”. I have a couple of Salmans in my tree (also Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews most likely) and I also am at a brick wall with that side. Perhaps they’re related in some way?