Mordukh Aspron (abt. 1798 - 1855)

Born about 1798 in Vilnius, Lithuania [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 12 Dec 1855 at about age 57 in Vilnius, Lithuania

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Biography

Birth year: His birth year is ambiguous; it seems to be either 1803 or 1798. The 1858 revision list suggests he died in 1855, and was 52 at the time of the last revision. I infer he was 52 when died in 1855, yielding a birth year of 1803. His wife's birth year is more clearly 1803, so it does seem plausible that he was also born that year. Separately, there is evidence from another entry that the year of the last revision was 1850, which would imply that his birth year is 1798.

The 1834 revision list indicates he is age 36, suggesting he was born in 1797 or 1798.

The surname

As far as I can tell, Mordukh adopted this surname. Everyone in the Lithuanian records who bears this surname, or a related one, is descended from Mordukh. Given that Mordukh was born in 1803, it is plausible that he adopted a surname on his own, rather than taking his father's. Update: I think his father is recorded under surname Asiran.

Beider's book includes the following entries

• Anshstrum (Vilna) {Anshtrun, Anspron, Aspron} A: from 'Anstrom' [German] water influx, waves. A: from 'Ansturm' [German] onslaught."
• Anshtrun (Vilna) A: see Anshtrum.
• Anspron (Shavli) SA: see Anshtrum.
• Aspron (Vilna) SA: see Anshtrum.

(I do not find a German word "anstrom", I do find a German verb "anströmen", which has meanings like what Beider proposes. Perhaps "anström" is some conjugation of that verb?)

The "S" in "SA:" in the last two records indicates that Anspron and Aspron are secondary surnames to primary surname Anshtrum. Perhaps that is true, but note that in the available records, the order is reversed:

• Aspron is recorded in the 1858 revision list in Vilnius.
• Anspron is recorded in the 1874 revision list, indicating residence in Shavli.

(Those are the only two records in which precisely the transliteration Aspron or Anspron is seen.). Only later do we see records of Anshtrum and Anshtrun.

Apart from the four transliterations Beider mentions. I see

• Anshprun
• Anshtrun: Three
• Anstrum: Two death records: 1881, Rivka, daughter of Leyzer, age 1. 1926, Sosa, age 15, father Jankiel, mother Fejga. Residence "Zawalna 42"? (Apart from these two, there are no other records for exactly Anstrum.)
• Anstrun: Zero records.

Variation in the surname: Notice that in his direct record the surname is Aspron, whereas in later records of his descendents that mention him the surname is Anspron, or something else. (I would not have found the Aspron record except that Beider's book mentions that Aspron is a variant of Anspron.)

• Anshtrum: Birth record and internal passport application of grandson Yaacov/Yankel. (These two are the only records where the surname is spelled exactly this way?)
• Anshtrun: Death record of granddaughter Sheina in 1896.
• Anspron
• Aspron
• "Ansztrum/[Anshtrum]": Internal passport records for grandson in 1922. These records are written in Lithuanian? Which may explain a new, uncertain transliteration?

Occupation: The 1858 revision list includes the comment "jeweler" next to his name.

Sources

1834 Revision List, Vilnius, Family number 1187, surname ASIRAN. No previous registration number. Head of household Movsah son of Girsh.

1851 Revision List, Vilnius, Family number 1821, surname ASERON. No previous registration number. Head of household Mordukh son of Movsha.

1858 Revision List, Vilnius, Family number 2432, surname ASPRON. Previous registration number is 1821 (which is how I was able to find the 1851 record above). Note the surname has changed substantially. Head of household is again Mordukh son of Movsha.

1855 death record for "OSHIRON, Mordukh" in Vilnius, age 50, son of Movsha. Date 30/11/1855. (That is 12 Dec 1855 in the Gregorian calendar.) The image of the underlying record can be found on FamilySearch here, image 753 of 938, record 692, second from the bottom.

Birth records for grandchildren.