Initial Contact with Lithuanian Family

Amazingly, we located my mother's Aunt Isabele who is about 85 years old and living with her son. We learned that Uncle Antanas is also living and is around 90 years of age. Aunt Juozefa died about 3 years ago. She had been sent to Siberia during the mass exiles of Lithuanians. My mother had thought that Uncle Antanas had also been sent to Siberia. Hopefully we will learn more soon.

A very kind woman on the Lithuanian Genealogy Yahoo Group located Aunt Isabele by calling people in the towns listed on the letters that we have and located her phone number and spoke with her son. They were happy that we were trying to find them. My mother is overjoyed and has written a letter to her Aunt Isabele to try to arrange a time to meet in August when my mother and father will travel to Lithuania.

We are all trying to learn as much as we can about Lithuania. I just read a heart wrenching memoir from a woman who survived Siberian deportation. I learned that only 1 in 8 of those deported to Siberia survived. I find it miraculous that my great aunt and uncle both survived and perhaps my mother will be able to meet her uncle in august. We are thanking God for guiding our search for family and will continue to post updates as we continue on our journey in connecting with our long lost family.