Reply to Lisa Meadows: Yes, my grandfather was Jewish. My mother recently said he told her his name was Belasco in Russia. I dont know how it was spelled in Cyrillic, but it doesnt sound Russian. My mother thinks the family may originally have been Sephardic, emigrating from Spain in the 15th or 16th century (Inquisition?). My grandmother (Vederman) was from Poland, but said the ownership of her home territory was frequently disputed (sometimes Russia, sometimes Poland). Perhaps this was true for your grandfather also.