Inessa Vitkina’s grandfather Isaak Vitkin and his wife Miriam Vitkina

My grandfather Isaak Vitkin and his wife Miriam Vitkina. I know little about my grandmother. She was born in Lithuania in 1860s. I have no information about my Ganny's family. My grandfather and grandmother had 6 children. They had more, but those 6 survived. My grandmother did some farming and kept few cows. The children helped her around. Every day after milking the cows my grandmother made cottage cheese and butter and the children went to Shauliai to deliver the dairies to their customers. Their family lived on what they earned.

My grandmother had one fancy black velvet gown that she wore to the synagogue. Granny always wore a wig. I asked Mama once why Granny had such pretty curls when my sister's and my hair was straight. And mama replied that my grandmother had a wig. They observed all Jewish traditions, celebrated Sabbath and Jewish holidays and my Granny strictly followed the kashruth. When my grandfather died my grandmother and her daughter Leya stayed in Lithuania to bury my grandfather and my mother and her brother Haim moved on to Byelorussia. Thus, the family split. Granny and her daughter stayed in Vilnius, Lithuania. She died there in 1933 and was buried at the Jewish cemetery.

My grandmother's name was Miriam and she was few years younger than my grandfather. I guess she was born in 1860s. I don't know where my grandmother came from or anything about her life before she got married. My grandparents had a big family. My mother was the youngest of 6 children. The family was poor. They didn't have a house of their own. My grandmother did some farming and kept few cows. The children helped her around. Every day after milking the cows my grandmother made cottage cheese and butter and the children went to Shauliai to deliver the dairies to their customers. Their family lived on these earnings.