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VARIOUS LINKS RELATED TO LIGUM AND PAKROY
Project/History of Pakroy shul (and other wooden shuls in Lith.) being compiled (2004).
click here for info, including the contact person interested in Pakroy!
Histories of the Jewish Community of Ligum:
history (comp.by Ray Davis), history (by Yosef Rosin)
Jewish conscription in Russian army -- in Ligum
A Holocaust account, mentions about being helped by Jewish farmer in Ligum
Yahrzeit (memorial) dates of Holocaust-era massacres in Ligum and Pokroi
Maps of the region
Map of Lygumai (Ligum) and surrounding areas, WWI German Military Map
Pakroy pix [dead link]
Pakruojis regional museum [dead link]
Pakroy hist (in Lithanian language) [dead link]
About Pakruoijis region (includes Lygumai), in Lithuanian [dead link]
General Pakruojis region history
Current road map of the region
Another website on Jewish community of Ligum (by Barry Mann and Yosef Rosin) -- wonderful!
Another website on Jewish community of Pakroy (by Dora Boom) [We haven't indexed much of this site yet; it's magnificent (and filled with old photos of the town -- for example here and here -- and the synagogue -- including remarkable interior photos -- as well as a general history of Pakroy; and some of the site is still under construcation)]
Among the info contained in the Pakroy website is about Morkakalnis, where many Pakroy Jews were murdered during the Holocaust
Also there is much info about the family of Rivka Shapiro (Ruth Igdal), later of Norfolk, Virginia, including extended family, early to pre-War 20th century -- amazing photos too!
Website on Jewish community of nearby Linkuva
Jewish photos of Lygumai (by Bruce Kahn, 1995 and 1996):
synagogue, synagogue, synagogue
cemetery, cemetery, cemetery, cemetery, cemetery, cemetery, cemetery
Jewish photos of Lygumai (by Barry Mann, 1997, or collected by Barry Mann):
synagogue, entrance to Ligum, old Jewish home (with hinged roof for Succah)
2 men and boy in front of Jewish home, 1936
The Ligum Jewish cemetery (with tombstone inscriptions/info) by Barry Mann, 1997
Jewish photos of Pakroy (by Bruce Kahn, 1995):
synagogue, synagogue, synagogue, synagogue, synagogue,
synagogue, synagogue, synagogue, synagogue, synagogue,
synagogue, synagogue, synagogue, synagogue
cemetery, cemetery
Mass grave in the Juknaiciai forest
List of 1930s Jewish photos of Pakroy synagogue (see #01727, 01728, 01729, 01730), collected by Boris Feldblyum
LYGUMAI (LIGUM) LITHUANIA (contributed by Ray Davis)
Ligum, or Lygumai as it appears on current maps, is where the Baers, Legums, Glassers and other families whose genealogies are included on this website are from. It is a small town located in northern Lithuania about 13 miles northeast of the town of Siauiliai in the Shavli District of the County of Siauiliai in Kovno Gaberynia. It's 18 miles from Shavli, 7 miles from Pokroi and 6 miles from the nearest train station which is in Statziony.
It was a township seat in independent Lithuania. The town contained local administrative offices, a forestry department, health center, wool spinning and finishing plant, knitting mill, large dairy and mill.
The manor of Lygumai is mentioned in historical sources of the early 15th century. After the insurrection of 1863, the manor was sold to the Rennenkampf family, descended from German nobility.
The church of the Holy Trinity was founded in 1436. The present Gothic church was built in 1908. The town began to expand at the end of the 16th century and grew rapidly in the 19th century. In 1841, it had only 331 inhabitants, while in 1897, the general population was 891 of which the Jewish population was 482.
At the beginning of the 20th century, many Jews emigrated from Ligum to the United States, England and South Africa.
For two years, during independent Lithuania, there was a Jewish school, but it was closed due to a lack of pupils. Children studied under the cheder of R. Meir, the shochet. Some students continued their studies in the local Lithuanian school while others went to a Hebrew school in Shavli or in Kovno.
Some of the Jews of Ligum were involved in small-scale trade and crafts and some worked in the local wool spinning factory. Market day was Wednesday.
The town had one beit midrash.
In 1940, Ligum had about 1,000 residents. After the second world war, under Soviet rule, it was made the center of a rural community and a collective farm, assigned to the district of Pakruojis (Pakroi). Public buildings include a 25 bed hospital, secondary school, wool spinnery and forestry department. A large forest lies on the outskirts of town to the northeast.
In 1959, it had 830 inhabitants.
From the rabbinate: R. Zvi-Yehuda Rabinovitz bar Benjamin (from Vilkomir); R. Dov Rabinovitz until 5648/1888; Mordecai-Yitzhak-Isaac Rabinovitz was appointed 5648/1888 and served until 5662/1902 when he moved to Salant and later Memel. He was followed by R. Yisrael-Natan until 1907 and R. Moshe Horvitz from 5667-5675/1907-1915. The last rabbi was R. Yehuda-Leib Lava.
Well known Ligumers include R. Eliezer-Yehuda Rabinovitz; Mordechai-Bezalel Schneider (educator and author); Yosef Yanover (Zionist figure) and Dr. Raphael Rabinovitz (educator and attorney).
THE FOLLOWING NOTICE WAS RECENTLY DISCOVERED ON THE INTERNET AT here and here (or click here and here for html versions):
Pakroy Shul: A survey is being undertaken of the few remaining wooden synagogues in Lithuania, including that of PAKROY. Once completed, a record either in the form of a book or cd-rom, will be produced. We appeal to anyone who has photographs or memories of the Pakroy Shul to kindly make them available. Regrettably the shul's interior has not been preserved, only the outside walls. Could anyone who has the photographs or memories of the shul please contact me and help ensure that the most complete record will remain for future generations. All photographs will be returned.All information would be useful to the team. Please contact me, by email at: rochele@netvision.net.il, or telephone (03)523-8583. Rahel Morgenstern
The following is taken from a Holocaust-related website. For the full text, click here
This country road led to a small town, Ligum, towards which we moved with our wagon along with everyone else. It was getting dark by the time we arrived and the little town was already full of refugees. However, there was a Jewish farmer there who opened his house and treated everyone who came with tea and milk. We decided to stay at his farm until dawn and then continue on our way, but by the time we were ready to start out the next day we heard from people who had gone ahead of us that it was not safe. They had turned back because the road was full of Lithuanian partisans wearing white bands around their arms arresting and killing every Jewish person they found. We couldn't do much about this and, after discussing it, we decided to head back home.
