The fifteen tombstones that are presently located in the Kupiskis cemetery are a small remainder of what was originally there. In fact, there were actually two cemeteries with one going back, at least, three hundred years. The original cemeteries survived the Holocaust, but were destroyed by the Russians in the 1970's. The existing tombstones were found and placed in the cemetery in the last few years.

During a trip to Kupiskis in 1994, Debby Myers went to the cemetery and found her great grandparents, Motte Hesse and Gitel Joffe. Following that, a transcription of the fifteen tombstones in the Kupiskis cemetery was completed by Linda Cantor and Regina Kopelevich during Linda's visit to Kupiskis in July, 1995. In May, 2001, Saul Adelman visited Kupiskis with Regina Kopelevich and again transcribed all the tombstones with the addition of the month and day of death. Since the tombstones did not contain the last names of the deceased, it was a dilemma to try and figure out who they belonged to.

Given the arrival of the translated Kupiskis Pre-1920 death records in 2001, Ann Rabinowitz was able to match the tombstones to the death records, where there was a death record. This was particularly accurate as the death records had the day and month of death. This provided the last names for eight out of the fifteen tombstones. In addition, Ann added the year of death where missing, date of birth based on the age at death and/or date of death, whether there was a death record or not, and comments on why there wasn't a record or which family the deceased belonged to.

A major reason seven of the tombstones remain a unknown is that there is no record for their particular year of death.  For example, the death records do not go back to 1864, and there are no records for 1903 and 1919. There are records for 1898, but not one for the name given on the tombstone.

Two of the tombstones will have to remain a mystery for now. One was a general monument stone and the other was for an Eliahu, a poetic stone, partially buried.

Please contact either Ann Rabinowitz or Linda Cantor to provide further information if you have it.

Photo of the tombstone of Eliezer Bedil, who passed away in 1919,  taken just before the family left Kupiskis in 1929 for South Africa.  This is one of the many tombstones in the Kupishok Jewish Cemetery that were destroyed by the Soviets in the 1970's.

 (photos courtesy of Brenda Bedil Chesler)

The translated inscription, courtesy of Michael Pertain, reads:  "Our precious mother, the crown on our heads, the worthy woman, Mrs. Zlate Bedil, daughter of  Rav Elchanan Shmidt, who died with a good name on the 2nd day of the month of Teveth, Tav Resh Zadik Gimel, December 30, 1932.