Hello, my name is Julie Grossman and I am seeking more information on my maternal gggrandfather Harris CLASTER born approximately in 1861. According to a 1900 census of Clinton county PA, he came from Russia, and according to the 1910 census of the same county, he came from "Russ- Yiddish". I cannot find record of him on the Ellis Island website. I also question where exactly in Russia he came from, and whether or not he lived near the border of another country that primarily spoke Yiddish, because family rumor says he and other family at the same time came from Lithuania. Also, according to my grandmother Phyllis MITCHNECK, Harris was responsible for bringing over a large Jewish population from Ponevez (Yiddish spelling, also commonly spelled Punaviz and Panevezys) , Lithuania to Lockhaven, PA and started them at businesses (he owned a dry goods store) and fixed them up with wives. In conclusion, if you have any information/databases about Eastern European 19th century Jewish populations, please send them to me. Also, if your family originated near Lockhaven, PA and you believe someone might have worked with Harris CLASTER, please let me know. For reference, Harris married Rose SHAPIRO CLASTER , and they had 8 children ( I don’t know the girls’ married last names except for my great grandmother Ida Claster MEYER), Samuel, Lester, Jack, Gertrude, Lilly, Blanche, and Ellis.

Thank you,
Julie Grossman (also researching MITCHNECK, MEYER, MOSCOWITZ, and PINKOFSKY)