Pereslugoff (?) Family

Hello!

Every couple of years I make another attempt to unravel the Gordian knot that is my patrilineal descent and every time it just leaves me with more questions than answers. The latest delve confirmed my longtime suspicions that my family name "Pereslugoff" is nothing but a pseudonym. There was no "Mikhail Pereslugoff" serving in the Russian Imperial Navy in World War I but there was a Mikhail Pereslegin on the rolls so naturally I thought this could be my great-grandfather and some immigration authority messed up the name. Only one problem with that theory... according to those same Russian naval rolls Mikhail Pereslegin, born December 11th 1897, later served in the Red Navy as a submariner and eventually became a professor of physics. What I know about my great-grandfather is that he was evacuated on Wrangel's fleet in 1921 and interned in Tunisia and to the best of my knowledge never returned to Russia.

So either one (or maybe even both?) of these men were not who they claimed to be. Now I already knew my great-grandfather lied profusely to the American government in order to get into this country since he was most likely left stateless by the Bolsheviks but it's one thing to lie about your place of birth and another to potentially assume someone else's name. I am hoping someone here can help me cut through all the lies and misinformation and discover my real family name and heritage.

Below is everything I know about my great-grandfather before he arrived in this country some of which might naturally be false...

-His name was Mikhail
-His patronymic might have been "Mikhailovich" but he puts both "Nicholas" and "Joseph" as his middle name/initial on most American documents. There also might have been a connection to the name "Benjamin" somewhere in there.
-He was born December 11th 1897.
-His immigration documents and everything submitted to the US government claims he was born in allegedly born in Chortkow Austrian Poland. Modern day Chortkiv Ukraine.
--Why shouldn't we believe him? After all he apparently spoke Polish? Because he always self identifies as "Russian" in the ethnicity field and while yes it is *possible* he was born in Chortkow he would always be consistent to family members that he was born in Reval/Talinn in modern day Estonia. Plus what/why would a "Russian" be in Austrian Poland?
-According to census documents he spoke French, Russian, Polish, German and even English fluently before coming to America, suggesting a somewhat privileged background.
-He was raised in the Russian Far East and in China. His sister was born in Port Arthur around 1900.
-He served in the Russian Imperial Navy during World War I and later fought for the White Movement in the Russian Civil War.
-He departed Crimea on Wrangel's Fleet in 1921 and was interned by the French in Tunisia for a time before departing.
-According to his immigration documents he departed Cherbourg on the Olympic after living in Paris (or Zavowan, Tunis).

Other tidbits which might help?

-His mother, who signed her letters "de Kojary" was actually Austrian/German Hungarian and born in Galicia so maybe that's why he lied about being from there?
-He was religiously a Lutheran (the first hint that he wasn't exactly of the background he suggested) and this was the reason why he wasn't buried in one of the many White Russian/Orthodox cemeteries we have in Connecticut.
-He was a Freemason of the Swedish Rite.
-One of his grandmother's is mentioned in a letter as a Lieven.
-His father was deceased by the time he came to America and might have been a victim of the Bolsheviks like his future wife's father.
-The Leliwa (Ostrogski Variant) Coat of Arms was of some unknown significance to him.

I'm having trouble attaching various documents and one photograph to this post that might prove useful so just message me and I'll provide them!

I realize this may be an impossible task and I don't know what to expect from this but I'm hoping there's something to be gained or learned. I thank you all in advance for attempting to help me and look forward to hearing from you in the future!

Hello,

I know this situation in family research from my own search. Many people leaving Russia in this time changed their names, some by spelling mistakes in foreign countries and some for other reasons.
It is just an idea but take a look at the following document: Declaration of Intention for Mr. Michael Pereslugoff, Hartford, dated May 8th 1934.
One of the witnesses signed that document with „Anna Peresluha“.
If you check for that Anna on ancestry.com you will see that she or her husband stated Chortkow as place of birth.

Keep in mind that in Russian there is no letter H and it will be transferred to the letter G / Г.
Peresluha = Peresluga.

Maybe that’s the solution for your question ?

Regards
Alex

kbg_dnepr написал:

[q]

Hallo Alexander, wäre Deutsch möglich für Sie (für mich besser)?

[/q]

Hallo,

gerne auch auf Deutsch, ich habe nur auf Englisch geantwortet, da die Frage auf Englisch gestellt wurde :-)

"ich kenne diese Situation in der Familienforschung aus meiner eigenen Suche. Viele Menschen, die Russland in dieser Zeit verlassen haben, haben ihren Namen geändert, einige durch Rechtschreibfehler bei der Einwanderung in andere Länder (besonders die USA sind sehr kreativ beim Schreiben von Namen) und andere aus anderen Gründen.
Es ist nur eine Idee, aber werfen Sie einen Blick auf das folgende Dokument: Absichtserklärung für die Einbürgerung als amerikanischer Staatsbürger für Herrn Michael Pereslugoff, Hartford, vom 8. Mai 1934.
Einer der Zeugen unterzeichnete dieses Dokument mit „Anna Peresluha“.
Wenn Sie auf ancestry.com nach dieser Anna suchen, werden Sie feststellen, dass sie oder ihr Ehemann Chortkow / bzw. Galicien als Geburtsort angegeben haben.

Beachten Sie, dass es auf Russisch keinen Buchstaben H gibt und dieser in den Buchstaben G / Г übertragen wird.
Peresluha = Peresluga.

Vielleicht ist DAS die Lösung für Ihre Frage ?"

Gruß
Alex

Es wäre auch denkbar, dass er Pole war, dann wäre zu prüfen, ob es da solche Namen usw. gegeben hat. - also ohne DNAßTest kommt man nicht weiter.

Hallo,

wenn ich der Spur von Anna Peresluha (Zeugin auf der Einbürgerungsurkunde von Michael Pereslugoff folge, dann finde ich ihre Einbürgerung (siehe Bild im Anhang).
In dieser sind viele Kinder genannt, unter anderem ein "Michael", geboren 1895.
Als Geburtsort der Anna Peresluha wird auf der Urkunde "Galicia, Austrian-Poland" genannt, also die gleich Region aus der auch Michael Pereslugoff stammen soll.

Interessant ist auch, dass Anna Peresluha den Namen ihres Mannes mit "Joseph" angibt. Weiterhin führt sie an, dass ihr Mann bereits verstorben ist.

Dies würde zu der Aussage von Adiyiku passen, dass Michael Pereslugoff Dokumente oft mit Michael Joseph Pereslugoff unterschrieb.

Aus meiner Sicht sind das alles nur kleine Puzzlestücke, die aber durchaus logisch zusammenpassen.

1. Michael Pereslugoff wurde als Michael Peresluha in Galicien geboren.
2. Er passte seinen Namen an und nannte sich Michael Pereslugoff

Ein weiterer Hinweis: In die Gegend in der sowohl Anna Peresluha als auch Michael Pereslugoff lebten (Hartford, Conn.) wanderten offensichtlich mehere Peresluha-Personen, sowie viele Personen aus Galicien ein.

Gruß
Alex