"In 1772 and 1793, portions of Poland were ceded to Prussia, Austria and Russia. In 1795 the final partition of Poland ceded the balance of Poland to these three countries, and Poland ceased to exist as an independent country until 1918. In the part ceded to Russia, Jews were permitted to live only in the area just acquired. This area became known as the Pale of Settlement... (Note: Livonia and Courland... were not part of the Pale.)"

Borisov is in Minsk guberniya (province), at the northern end, south and slightly west of Lepel'. Lepel' (Vitebsk guberniya) is south of Polotsk (Vitebsk guberniya) (in betweens Borisov and Polotsk). Lepel' is also south-west of Vitebsk (the city). Disna and Drissa (today's Verkhnedvinsk) are near each other, north-west of Polotsk on the border between Vitebsk guberniya, Byelorussia (Belarus) and Vilna guberniya (Lithuania).

Sverdly (also spelled Swierdly) is located at Latitude 55.34.60N Long 27.50.0E in the Polotsk district

All the above cities are in Byelorussia (White Russia), renamed Belarus in 1994. The other major region where people came from is Odessa (on the Black Sea, Kherson guberniya) and Simferpol' (Crimea) both in the Ukraine. As major port cities it is likely that brothers separated, as we do today, seeking work. One major industry was logging and the cutting and transport of building grade timber from the forests to the major towns like Kherson at the mouth of the river.

Some Names of District Centers (oblasti), Guberniya (Counties), and Current Country

The guberniya are like our "counties". Thus, if I live in White Plains, the county center of Westchester County, New York State it is like living in Vitebsk, Vitesk. But if I live in Scarsdale it is like Lepel', Vitebsk, Vitebsk gubernia. Boston, Suffolk, MA; Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA. The little shtetls of our ancestors were 300 to 3000 people. Sort of like Flushing, Queens County, New York City, NY is equal to Beshincovicki, Lepel', Vitebsk, Byelorussia. When grandpa said he came from Minsk he might have lived 10-15 miles from Minsk (City) in Shchedrin (village), Bobrujsk (district), Minsk (guberniya), Belarus (state)!

Furthermore, political boundaries changed. Parts of the Ukraine today, were in Poland before the Partition. Similarly, parts of Vitebsk guberniya shifted to Minsk guberniya or to modern day Latvia.

PRONUNCIATION
Pronunciation varied, so they way the immigration clerk wrote the manifest varied. Similar misspellings occurred with the Declaration of Intent and later the Petition for Naturalization. In Russian the name is written and pronounced Sverdlov. In Polish it is written Swerdlow but pronounced Sverdlov. The Yiddish pronouciation varied, too.

SWEDLOW
Sore Swerdlow, the oldest sister of (first) Premier Yakov Mikhailovich "Andrei" Sverdlov, (1885-1919), the Russian revolutionary and Communist leader, emigrated with her husband from Libau on 23-Jan-1913 and arrived in the Port of New York on the Steam Ship "Birma" 15-Feb-1913. Her husband was her cousin, Dawid Swerdlow. Everyone stated they were born in "Palatzk" [sic], e.g. Polotsk, Belarus, and they left from a friends home in "Krementicz" [sic], e.g. Kremenets, Ukraine (spelled Krzemieniec in Polish) located at latitude/logitude 50°06' / 25°43. The ship manifest reads Dawid Swerdlow husband...thus we know David Sverdlov is the correct pronouciation. Sore, wife, is Sara/Sofie. Schmuel, age 5, becomes Samuel. Mowscha, age 3, is the endearment name for Mosche. Later he is Morris Swedlow. Chaie Swerdlow, age 9 months, later will be know as Ida Swedlow. They are going to David's brother "M. Swerdlow at 502 West 125th Street, New York, NY."