The BAYL family tree was first begun in 1951 and attempted to trace all descendants of Laibe Krok, the father of Rella Krok, and of the families of Rella Krok's first and second husbands, Yehuda Laib Romm and Rabbi Abraham Abramson.
Although an electronic version of the family tree exists, BAYL is still studying the best manner for posting it in a searchable format. In the meantime, members are requested to continue providing updated information. Thank you.
Please submit information you would like us to review for input into the family tree (new information or correction). Additional information about individuals, such as dates and places of birth, marriage, death, etc., is also appreciated.
Family Genealogy Overview
B’nai Abraham and Yehuda Laib Family Society membership and its associated family tree revolves around a woman named Rella Krok, who was born about 1833. Her father, Laibe Krok, was born in 1800. Laibe and his wife Rachel Krok lived in the tiny hamlet of Tselkay / Čelkiai, just south of Rokisik / Rokiškis, a town in an area which today is in the northeastern part of the Republic of Lithuania. In the 1800s, the area was first in the Vilna Gubernya (province) and then in the Kovno Gubernya of the Russian Empire. Prior to 1795, the area was part of the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania. There is evidence that Laibe Krok's ancestors lived in this area at least as early as 1760.
The family tradition states that Laibe and Rachel “were good citizens, religious in their observance of Mosaic Law, and liberal in their outlook on life. Laibe Krok was a wine merchant and the owner of a distillery. He was a philanthropist of no mean repute.”
Rella was one of Laibe and Rachel’s six children. In 1847 Rella married Yehuda Laib Romm of Ponidel / Pandelys. Yehuda Laib was a widower with one child, Mari Leah Romm. Yehuda Laib and Rella had seven children together. After the death of Yehuda Laib, Rella married Rabbi Abraham Abramson, who was a sofer in Rakisik and a nephew of Yehuda Laib's first wife. Abraham was a widower who had had seven children with his first wife, Chana Brina. Upon marrying Abraham, Rella was the mother or step-mother of a total of fifteen children.
Rella and Abraham Abramovitz were recorded in the 1897 All-Russia Census as living on Kamai street (today, Respublikos gatve) in Rakisik. Fourteen years after they married, Rella died and Abraham came to America . According to family tradition, Abraham had served Rokiškis as Chief Rabbi for 25 years before coming to America.
As of the BAYL’s 100th Anniversary, in 2001, the family tree, tracing the descendants of Rella and her siblings and the descendants of her two husbands from their first marriages, spanned nine generations over more than 200 years, contained more than 3200 names. Today, descendants live in many of the United States, as well as in Australia, Canada, England, Israel, and South Africa.