This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: yazep Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.massachusetts.unknown/2679.2.1.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Some history to think about- The village where the Pecevich clan is concentrated is Veliki (Greater) Stepanishki, Hrodna (Grodno-Russian variant), Belarus. It is next to Maliyye (Lesser) Stepanishki. The nearest town is Mosty. 'Most' means 'bridge' - and there are important bridges that span the Neman River there. Nearby towns are also Patsevichi and Peski. I was told by a government archivist that Pecevich is a variant of Patsevich and, that Patsevich is from the old name 'Patz' going back to the 12th-13th centuries. They were contemporaries of the Radziwill's. One of the most prominent features in Veliki Stepanishki is a very high section of an earthen raised railroad grade. It was part of the great railroad expansion done by the Russian Czar in the late 19th century-early 20th Century. Other than that it looks alot like a southeastern-Mass. town with bogs, swamps, forests, streams - and basically flat. The nearby village of Maliyye Stepanishki also contains many Pecevich families but has has more Kasperovich families. My father was Stephen, his father was Walter (Vladimir, or, Uladzimier, in Belarusian), son of Gregory, son of Christopher. Walter had three brothers and two sisters. None of them came to and stayed in the U.S. - although one of the girl's husbands, Matt Volkovich, came here and died of a fractured skull. Vikenti ended up in Harbin, China as he was part of the White Army during the Russian Civil War that got chased out of Russia after unsuccessful American and British interventions. Many relatives are alive in Belarus and Russia. Not too many that experienced WWII were still around when I visited some years ago. Many remembered stories of relatives and neighbors that had left for the U.S. Some villagers asked if I knew any Lisai's or Kuczun's. There were apparently some mariages between the Pecevich, Lisai and Kuczun clans. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.