My great-great-grandfather Meir Kavadlo. He was born in 1831 and as of yet I am not sure where. He was a blacksmith in Kalvarija until around 1920 when I believe the picture was taken. The woman seated next to Meir I believe is his wife BashaSimkovsky. The mother of another synagogue neighbor said her family owned a hardware store located where the hardware store is today. Together Basha and Meir had at least seven children. The man in the bowler hat standing behind his father is Tachen Kavadlo who owned a tavern in Kalvarija and lived on Garbarskaya Street in 1908. The three of them, as far as I know, were the only ones to remain in Kalvarija. A daughter of Meir's married and moved to Seta.The rest of the family moved to the United States between 1871 and 1900.
This picture is of Jacob Kavadlo(Myers) (Tachen's Son) and his uncle Itzko Kavadlo(Myers). The family changed their name when they came to America. This picture was takenbefore 1900 when they were in the Czar's Army. I wish I knew the story of how they escaped because it is my understanding that enlistment for Jews was a life sentence.
