WHAT DOES THE FAMILY NAME MEAN?

"Bris" is a form of the Hebrew word "brit," which means "covenant." The word "brit" appears quite frequently in Jewish scriptures. After the great flood in the Book of Genesis, a rainbow was set in the sky to symbolize the covenant made with Noah. Genesis 9:13 says, "I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." The rainbow is "ot ha-brit," the sign of the covenant.


WHERE DID THE FAMILY BEGIN?

The founders of our entire family are Yisrael and Sheine Esther Briss, who lived in northern Lithuania in the 1800s. It is not known when Yisrael Briss was born, but Sheine Esther lived from 1829-1904. They had at least three sons and two daughters. This link will bring you to Google Maps to see a map of Lithuania with markers in our ancestral towns.

Our family was like many Lithuanian Jewish families. Our ancestors were artisans, merchants, farmers, and millers. In the early 20th century, we started emigrating from Lithuania to South Africa and the United States. We became part of vibrant Jewish communities in the cities of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Boston, Philadelphia, and Havana.


HOW DID THE BRISS FAMILY PROJECT BEGIN?

By the late 1920s, most of the family was split between Africa and North America. All contact between the scattered family branches would have been lost if not for Philip Briss' penpal correspondence with his cousins Annie Posvoletzky, Solly Josset, and Jack Miller, all members of the family's first generation born outside Lithuania. At the time, in 1929, it took a month for a letter to travel by ship from the United States to South Africa. As Phil received news from his cousins overseas, he kept notes on the growth of the family tree.

Phil Briss was my grandmother's brother. In 1991, I became interested in my family tree, and my mother suggested I write to Uncle Phil for information. He gave me a copy of the entire family tree as it had stood ten years earlier, a list of addresses also ten years out of date, and a large cardboard box full of loose photographs. We corresponded regularly for years, he sharing stories told to him by his parents, and I sharing genealogical discoveries made by writing to registries and archives. The "family project" was his passion, and I'm proud to carry it on.


WHO ARE WE NOW?

Today, about 400 descendants of Yisrael and Sheine Esther Briss live in the United States, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Europe. There are not many Jewish families that have managed to keep most of their branches connected 100 years after leaving the Old Country. My sons can say they've met their fifth cousins, with whom they share great-great-great-great-grandparents! Our founders were average, ordinary people, but they endured difficulties, they worked hard, and their descendants have covered the world like wildflowers.

There have been three major Briss Family reunions in 1982, 1996, and 2008. They have all been in Massachusetts, which is the seat of our family in the United States.

One of the most wonderful things about our family is how alike many of us look. There are certain features immediately recognizable as "the Briss face," and it is never more evident than when we smile at each other.


WHERE ARE OUR RESEARCH SOURCES?

Most of the knowledge of our family's roots has come from these sources:

I keep track of the family tree with Reunion genealogical software for Macintosh. I've been using Reunion since 1993 and I recommend it highly!

If you are a family member just discovering our website, welcome! We're glad you're here!



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