Gittel Bucher (1870 - 1926)

Gittel Bucher is the first wife of Nochum Aaron Steckoll, known as Aaron, the brother-in-law of Rachel Levin, my 2x great aunt. Levin family HERE. Steckoll family HERE.

Parents: Simon Bucher

Born: 1870 in Varaklani, Latvia

Hebrew name: Gitel daughter of Shimon

Married:

1) Nochum Aaron Steckoll on 16 August 1890 in Varaklani, Latvia. Aaron was 23 and Gittel was 20

Jewish metrical marriage record for Aaron and Gittel, who were married in Varaklani, Latvia on 16 August 1890. The dowry was 400 rubles. 

Groom: Nokhum-Aron Stekol
Groom's Name: Nokhum-Aron Stekol (Нохумъ-Аронъ Стеколь)
Father's Name: Iosel Stekol (Iosel' syn Nokhumova).
Status/Origin: Listed as a meshanin (townsman or petit bourgeois) from Varaklani.

Bride: Gitel Bukh
Bride's Name: Gitel Bukh (Гитель Бухъ)
Father's Name: Simen Bukh
Status/Origin: Daughter of a townsman

Marriage summary for Aaron and Gittel, who were married in Varaklani, Latvia on 16 August 1890

Children

Their first child was born in 1893 when Aaron was 26 and Gittel 23. The last child was born in 1903 when Aaron was 36 and Gittel 33

• Simon Steckoll (1893 - 1935)
• Maurice Steckoll (1895 - 1948)
• Jack Steckoll (1898 - 1989)
• Eva Steckoll (1903 - 1983)

Death

10 December 1926 in Ladybrand, South Africa age 57. She was buried in the Jewish Cemetery there

Burial

Jewishgen Cemetery record for Gittel

Place of Birth

Aaron was born in Varaklani, Latvia

The Jewish community in 

Varaklani

 officially began to form in the late 18th century, shortly after the region was annexed by the Russian Empire. While a few Jewish families may have lived in the area earlier, the community truly took root around 1780. By 1797, there were 413 Jewish residents recorded in the town, a number that grew steadily as Varaklani became an important trading post. Throughout the 19th century, the population expanded rapidly due to migration from nearby Lithuania and Belarus. By 1847, the number of Jewish residents had increased to 584 people, and religious life began to flourish under leaders like Rabbi Aharon Zelig Zioni, who headed the community during this mid-century growth.

The community reached its numerical peak in 1897, when a census recorded 1,357 Jews, which accounted for approximately 75% of the town's total population. During this era, the town was led by Rabbi Abraham bar Gabai, who served as the chief rabbi for five decades starting in 1873, and Rabbi Jacob Pollak, who served as the crown rabbi. This overwhelming majority meant that for several decades, Varaklani functioned almost entirely as a Jewish town where the rhythms of life were dictated by religious law and the Hebrew calendar.

The population began to fluctuate during the early 20th century due to the turmoil of World War I and the Russian Revolution. In 1920, the first census of the newly independent Republic of Latvia recorded 868 Jewish residents, a significant decline from the pre-war peak. However, the community remained the dominant group in the town, and by 1925, the number had climbed back up to 991 people. During this period of Latvian independence, Jewish citizens became deeply integrated into the town’s governance. Reuven Arsh achieved significant prominence as the town’s mayor, while Michael Kagan served as the deputy mayor.

By the eve of the Holocaust in 1935, the Jewish population stood at 952 people, making up roughly 57% of the town’s residents. This community was supported by a network of merchant families with surnames such as Zogut, Schneir, Chait, Kaplan, Morain, Matchevsky, Steiner, Boorenstein, Berzon, Kopolovitch, Kodish, Solevy, Shvalb, and Fingerhuts. These families maintained the town's shops, schools, and cultural institutions until the Nazi invasion in 1941.

The destruction of this community began shortly after German forces entered Varaklani in early July 1941. Immediate restrictions were placed on Jewish residents, and they were forced into a provisional ghetto established next to the Jewish cemetery. On August 4, 1941, a German SD unit known as the Arājs Commando, assisted by local Latvian self-defenders and police, carried out a mass execution. Approximately 540 Jews were taken to the cemetery and shot to death in pits they had been forced to dig themselves. Rabbi Eliezer-Yaakov Hacohen Grodsky, the final spiritual leader, was particularly mistreated during this event; he was dragged to the execution site with his beard tied to a horse’s tail. After the massacre, local peasants were forced to fill in the mass graves. Before their retreat in 1944, German authorities ordered the bodies to be burned to destroy evidence of the crime