Ida (Eda) Shoolberg

records from Lithuania from Merkine:

1858 Revision Lists

family of David Zirilstein

• David son of Itsko age 40
• Izrael son of David age 14
• Kelia (sic Keila) daughter of Mordkhel age 41
• Itka daughter of David age 11
• Shulka daugher of David, no age given
• Golda daughter of David, no age given

So 1847 birthdate for Ida Bernstein / Zirilstein, most likely in Merkine (Merecz) Lithuania which is southwest of Vilna about 120 miles. Merkine was a thriving town with a yeshiva and is best known in American Jewish circles as the birthplace of Ida's nephew, Max Leopold Margolis, son of Ida's sister Hinde (Golda) and her first cousin, Issac Margolis, son of Elijah Margolis, Keila Bernstein/Zirilstein's brother.

As for Tsyrlshtein / Zirilstein, according to Neil Rosenstein (1984), David Bernstein took this name to avoid military conscription, which was a common practice at that time.