Our branch of the Sperber family is from the towns of Sambor and Stryj (also known as Stryy, Stryi, and Stryi, in what is now in western Ukraine. Sambor and Stryj were within in the region of Galicia, which covered an area of what is now southeastern Poland and western Ukraine. From the 1700's through 1919, Stryj was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War I, most of Galicia (including Sambor and Stryj) became part of Poland. After World War II, the city became part of Ukraine (which was in turn part of the Soviet Union), and since 1991 has been part of the independent republic of Ukraine. For further information about Stryj, click here.
Location of Stryj (just south of middle of map)
Marketplace in Stryj, about 1903
Sperber is a fairly common name--the word "Sperber" is German for "sparrow hawk". For the most part, Jews did not take last names until the late 1700's, and when they did, their last name often reflected the town they were from, their occupation, signs on their house, or some personal attribute. So, it's possible that the first Sperber either had a picture of a sparrow hawk on their house, or had some other attribute reflecting a hawk.
This web site traces the descendents of Mechel David Sperber.
Mechel David had 5 sons--Eleazer (Luzer), Elie, Kalman, Salamon, and Morris, all
born in Sambor.
No information has been found about Elie and Salamon other than their
birth records.
Each of the other branches (Eleazer, Kalman, and Morris) is profiled on a separate page on this
site.
Go to Mechel David
Sperber 
Go to Eleazer (Luzer) Sperber and
descendants
Go to Kalman Sperber and descendants
Go to Morris Sperber and descendants
Go to Main Sperber Page
This page last updated 14 July 2007