KAGAN/COHEN family summary

If you'd like to join my KAGAN mailing list on RootsWeb:

My father's side of the family:

Here is an overview of Abraham KAGAN and his descendants.

If you think you've found a match or have info to update/correct, please contact me with your info.

My dad's parents were Fannie (Fay) STERN, nee Fejgel SZTERN, and Samuel Louis COHEN (ne Scheil KAGAN).

They were born in 1907. Sam died in 1985, Fannie in 1997.

Samuel's parents were Miriam NEWMAN (it says "Mere Sheveleva" in Russian on her passport) and Abraham KAGAN ("KAGAN" got changed to "COHEN" when they came over; when my dad got married, he changed his name back to "KAGAN").

Sam came to NYC with his mother and three of his siblings in 1913 on the ship Pretoria, which was part of the "Hamburg-Amerika Linie", via Hamburg. I'm guessing that his older siblings came over earlier, with their father. Confirmation? Sam's family was from near Minsk, Byelorus (Belarus, aka. "White Russia"). The town may have been called Shenehava or Shinvhoo (Sam mentioned both names). Their ticket lists the town's name, but I'm not familiar with 1913 American or German cursive and can't make it out. It doesn't look like either of the names Sam told me. Other people have suggested that the name might be Siulganov, Sinlgowv, or Siulgowv. Ideas?

their ticket

the town name

The web page Mestechki of Minsk Gubernia lists a mestechko (sort of like a shtetl, in Minsk) that has a similar enough name to be of interest:

Extracted (see above web page) from the Spisok Naselennykh Myest Minskoi Guberniy gazetteer published in 1909 (LDS microfilm # 1923576):

Name:  Samokhvalovichi
Uezd:  Mn (Minsk)
Volost:  Samokhvalovichsk-
Closest railway station:  Fanipol
Railway line:  MB = Moskovsko-Brestskaya railway line (Moscow-Brest)
Distance in viorsts to the above station:  10 * 0.662 miles/versta = 6.62 miles
Population:  477
Distance in viorsts to Uezd capital:  18 * 0.662 mi/v = 11.916 miles
Distance to Volost capital:  -- (it was the capital)
Number of Homesteads:  61

When Sam died in the 1980s, he was buried in NY, in Wellwood Cemetery, Suffolk County, Long Island (see here for a huge version of the above map). When Fannie died in 1997, she was buried next to Sam. A marker near Sam's grave mentions the Lubaner Benevolent Society. A correspondent has referred me to YIVO, in NY, for more information on this group (apparently, it consisted of people who came from the Luban area). In searching for Luban in AltaVista, I came across a mention of the AJGS Cemetery Project for Belarus, which had found a Jewish cemetery in Luban (52.37N, 29.08E, "due south of Bobroisk about 40km"). If you know more about Luban and/or the Lubaner Benevolent Society, please e-mail me.

Sam had brothers named Ben and Isidore (Itzok) COHEN, and sisters named Bessie (Beatrice or Bassie) and Sadie (Sonia Gittle). There may have been other siblings who didn't come over, but we have no info if this is the case.

Sadie, the oldest, married a man named Louis ROSENZWEIG. Their children are Ephraim "Fred", Alexander "Alex", Nathan "Nat", Mortimor "Marty", and Solomon "Sol" ROSENZWEIG.

Benjamin, the next oldest, married a woman named Sadie. They had children named Lily and Solomon.

Itzok, who changed his name to Isodore and went by "Izzy", was born in about 1904. He married a woman named Ann or Anna, who died; they had a daughter named Helen. After his wife died, Izzy married a woman named Beatrice "Bea".

Bessie was born in about 1905. She married a man named Joseph MARTIN. Their children are Herman and Sewell MARTIN. Herman died in 1999; Sewell lives in Texas.

Bessie was buried in Beth David Cemetery, Nassau County, Long Island (see here for a huge version of the above map).

Isidore (Izzy) married a woman named Anna, who died, and then a woman named Beatrice (Bea).

My grandfather was the youngest.

Miriam/Mary's father was Shaul NOZICK; my grandpa Sam once said he had been named for this man. As confirmation, "Mere Sheveleva" would be "Mary/Miriam, Shaul's daughter" in Russian.

Grandpa's surviving siblings/their children live in Texas and New Jersey. If you are or know one of the people listed above, please contact me.

10/19/99 update: One of my dad's cousins just e-mailed me a wonderful spreadsheet with tons of information on Miriam's parents, siblings, and their many children. It seems NEWMAN was originally NOZICK... It will take a long time for me to integrate all of the details my database, so for now I'll just note what I can on a new NOZICK/NEWMAN page.

Here is a quickie HTML version of the spreadsheet that cousin sent me. It's also linked to from the NOZICK/NEWMAN page.

KAGAN links on the Net (don't think they're related, but who knows?):

• a list of residents of Yurburg, Lithuania

• Ken Kahn: "My father's name originally was KAGAN and he came from Byelorus, not too far from Minsk. His family lived mostly in Berezin and in Bobruysk. The earliest KAGAN about whom I know anything is my great-grandfather Akiva. I know from his gravestone that his father's name was Baruch Yoel, but I don't know anything else about his father. Akiva and his wife Elka Starobinetz had twelve children who survived childhood. Akiva and Elka came to this country in 1930 with seven of their twelve children. My guess is that Akiva was born around 1860...There was considerable marriage between KAGANs, Astrachans and Starobinetzes; often between cousins. I know more about the Astrachans and Starobinetzes than I do about the KAGANs..."
• Don COHEN: "I live in Australia, and am trying to make up my family tree. My great grand father came from eastern Europe or western Russia. His name was Moris COHEN (alias Berschoff). He married Zipporah Binder in Leeds England & died in Perth, Western Australia. If you know anything about his family I would appreciate hearing. I would also be interested to find out what you have traced, as I am doing as much as I can."

• Mike ROSENZWEIG, who is seeking information on Berek Rozencwajg born 1888 in Checiny, Poland. Emigrated to US in 1928. Also researching: Skura, Chmielnik, Poland > US 1888-1928; Lavallee, France > Quebec > US 1890; Pelletier, France > Quebec 1595-1850.

Page last updated Friday, 13-Feb-2009 10:18:41 EST