Kikhel family

Alternate spelling: Kichel

The earliest known family member is Shevel Kikhel, born in Raguva (Rogeve) sometime before 1806. He died before 1869, and his wife's name is unknown. The three known sons of Shevel Kikhel were:

I.  Moshe Kikhel was born in Raguva in 1822 and died in Troskunai (Trashkun) in 1902. He married Sora Dveyra Segal, who was born in Lithuania in 1823 and died in Troskunai in 1895. The three known children of Moshe Kikhel and Sora Dveyra Segal:

• Sholom Kikhel was born in Raguva in 1849.
• Shevel Yankel Kikhel was born ~1860 in Troskunai. On 19 August 1882 in Panevezys (Ponevezh) he married Chaya Sherman, who was born ~1860 in Pasvalys (Posvol). The two children of Shevel Yankel Kikhel and Chaya Sherman:
• Yudel Osher Kikhel, born in Troskunai in 1889.
• Gena Kikhel, born in Troskunai in 1890.
• Rikla Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1868. On 15 July 1921 in Panevezys she married Avraham Aba (Abel) Tankhum, who was born in 1863. Rikla died on 8 December 1932 in Panevezys. Abel was killed in the Holocaust at Pajuoste in August 1941, at age 78. The six children of Rikla Kikhel and Abel Tankhum:
• Shmuel (Samuel) Tankhum was born in 1887 or 1888 in Troskunai (Trashkun) or Subacius (Subotsh). On 19 September 1918 in Panevezys he married Rivka Gurevich/Gurvitz, who was born in 1896 in Pumpenai (Pumpyan). Shmuel, Rivka, and all their children were killed in August 1941, presumably at Pajuoste. The four children of Shmuel Tankhum and Rivka Gurevich:
• Golda Ella Tankhum was born in Troskunai on 17 June 1921. She was killed in August 1941 at the age of 20.
• Liba Tankhum was born in Troskunai on 4 March 1923. She was killed in August 1941 at the age of 18.
• Sara (Sora) Tankhum was born in Troskunai on 9 August 1924. She was killed in August 1941 at the age of 17.
• Dveira Tankhum was born in June 1928. She was killed in August 1941 at the age of 13.
• Osher Tankhum was born on 2 April 1890. He married Sora, who was born in 1896, daughter of Shlomo Mendel and Zisel. Osher, Sora, and all their children were killed in the Holocaust in August 1941, presumably at Pajuoste. The four children of Osher Tankhum and Sora:
• Lea Tankhum was born in Troskunai on 16 November 1923. She was killed in August 1941 at age 18.
• Rachel Tankhum was born in Troskunai on 1 March 1925. She was killed in August 1941 at age 16.
• Frida Tankhum was born in Troskunai on 9 December 1925. She was killed in August 1941 at age 16.
• Shlomo Tankhum was born in Troskunai on 28 May 1934. He was killed in August 1941 at age seven.
• Chaya Tankhum was born in Troskunai in 1895. On 15 July 1921 in Panevezys (Ponevezh) she married Nochum Gof, who was born in Šeduva (Shadeve) in 1889, and they settled in Panevezys. Chaya, Nochum, and all their children were killed at Pajuoste (Payost) in August 1941. The four children of Chaya Tankhum and Nochum Gof:
• Rochel Gof was born in Panevezys on 7 April 1922. She was killed in the Holocaust in August 1941.
• Leyb Gof was born in Panevezys on 20 June 1924. He was killed in the Holocaust in August 1941.
• Sholom Gof was born in Panevezys on 5 December 1927. He was killed in the Holocaust in August 1941.
• Avraham Gof was born in Panevezys on 12 May 1933. He was killed in the Holocaust in August 1941.
• Sora Dveyra Tankhum was born ~1901 in Troskunai. On 2 February 1926 in Panevezys she married David Kutnik, who was born in Juostininkai in 1901. The only known child of Sora Dveyra Tankhum and David Kutnik:
• Berel Kutnik was born on 23 November 1926 in Panevezys.
• Musya Tankhum was born in Troskunai in 1904. On 13 May 1937 in Panevezys she married Shmulik Yankel (Shmuel Yakov) Kotler, who was born in Ramygala (Remigole) in 1907. Musya, Shmulik Yankel, and their children were all killed in the Holocaust in August 1941, presumably at Pajuoste. The two children of Musya Tankhum and Shmulik Yankel Kotler:
• Rikla Kotler was born in Troskunai on 28 August 1938. She was killed in the Holocaust in August 1941.
• Dvora Kotler was born in Troskunai on 8 May 1940. She was killed in the Holocaust in August 1941.
• Moshe Tankhum, born in Troskunai in 1906.

II.  Meyrim Kikhel was born in Raguva in 1826. He married Mikhla Mina, who was born in Lithuania in 1827. Meyrim died before 1888. The four children of Meyrim and Mikhla Mina Kikhel:

• Gershon Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1849. He married Rokha Shapiro, who was born in 1859.
  PHOTO Rokha (Shapiro) Kikhel with daughters Feyga and Yenta
• The five children of Gershon Kikhel and Rokha Shapiro:
• Philip (Peysach) Kichel was born in Troskunai on 28 April 1884. He immigrated to the United States in 1906, and he married Gertrude Lurie from Lithuania. Philip died on 26 December 1945 in Mount Kisco, New York. The daughter of Philip Kichel and Gertrude Lurie:
• Ruth Kichel was born 20 September 1914 in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York. She died on 9 September 2000.
• Ester Rivka Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1884.

• Meyer Abba (Abel Meyrim) Kikhel (later Cohen) was born in Troskunai on 15 June 1888. He took the surname Cohen after immigrating to the US in 1907. In 1911 he married Becky Kapelushnik (later Kaplan), who was born ~1890 in Kavarskas (Kovarsk). Meyer died on 29 October 1947 in the Bronx, New York. Becky died on 27 July 1979 in Westchester County, New York.
  PHOTO Meyer and Becky (Kaplan) Cohen
• The five sons of Meyer Cohen and Becky Kaplan:

• George Cohen, born in 1915, died in 1992.
• Herman Cohen, born in 1917, died in 1999.
• Maurice Leon Cohen, born in 1921, died in 2006.
• Irving Cohen, born in 1924, died in 1965.
• Julius Cohen, born in 1926.
• PHOTO All five Cohen brothers served in the military.
• Feyga Dvera (Fannie) Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1889. She immigrated to the US in 1910.
• Yenta Matla Kikhel was born was born in Troskunai in 1890.
• Chaim Kikhel was born in 1851 in Raguva or Troskunai. He married Dvera (Dora) Boyer, who was born in Lithuania in 1852 and died in Chicago, Illinois, on 3 May 1933.
  PHOTO Dvera Boyer Kikhel with her son Yankel (Jacob) in Trashkun
• The 6 children of Chaim Kikhel and Dvera Boyer:
• Tzivya (later Celia) Kikhel was born ~1876 in Troskunai. In 1893 she married Reuven Yuzent (later Ugent), who was born in Troskunai in 1868. The family emigrated to the U.S. in the 1910s. On 29 August 1932 in Cook County, Illinois, Celia married her second husband, Hyman Barnard Goldberg. Celia died on 13 May 1940 in Chicago, Illinois. Reuven Kikhel died on 16 February 1947 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
  PHOTO Tzivya Kikhel Yuzent, her mother Dvera, and four sons in Ponevezh (~1905)
• The five children of Celia Kikhel and Reuven Ugent:  (See their grandchildren on the Yuzent family page)

• Morris Ugent (born Berel Moshe Yuzent) was born on 15 August 1895 in Lithuania. On 7 May 1921 he married Glika Berman, who was born 27 August 1899 in La Maz, Poland. Morris died on 22 November 1970 and Glika died on 17 September 1980, both in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Jacob Aaron Ugent (born Orel Yankel Yuzent) was born in Lithuania on 16 January 1896. Sometime before 1918 he married Rose Kardon, who was born 15 March 1902 in Warsaw, Poland. On 9 June 1949 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jacob Aaron married his second wife, Jennie Margolis, who was born in "Russia" on 29 April 1898. Jacob died 4 December 1970 in Dade County, Florida. Jennie died 4 September 1979 in Hollywood, Florida.
• Julius Meyer Ugent (born Yudel Meyer Yuzent) was born in Lithuania on 14 July 1899. Around 1926 he married Frieda Mullen, who was born in Canada on 5 September 1903. Frieda died on 30 March 1983, and Julius died on 21 October 1989, both in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Isidore Ugent (born Yuzent) was born in "Russia" in 1900. He died in Cook County, Illinois, on 25 November 1917.
• Ethel Minnie Ugent was born in Lithuania on 30 May 1909. In 1930 she married Gustave Taussig, who was born in 1908 and died in 1931, a year after their marriage. Ethel's second husband was Samuel Mullen, born in Wisconsin on 10 May 1910. Ethel died on 2 June 1960, and Samuel died on 10 July 1989, both in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Lena Jessie (Leah) Kikhel was born ~1880 in Troskunai. She married Louis Kimmel, who was born in Kaunas gubernia, 17 August 1876. Louis died on 18 January 1948 in Tucson, Arizona. Leah died on 18 September 1954 in Chicago, Illinois. The four children of Leah Kikhel and Louis Kimmel:
• Abba Kimmel, born ~1905 in Illinois.
• Winifred Kimmel, born ~1906 in Illinois.
• Alex Kimmel, born ~1907 in Illinois.
• Ida Kimmel, born ~1920 in Illinois.
• Rivka Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1881.
• Leyb Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1884. He died as a child in Troskunai on 19 September 1894.
• Jacob (Yankel) Kikhel (later Kissel) was born in Troskunai on 4 May 1892. He married Lena Zlotin, who was born in "Russia" on 4 December 1892. Jacob died in October 1976, and Lena died on 17 April 1981, both in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  PHOTO Yankel (Jacob) Kikhel as a child with his mother Dvera in Trashkun
• The two children of Jacob Kissel and Lena Zlotin:
• Leo Kissel was born in Illinois on 17 January 1915. He married Ruth Miletzky, and he died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 4 April 2005.
• Paul B. Kissel was born in Illinois on 11 November 1917. His first wife was Dene, and his second wife was Millie. Paul died on 11 October 2009 in Boulder City, Nevada.

• Mary (Miriam) Kikhel (later Cohen)^[NOTE]After Mary's father Chaim Kikhel died, Mary's mother Dvera remarried, hence the new surname Cohen. was born in Troskunai on 1 September 1894. Mary emigrated to the U.S. in 1912 and on 16 March 1914 in Cook County, Illinois, she married Louis/Hilke (Chaim Gilel) Kovitz (born Itzikovich). Hilke/Louis was born in Troskunai in 1891. He died in Chicago, Illinois, on 11 March 1962. Mary died on 24 August 1984 in Glenview, Illinois.
  PHOTO Mary Kikhel Kovitz with her husband Hilke/Louis
  PHOTO Mary Kikhel Kovitz
• The three children of Mary Kikhel Cohen and Louis/Hilke Kovitz:
• Jack (Jacob, Yankel, Yakov) Kovitz, born 9 December 1914 in Chicago, Illinois. Jack married Anita, who was born 18 December 1916. Anita died on 6 November 1986, and Jack died on 27 September 1995, both in Pinellas, Florida.  PHOTO Anita and Jack Kovitz
• Philip Bernard Kovitz was born 4 June 1928 in Chicago, Illinois. He married Josephine (Jo) Frieda Ray, who was born in 1930. Philip died on 6 April 1981 in Morton Grove, Illinois.
  PHOTO Philip and Jo (Josephine Ray) Kovitz
• Sonia (Sheyna Hinda) Kovitz was born 20 October 1932 in Chicago, Illinois. On 24 August 1955 she married William Crost, who died in Illinois in January 2016.
• Meyer Kikhel (later Cohen)^[NOTE]After Meyer's father Chaim Kikhel died, Meyer's mother Dvera remarried, hence the new surname Cohen. was born 10 December 1899 in Lithuania. He married Anne Rosenbloom, who was born ~1905 in Lithuania. Meyer died on 28 October 1976. The two children of Meyer Cohen and Anne Rosenbloom:
• Bernard Cohen, born ~March 1925 in Iowa.
• David Cohen, born ~November 1929 in Illinois.
• Sheyna Hinda Kikhel was born in Troskunai between 1850 and 1857. She married Leyb Levin, who was born in 1850 in Ukmerge uyezd, Lithuania. Leyb died sometime between 1920 and 1927. Sheyna Hinda died in Troskunai on 18 October 1927.
• Shevel Yankel Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1869. He married Rokhla, who was born in Lithuania in 1865. The two known children of Shevel Yankel and Rokhla:
• Meyrim Kikhel, born in Troskunai in 1888.
• Sora Kikhel, born in Troskunai in 1893.

III.  Mikhel Gershon Kikhel was born ~1828 in Troskunai or Raguva. He married Leah, who was born in 1834. On 1 August 1877 in Panevezys, Mikhel Gershon married his second wife, Rasha Kremer, who was born between 1840 and 1847 in Pumpenai (Pumpyan). Mikhel Gershon died in Troskunai in 1903, and Rasha died in Troskunai in 1908.

• The three children of Mikhel Gershon Kikhel and his first wife Leah (see below for child with his second wife):
• Sholom Gershe Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1851. He married Kuna Gesa, who was born in Lithuania in 1855. The four children of Sholom Girsha Kikhel and Kuna Gesa:
• Leyb Tubiash Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1880 or 1890. He married Liba Shraiberg, who was born in Troskunai in 1882. (Leyb Kikhel is mentioned in Berl Glezer's memoir.) Leyb was killed in 1941, presumably at Pajuoste. The three children of Leyb Tubiash Kikhel and Liba Shraiberg:
• Zana Kikhel, born in Troskunai in 1909.
• Mordkhel Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1911. On 17 December 1939 in Panevezys (Ponevezh), he married Chaya Gena Shulman, who was born in 1913 in Vidžiai (Vidzh, then in Poland, now in Belarus).
• Yankel Elia Kikhel, born in Troskunai in 1922.
• Abram Abel (Abba) Kikhel was born in 1885 in Troskunai. He married Frida Musha Vigotski, who was born in Vilnius (Vilna) in 1882 or 1900. (Abba Kikhel is mentioned in Berl Glezer's memoir.) Abba and Frida were killed in 1941, presumably at Pajuoste. The four children of Abba Kikhel and Frida Musha Vigitzki:

• Mikhel Kikhel was born in Troskunai on 25 December 1908. He was a tailor. In Kaunas on 3 August 1929, Mikhel and his younger brother Sholom were arrested for being members of the communist party. Mikhel married Riva Einhorn, who was born in Vilnius (Vilna) on 17 October 1910. Mikhel and his family lived in Šiauliai (Shavl) when World War II broke out. They were confined in the Šiauliai ghetto on 15 August 1941. When the ghetto was liquidated, Mikhel and Riva were sent to Stutthof concentration camp, arriving on 25 July 1944. Mikhel was found in Germany in 1946. The fate of Riva and the children is unknown.^[NOTE]If the children survived the children's Aktion in the Siauliai ghetto on 5 November 1943, they were most likely sent from Stutthof to Auschwitz soon after the Siauliai ghetto was liquidated, along with all children under age 16 and mothers who were unable to work.
  PHOTO Mikhel Kikhel police photos (1929)
  DOCUMENT Mikhel Kikhel's record at Stutthof concentration camp (1944)
  DOCUMENT Riva (Einhorn) Kikhel's record at Stutthof concentration camp (1944)
• The two children of Mikhel Kikhel and Riva Einhorn:
• Pera Kikhel was born in Šiauliai (Shavl) on 12 January 1935. She was listed as a Šiauliai ghetto inmate in 1942.
• Wulf Kikhel was born in Šiauliai (Shavl) on 24 October 1940. He was listed as a Šiauliai ghetto inmate in 1942.
• Sholom Meyer Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1914. In Kaunas on 12 September 1929, he and his older brother Mikhel were arrested for being members of the communist party. On 8 August 1937 in Kaunas, Sholom married Sheyna (Sonia) Gurevich, who was born in Kaunas in 1912. Sholom was killed in the Shoah in 1944.
  PHOTO Sholom Kikhel police photos (1929)
• Shevel Yankel (Jakob Saul) Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1919. He was a tailor, and he lived in Kaunas (Kovno) when World War II broke out. Shevel Yankel was killed in 1941.

• Zalman Kikhel (later Kikhli) was born in Troskunai on 15 October 1923. Zalman lived in Šiauliai (Shavl) when World War II broke out. He was confined in the Šiauliai ghetto on 10 August 1941. When the ghetto was liquidated, Zalman was sent to Stutthof concentration camp, then Dachau, where he arrived on 18 August 1944. After liberation Zalman was in Bamberg, Germany, then Bari, Italy, before finally immigrating to Israel in 1948. He lived in Kibbutz Givat Brenner. In 1957 Zalman gave testimony about what happened to residents of Troskunai during the war. He married Shoshana Ginsburg, who was born in Petah Tikva on 12 January 1925, and they had a daughter named Hagit. Zalman Kikhli died on 11 July 2000. Shoshana died on 15 December 2014.
  DOCUMENT Zalman Kikhel's record at Stutthof concentration camp
  DOCUMENT Zalman Kikhel's application for postwar assistance (30 December 1947)
  PHOTO Zalman Kikhel/Kikhli (1948-49 and 1960s)
  PHOTO Shoshana Kikhli (1950s)
  PHOTO Zalman Kikhli at reunion of Trashkuners in Israel (1987)
  PHOTO Gravestones of Zalman and Shoshana Kikhli
• Chaya Noyma Kikhel, born in Troskunai in 1889.
• Moshe Bine (Binyomin) Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1900. He married Chaya Shula (Shulamit) Shmit. Both were killed in 1941, presumably at Pajuoste. The two known children of Moshe Bine Kikhel and Chaya Shula Shmit:
• Chasya Leya, born in 1921.
• Chaim Hirsh, born in Panevezys (Ponevezh) on 22 June 1927.
• Shevel Yankel Kikhel was born ~1865 in Troskunai. He married Rokha, who was born in Lithuania in 1865. Shevel Yankel died in Vilnius (Vilna) on 21 August 1915. The four children of Shevel Yankel Kikhel and Rokha:
• Chaim Borukh Kikhel was born in Troskunai in 1883. On 3 February 1904 in Vilnius, he married Rasha Leyzerovich, who was born in 1884 in Ariogala (Ragole). The child of Chaim Borukh Kikhel and Rasha Leyzerovich:
• Mikhla Kikhel, born in Vilnius on 12 August 1904.
• Sheyna Kikhel, born in Troskunai in 1884.
• Gena Leah Kikhel, born in Troskunai in 1886.
• Bluma Kikhel, born 28 May 1899 in Naujamiestis (Nayshtot-Ponevezh), Vilnius.
• Abram Gershon Kikhel was born ~1870 in Troskunai. He was a tailor. On 20 January 1898 in Pumpenai (Pumpyan) he married Shora Dina Maler, who was born in Pumpenai in ~1870. Shora Dina died in Troskunai on 31 May 1913. Abram Gershon then married Bluma Gurevich, who was born in 1884. The family was evacuated to Penza, Russia, during World War I and returned home in 1921. ^[NOTE]In 1915, during World War I, tens of thousands of Jews were forcibly expelled to the east by the Russian authorities. Most returned to their homes after the war.
• The five children of Abram Gershon Kikhel and his first wife, Shora Dina Maler:
• Yenta Elka Kikhel, born in Panevezys (Ponevezh) on 24 January 1900.
• Feyga Ita Kikhel, born in Panevezys on 14 October 1901.
• Yankel Eliash Kikhel, born in Panevezys on 5 August 1903, died in Panevezys on 9 February 1904, before reaching his first birthday.
• Mikhel Ber Kikhel, born in Panevezys on 17 December 1908.
• Alter Kikhel, born in 1910.
• The child of Abram Gershon Kikhel and his second wife, Bluma Gurevich:
• Tzirle (Chava) Kikhel, born in 1920, likely in Penza, Russia.
• The child of Mikhel Gershon Kikhel and his second wife Rasha Kremer:
• Pesa Kreyna Kikhel, born in Troskunai in 1882.

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• Compiled by Johanna Kovitz with research by Jonathan Levine
• © 2017 Jonathan Levine & Johanna Kovitz
• Updated August 2022