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There were a number of Cohen families (Kagan in the records) in
Kupiskis and this one came originally from Obeliai, Lithuania. Menashe (Mnase
in the records) Kagan (1830-1892) was born in Obeliai and died in Kupiskis.
The photo taken in South Africa in the 1940's is of Menashe Kagan's
grandson, Nossen-Beinis Kagan (later Kahn in South Africa) and his wife
Pese-Chaia Reznik. They came to South Africa in 1930 with their children
Feige (Fanny), Benjamin, Libe-Matle (Lily), and Mordkhel-Leibe (Max) and then
later had Zelda and Leslie. Two of their
children can be seen in the School Photos section of the Photograph Album.
Nossen-Beinis, or Nathan as he was known in South Africa, dealt in business with farmers who found his name of Kagan too hard to pronounce. Therefore, he changed his name to Kahn to facilitate his business dealings. This anglicizing of their last names was a common practice amongst Jews who left Lithuania.
Nossen-Beinis Kagan was the son of Mordkhel-Leiba ben Menashe Kagan and
his wife Rochel-Leah bat Nossen, who had eleven children. Only three survived
and little further is known of this branch of the Kagan family.
Mordkhel-Leiba Kagan had a brother Abel-Chaim Kagan who married Chaya-Feige
Luria and they had three children Base Kagan Hurvitz, Sheine Kagan Hurvitz, and
Ida Kagan Prozer. Base married Izrael Hurvitz and came to Johannesburg,
South Africa, with her twin sons Meier and Menashe. Her two sisters
and their families were killed in the Holocaust. Another branch of the
Kagan family lived in Muizenburg, South Africa, but not much is known of them
either.
In regard to Nossen-Beinis Kagan's wife, Pese-Chaia Reznik, she was the daughter
of Yehoshua-Shlomo Reznik and Fruma-Zelda bat Mausa Mandelzon and his wife Pese.
Pese-Chaia had one brother Mausa Reznik who married Hinda-Leah Kadishevich from Anyksciai and they had two children,
Rachmiel, born
1930, and Rochel, born 1935, and they went to Akron, OH to live.
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