Kushner family

alternate spellings: Kusner, Kusnir, Kushnir

The earliest known family member is Abram Khonel Kushner, who was born in Raguva (yiddish: Rogeve) before 1829. His wife's name was Paya. Abram Khonel died before 1868, and Paya died before 1875. The two known children of Abram Khonel and Paya Kushner:

I.  Berko (Dov) Kushner was born in Raguva in 1846. He married Pera, who was born in 1845. Berko died on 20 July 1893, and Pera died in 1892, both in Troskunai.

• The seven known children of Berko and Pera Kushner:
• Abraham (Abram Itzke) Kushner (later Butler) was born in Troskunai in ~1868. In 1891 he married Basia Dvera, who was born in Lithuania in 1868. Basia was the mother of Abram's four children. On 17 November 1907 in Chicago, Illinois, Abram married his second wife, Ida (Chaya) Freeman. Ida was born in "Russia" in ~1885. Abram died in Chicago, Illinois, on 11 November 1927. Ida died in Illinois on 6 May 1934. The four children of Abram and his first wife, Basia Dvera:
• Mortkhel Kushner
• Alexander Kushner (later Butler) was born in ~1893 in "Russia."
• Benjamin David Butler was born in ~1897 in Washington, DC. He married Ida (Adeline) Korolewsky, who was born in ~1905 in "Russia." Benjamin died on 7 February 1968, and Ida died on 2 July 1986, both in Chicago, Illinois.
• Samuel Butler was born in ~1898 in Washington, DC.
• Chaya Beyla Kushner was born in Troskunai in ~1870.
• Moshe (later David Moses) Kushner was born in Troskunai on 9 April 1876. In Panevezys (yiddish: Ponevezh) on 3 March 1898 he married Sora Rivka (Sarah Rebecca) Viten (later Witten), who was born in Pumpenai (yiddish: Pumpyan) on 15 March 1873. They immigrated to Danville, Virginia, where David served as a rabbi. David died on 30 August 1964, and Sarah died on 8 May 1966, both in Danville, Virginia. The five children of David Moses Kushner and Sarah Rebecca Viten:
• Herman Barry Kushner was born on 27 June 1899. He married Louise Marie Dillard, who was born on 4 September 1914. Herman died on 21 June 1986, and Louise died on 28 September 1999, both in Danville, Virginia. The three children of Herman Barry Kushner and Louise Marie Dillard:
• Bonnie Lynn Kushner
• Pia (Patricia Ann) Kushner
• Terri Leigh Kushner
• Pauline Kushner, born in ~1902, married name Cohen.
• Benjamin Prince Kushner was born in Danville, Virginia, on 4 July 1905. He married Gertrude Sater, who was born 23 April 1915. Benjamin died on 26 December 1981, and Gertrude died 7 September 1983, both in Danville, Virginia. The known child of Benjamin Prince Kushner and Gertrude Sater:
• Carol L. Kushner
• Samuel Albert Kushner was born on 14 August 1908. He married Margaret Bane, who was born on 23 October 1912 in Rockingham County, North Carolina. Margaret died on 31 July 1979, and Samuel died on 19 October 1979, both in Danville, Virginia. The three children of Samuel Albert Kushner and Margaret Bane:
• Jerome Bane Kushner
• Samuel Albert Kushner, Jr.
• Bruce H. Kushner
• Robert Lee Kushner was born in Danville, Virginia, on 1 September 1911. On 5 October 1932 in Cherokee, Alabama, he married Virginia Lee Moret, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on 12 January 1914 and died in Atlanta on 30 June 1937. Sometime before 1940 Robert married Jean Fuchs, who was born on 22 November 1917. Robert, a dentist and a lieutenant colonel in the US Army, died on 8 September 1979 in Danville, Virginia. Jean Fuchs died on 24 November 2002 in Port Orange, Florida.
• The son of Robert Lee Kushner and his first wife, Virginia Lee Moret:
• Stuart Warren Kushner
• The son of Robert Lee Kushner and his second wife, Jean Fuchs:
• Robert L. Kushner, Jr.
• Floyd Harold Kushner
• Ben Fox Kushner
• Zelik Kushner (later Butler) was born in Troskunai on 10 February 1875. He married Chaya Rasha (later Ida) Shtikhman, who was born in "Russia" in ~1878. Ida died on 30 December 1926, and Zelik died on 18 September 1944, both in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The four children of Zelik and Ida Kushner/Butler:
• Reyza Pera Kushner (later Rose Butler) was born in Troskunai in 1900. She died in 1975 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• Samuel (Shmuel) Butler was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on 15 January 1904. He died in Chattanooga on 22 October 1958.
• Sarah Leah Butler was born in Tennessee in ~March 1909.
• Betty Butler was born on 6 March 1917. Her married name was Greer. Betty died on 11 September 1964.
• Paya (later Polly) Kushner was born in Troskunai on 5 December 1876, and emigrated to the United States. She married Louis Harry Cash, who was born in 1876. Polly died on 28 December 1941, and Louis died on 16 October 1962, both in Chattannooga, Tennessee. The five children of Polly Kushner and Louis Harry Cash:
• Benjamin L. Cash was born on 10 December 1906. On 16 January 1946 he married Rose Ross. Benjamin died on 23 July 1974.
• Joseph Cash was born on 24 May 1910. He married Miriam Bretschneider, who was born in Czernowitz (now in Ukraine) on 12 March 1914. Miriam died on 27 July 1985 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Joseph died on 24 April 1993.
• Marvin Moses (Mickey) Cash was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on 10 November 1921. In 1945 he married Selma Rosalie Greenberg, who was born in New York, New York, on 2 March 1927. Marvin died on 17 May 2002 in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Selma died on 1 May 2016 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• Pearl Cash, married name Zapisotsky, later changed to Zapson.
• Leona Cash, married name Byers.
• Shevel (Saul) Kushner (later Butler) was born in Troskunai in ~1884. He emigrated to the United States, using the spelling Kusner before changing his surname to Butler. On 30 June 1914 in Chicago, Illinois, he married Lillian Kaden, who was born in Chicago on 28 November 1894. Lillian died in Chicago on 21 June 1915. On 9 December 1917 in Cook County, Illinois, Saul married Kate (Gittel) Bertha Levin, who was born in Missouri in ~1894. Saul died in Chicago in May 1972. Kate died in Niles, Illinois, in 1980.
• The child of Saul Butler and his first wife, Lillian Kaden:
• Leon Bernard Butler was born in Cook County, Illinois, on 11 May 1915. He married Gertrude Lappe, who was born in Chicago in 1906. Gertrude died on 23 July 1954, and Leon died on 10 August 1984, both in Chicago, Illinois. The child of Leon Butler and Gertrude Lappe:
• Corwin Jay Butler was born in Chicago on 3 August 1943. He married (wife's name unknown) and had three children. Corwin died in Naperville, Illinois, on 5 April 2002.
• The three children of Saul Butler and his second wife, Kate Bertha Levin:
• Harold Richard Butler was born in Chicago, Illinois, on 22 October 1918. He married Beatrice Natalie Scheffler, who was born in Chiago on 4 June 1919. Harold died on 25 June 2002 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Beatrice died on 2 October 2005 in Lake Worth, Florida. The child of Harold Butler and Beatrice Scheffler:
• Jeffrey Butler
• Ralph Butler was born in Chicago in 1925. He died in New York, New York in 1972.
• Alan Lester Butler was born in Chicago on 26 August 1926. He married but his wife's name is unknown. Alan died in Niles, Illinois, on 9 March 2008.
• Sarah (Sora) Kushner was born in Troskunai in ~1887. It's likely she died in the United States.

II.  Yakov (Yankel) Kushner was born in Troskunai in April 1848. He married Mariasha (Maria), born in ~1848, daughter of Eliezer. Yakov is mentioned in an account of the 1915 pogrom in Troskunai. Yakov died in Troskunai on 12 January 1929. Mariasha died in 1930.
DOCUMENT Yankel Kushner's passport (1917)
PHOTO Gravestone of Yakov and Mariasha Kushner

• The four known children of Yakov and Mariasha Kushner:
• Paya Kushner was born in Troskunai in 1875. She married Itzik Israel Rutenberg, who was born in ~1876 in Ukmerge (yiddish: Vilkomir), Lithuania. Paya and Israel Rutenberg are mentioned in an account of the 1915 pogrom in Troskunai. Israel died in 1919. According to Berl Glezer's memoir, he was shot in 1919 by Lithuanian partisans. Paya was killed in the Holocaust in August 1941 at Pajuoste. The four children of Paya Kushner and Israel Rutenberg:
• Mikhel Rutenberg was born in ~1904.
• Leya Rutenberg was born in 1906.
• Mera (Mari) Rutenberg was born in Troskunai in 1908. On 28 March 1933 in Troskunai she married Elye Nosen (Natan) Barkhin, who was born in 1909 in Sarkovscizna (now Sharkovshizna in Belarus). Both were killed in the Holocaust at Pajuoste in August 1941, along with their children. The two children of Mera Rutenberg and Nosen Barkhin:
• Israel Itzik Barkhin was born in Troskunai on 18 February 1935. He was killed at Pajuoste in August 1941.
• Yakov (Yankel) Barkhin was born in Troskunai on 13 October 1938. He was killed at Pajuoste in August 1941.

• Rochel (Rochka) Rutenberg was born in Troskunai in 1909. She emigrated to Palestine on 28 January 1934.
  PHOTO Rochka Rutenberg with Trashkuner friends
  PHOTO Rochka Rutenberg with Trashkuner chalutzim (26 April 1930)
  PHOTO Rochka Rutenberg with chalutzim (~1930)
• Chava Kushner was born in Troskunai in 1877.
• Sora Kushner was born in Troskunai in 1884.

• Shlomo Chaim (Shleyme) Kushner was born in Troskunai in ~1888. He married Dobra Stokol, who was born in Raguva in 1890. (Shleyme and Dobra are mentioned Part I of Berl Glezer's memoir. Part II tells how the family attempted to escape when World War II broke out but were forced to turn back.) Shleyme and Dobra were both killed at Pajuoste in August 1941.
  PHOTO Shlomo (Shleyme) Kushner, Troskunai
  PHOTO Dobra (Stokol) Kushner, Troskunai
  DOCUMENT Shlomo Kushner's application for Lithuanian ID (internal passport)
  DOCUMENT Dobra Kushner's application for Lithuanian ID (internal passport)
• The eight children of Shlomo Kushner and Dobra Stokol:
• Dvora (Dveira, Dverka) Kushner was born in Troskunai in 1910. In Kupiskis (Kupishok) in 1940 she married Leib Rubin Slavinsky, who was born in Kupiskis in 1908. (Berl Glezer's memoir tells of her family's unsuccessful attempt to escape at the outbreak of World War II.) Dveira, Leib, and their four-month-old son were killed at Pajuoste in August 1941.
  PHOTO Dveira Kushner
  DOCUMENT Dveira Kushner's application for Lithuanian ID (internal passport)
• The child of Dvora Kushner and Leib Rubin Slavinsky:
• [son], born in early 1941, killed at Pajuoste in August 1941.
• Eliahu (Elye, Elke) Kushner was born in Troskunai in 1911. He was killed on 24 June 1941, while trying to escape at the outbreak of World War II. (Berl Glezer mentioned Elke in Part I and Part II of his memoir, and included a brief account of his killing. Shmuel Kovnovich wrote a more detailed account.)
  PHOTO Elke Kushner
  DOCUMENT Elke Kushner's application for Lithuanian ID (internal passport)
• Chaya Kushner was born in Troskunai in ~1913. In Traupis (Treyp) on 28 August 1934, she married Khonel Ruvel Dimant, who was born in 1909 in Anyksciai (Aniksht). Chaya was killed in the Holocaust at Pajuoste in August 1941.
  PHOTO Chaya Kushner
• Chasya Kushner was born in Troskunai in 1916. She went to Palestine in the 1930s, and she married Zvi Vitlin.
  PHOTO Chasya Kushner, Troskunai (undated)
  PHOTO Chasya Kushner with the Trashkun branch of Hashomer Hatzair (1929-30)
  PHOTOS Chasya (Kushner) Vitlin at reunion of survivors from Trashkun (Tel-Aviv, 1987)
  DOCUMENT Chasya Kushner's application for Lithuanian internal passport (1930)
• The two children of Chasya Kushner and Zvi Vitlin:
• Nurit Vitlin
• Tamar Vitlin
• Musya (Muska) Kushner was born in 1923. At the outbreak of World War II, she and her sister Chana fled east as far as Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where they farmed apricots in the nearby mountains, and later painted tank parts in a military factory in the Ural region of Russia. After the war the two sisters returned to Lithuania (Vilnius) for a time, then moved to Rēzekne, Latvia. There Muska married Ruven Kofman. In 1971 the family moved to Rishon LeZion, Israel, where Ruven died in 1978 and Muska died in 2015. The child of Muska Kushner and Ruven Kofman:
• Shulamit (Shula) Kofman, born in 1949
• Chana (Chanka) Kushner was born on 10 May 1925. At the outbreak of World War II she fled east with her sister Musya, ending up in Uzbekistan and later moving to the Ural region of Russia (see Musya Kushner, above).  After the war, she and her sister spent a short time in Vilnius before moving to Rēzekne, Latvia, where Chanka married David Garber (born in Rēzekne). David died in 1979 and Chanka died in January 1990, both in Rēzekne, Latvia.
  PHOTO Chana Kushner with Itzik Konkurovich in Vilnius (1948)
• The two children of Chana Kushner and David Garber:
• Doba Garber
• Sioma Garber was born in 1956 in Rēzekne, Latvia. He and his family moved to Israel in December 1990.
• Paya Leah Kushner was born in Troskunai on 6 February 1928. She was killed in the Holocaust at Pajuoste in August 1941.
• Israel (Shrulik Yisrolke) Kushner was born in Troskunai in ~1930. He was killed in the Holocaust at Pajuoste in August 1941. (Berl Glezer's memoir tells of Yisrolke's attempted escape with his family at the outbreak of World War II.)

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• Compiled by Johanna Kovitz with research by Jonathan Levine
• © 2020 Jonathan Levine & Johanna Kovitz
• Updated November 2024