The Surasky Family

Aiken merchants, civic leaders & mainstays of the Aiken jewish community

The Surasky’s are among the oldest Jewish families in Aiken and played a pivotal role in attracting other Jewish families here – with marital relationships playing a key supporting role in that process.

The Surasky family was from Knyszyn Poland (near Bialystok), where Menachem Mendel Surasky (1845-1943) & his wife Sophia Brauer Surasky (1845-1921) raised six children – five boys (Benedict Morris/BM, Hiram Charles/HC, Solomon, Samuel & Abraham) & one girl (Ida).

The oldest son, Benedict Morris (BM) Surasky (1862-1934) married Sarah Polier in Poland in 1880 and departed for America in 1890, coming to Aiken where he worked in the dry goods store of her brother Harris Louis (HL) Polier – who had already established himself as a merchant in the community.

The other Surasky brothers soon followed BM to America and to Aiken and by the early 1900s had established themselves as merchants here. The archive of Aiken County peddler licenses shows that both Hiram/HC Surasky (1870-1932) & Samuel Surasky (1880-1949) were operating as peddlers in the County as early in 1900.

BM Surasky went out on his own & opened a dry goods store called Surasky’s Department Store on Laurens Street in 1904 (in the same location now occupied by Malia’s). Three of the brothers – Hiram/HC, Solomon (1876-1941) & Sam opened a second store next door to BM called Surasky Brothers in the same year. That store occupied a double storefront now occupied by Folly & Concierge Real Estate.

The Surasky brothers operated the two stores under a single partnership agreement until 1917 when BM Surasky decided to operate independently and renamed his store “BM Surasky’s”. He subsequently purchased the store building in 1926 for $11,000. The remaining brothers dissolved their partnership in 1921 & ended up splitting their business into two stores: HC Surasky’s & Sol & Sam Surasky’s. Thus by the mid 1920s there were three Surasky stores operating side by side by side in Aiken.

Meanwhile, sister Ida Surasky (1867-1949) married Morris Efron in Poland and departed for America in late 1890s, moving to St Louis before eventually coming to Aiken. Ida & Morris had seven children (four boys & three girls). When Morris Efron died in 1918, Ida’s Surasky brothers encouraged her to move to Aiken where they offered to set her up in business. Ida was eventually followed by many of her Efron children all of whom established businesses here.

As the Surasky’s thrived in Aiken’s small Jewish community, they played a pivotal role in attracting other Jewish families to Aiken:

• Solomon Surasky married Annie Rudnick (1878-1952) in Poland, strengthening ties to the Rudnick family. Annie’s brother Morris Sr (1890-1943) went on to be an important Aiken merchant

• BM Surasky’s oldest daughter Rebecca (1882-1957) married Meyer Harris (1881-1949), an important Aiken merchant who owned Harris Style Shop on Laurens St (in the same location now occupied by Nandina)

• HC Surasky’s daughter Esther (1890-1985) married Nathan Persky (1888-1965) – who took over HC’s store after he passed away in 1931, changing the name to Persky’s Department Store, which itself became an Aiken institution

• And HC’s daughter Dora (1904-1980) married Lazar Laurel (1892-1976) who went on to run a successful hardware store in town called Laurel Hardware

The Surasky’s were pillars of the small Aiken Jewish community. BM Surasky & his son-in-law Meyer Harris were a founding members of the Adath Yeshurun Synagogue (where BM served as Vice President). BM had been a rabbinical student in Poland and often led services here. HC’s son-in-law Nathan Persky was also a leader in the Synagogue, often conducting services and training many generations of Aiken children for their bar mitzvah’s.

During this period, the Surasky family lived in and around downtown Aiken. BM Surasky owned a home on Pendleton Street that he passed to his son Mandle; that building currently “houses” the law offices of Rudnick & Rudnick. HC Surasky owned a home on Florence Street that was subsequently passed to his son-in law Nathan Persky.

Not everything was “smooth sailing” for the Surasky’s in Aiken. Back in 1903, the fifth brother Abraham Surasky (1873-1903), was murdered while peddling goods in rural Aiken County. The man who killed him claimed to have found Abraham with his wife but was known to hold negative views toward Jews and to have threatened to kill Jewish peddlers; the accused murderer was not convicted at trial.

Abraham ‘s two daughters were subsequently raised by their uncle Sam Surasky who later moved to North Carolina, leaving brother Solomon to run their Aiken store. It was only in the 1990s that Stephen Surasky (grandson of Solomon) was able to identify where Abraham’s body was buried and have it reinterred.

The killing of Abraham Surasky could have soured the entire family on life in Aiken yet the Surasky’s went on to make a major contributions to civic life here:

• BM Surasky was active in a variety of civic organizations (e.g. Masons) and served on city council for 10 years, where he was chairman of the Finance committee

• BM’s son Mandle Surasky (1898-1986) served as a two-term Mayor of Aiken as well as on City Council. He was a former President of the Aiken Chamber of Commerce & the Downtown Merchants Association and also a leader in numerous civic & charitable organizations (e.g. Masons, Rotary Club, American Legion, Red Cross). He was named Aiken Man of the Year in 1966

• Solomon Surasky’s son Benjamin Surasky (1911-1975) was a lawyer in Aiken who served on City Council and as Aiken Court Prosecutor and Court Recorder

• And, HC’s son-in-law Nathan Persky served as chairman of the Aiken County Board of Health and was a champion of the Boy Scouts. He was named Aiken Man of the Year in 1955

And the impact of the Surasky family extended beyond Aiken. Most notably, Mina Surasky Tropp (daughter of HC Surasky) became a nationally recognized artist and activist. Her artwork is in the permanent collections of several museums and she became an important advocate and fundraiser supporting the creation of Jewish homeland in Palestine, working closely with Golda Meier.

There are few Surasky’s remaining in Aiken. The most prominent remaining is Stephen Surasky (grandson of Solomon). Stephen is a respected lawyer in town and a former President of Adath Yeshurun Synagogue.

surasky aiken county peddler licenses

(courtesy of the Aiken County Historical Museum)

dissolution of surasky business partnership

• 1917: dissolved partnership among the 4 brothers (BM, HC, Solomon & Sam) to enable BM to operate independently

• 1921: dissolved partnership among the remaining 3 brothers to enable HC & Solomon/Sam to operate independently

three surasky stores: side by side by side on Laurens street

• BM Surasky’s Ad: Aiken Journal & Review, 9-30-1925

• Sol & Sam Surasky Ad: Aiken Journal & Review, 12-19-1923

• HC Surasky Ad: Aiken Journal & Review, 11-4-1925

surasky family role in founding the adath yeshurun synagogue

• Children of Israel Meeting: Aiken Journal & Review, 8-20-1907

• Notice of Synagogue Charter: Aiken Standard & Review, 7-23-1921

• First Services: Aiken Journal & Review, 9-23-1925

• Synagogue Dedication: Aiken Journal & Review, 10-21-1925

surasky extended family — store ads

• Model Style Shop (Meyer Harris), son in law of BM Surasky: Aiken Journal & Review, 10-30-1918

• Laurel Hardware (Lazar Laurel), son in law of HC Surasky: Aiken Standard & Review, 1-5-1949

• Persky’s (Nathan Persky), son in law of HC Surasky: Aiken Standard & Review, 4-9-1965