Guthman-Kahn Family Papers

The Guthman family, of German-Jewish descent, has lived in Savannah, Georgia for several generations. Aaron Guthman (1867-1967) was born in Philadelphia and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, then to Savannah in the early 1900s where he joined the family business and operated the Savannah branch of the Haas-Guthman-Singer Company, that later became Haas Guthman Company, a food brokerage business. Aaron Guthman and Jennie Schindler (m. 1894) had three sons; Max (1896-1976), Walter (1903-1972), and Richard Guthman (1907-1993). Walter and Max both worked with their father for the Haas Guthman Company.

Julius Kahn (1890-1988) emigrated from Lithuania to the United States in 1906. In 1918, Julius Kahn married Wray Hirsch whose family ran Hirsch’s Delicatessen. Later, Julius Kahn went to work for Frank & Company, a wholesale dry goods firm, until he left in 1929 to form his own business with his brother-in-law Charlie Hirsch. Kahn & Hirsch only lasted for one year until it became Kahn & Company, Inc., a nationwide distributor of hotel linens. Julius’ son Baldwin “Buddy” Kahn (1929-2002) joined the family business after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 1950s.

Walter Guthman married Jean Guckenheimer in the early twentieth century. They had 2 children, Jane (b. 1933) and Margery (b. 1938). Jane, a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, fostered a career as a journalist in Savannah and was active in the Savannah Jewish Council, and both the Inaugural Committee and the Judicial Nominating Commission of Georgia. Jane Guthman married Buddy Kahn in 1954. They have four children, Carol (ca. 1956- ), Bobby (ca. 1958- ), David (1960- ), and Mark (ca. 1970- ). Carol Kahn is a therapist in New Jersey. Bobby Kahn, of Atlanta, is well known for his work with the Democratic party of Georgia, serving as the Chair of the party from 2004-2007. David is President of Kahn & Co., Inc., based in Savannah. Mark is an attorney for technology companies in San Francisco, California.