My initial point of departure was to combine the lists of the two existing ‘Jewish Life in the South African Country Communities’ publications, as the basis for an Excel spreadsheet.

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I decided at the outset to include the nearby Jewish communities of Kuruman, Bloemhof, Jan Kemp Dorp, Delerayville, Pudimoe, Reivilo and Taung in the database. It is worth noting that Taung (22 families) and Kuruman (18 families) have their own dedicated chapters in the study entitled, Jewish Life in the Country Communities Study (Volume II), by SA Friends of Beit Hatfutsot. 

 

These Jews from outlying communities were buried in Vryburg and also contributed towards the construction of the Shul and paid membership dues. In the 1980s, the the Reivilo, Jan Kemp and Delareyville families joined our services, enabling a minyan. Victor Ressman of Bloemhof led our services for a few years in the early 1980s. 

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I naively assumed I would, at most, reach 50-60 family names or individuals in the Excel sheet. To date, in the summer of 2020, I have over 230. The detailed list, which I fear includes some inaccuracies, is shared. The list has grown via conversations with ex-Vryburgers, Google searches and thanks to the material preserved by Graham Brodovcky. Another great source of information was the review of the local newspapers by Anney Garnett.

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Click here to view the excel that was constructed. Please add missing details.