Michael Jocum (born 1887) and Dinah (born 1902) purchased Kokwaan near Reivilo in 1933. They were, at the time, living in Victoria West. The couple were married in Cape Town in January 1919. Michael reached South Africa in 1910, fleeing the Russian army. He was born in Ilukst in Latvia and his Hebrew name was Melech ben Shlomo. In South Africa, he met Dinah Cohen (Chonin) in Kimberley. Her family came to South Africa from Utyan in Lithuania. Dinah’s father was Sam Cohen (Chonin). For more on the Chonin story, please see: Chonin Edel (jewishgen.org)

 

Michael was the driving force behind the construction of the Victoria West Synagogue in 1930 and President of the local Jewish community. They left the region following a bad drought. Dinah Jocum's sister, Sadie Oshry, lived nearby on a farm called Hoekplaas, which was near to Kokwaan. She had two sons, Bernard (Bernie) and Alfred Louis from her first marriage to Israel (Issy) Oshry. Sadie later remarried to Meyer Magid, who lived in Kimberley. Ben later lived on the farm and he was married to Jocoba Johana Smit. She converted to Judaism. 

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Michael and Dinah’s eldest son Laurie (born 1920) and his wife Hannah Tobias (born 1923) reached the farm in 1938. Hannah’s family was from Riga, Latvia. Hannah and Laurie were later joined by Laurie’s parents and his brother Cyril (born in 1928). Laurie and Hannah Tobias, were married in Pretoria. Laurie and Hannah had two children Isaac and Ruth. Isaac and his wife Liesel still live on the farm and have two children, Mikhail and Tanya. Ruth lives in the US, has three children, Taryn, Genevieve and Matthew. Anita (Shapiro) and Cyril were married in Durban and had three children Brian, Debbie and Michelle. From a previous marriage, Cyril (born in 1928) to Taube Herzenberg, Cyril had a son, Hirsch and a daughter Sheryl.​​

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In an interview Michael Jocum gave in April 1983 to Eve Horwitz - he noted: "I decided that my children would not make good shop keepers, but farmers, they are first class farmers. And I've done the right thing.. When my wife used to talk about my children I said well, I told you what I'm intending doing, and this is what I've done, made them farmers. One of my grandsons is passing this year veterinarian surgeon. A cattle doctor and for horses."