Jewish Farmers and Ranchers in the Vryburg District

A significant number of Jewish families were involved in farming in and around Vryburg.

Among them were Laurie and Cyril Jocum, married to Hannah and Anita respectively. Laurie’s son, Isaac Jocum, and his wife Liesel, still farm near Reivilo on the farm Kokwaan. Isaac’s grandfather bought Kokwaan in 1933 after arriving in South Africa in 1910, fleeing the Czarist army and 25 years of conscription. Laurie settled on the farm in 1938, followed by other family members. Kokwaan was large, covering about 30,000 morgen.

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Morris Grace and David Salmonson, both of whom married outside the community, farmed in the Vryburg district. Brothers Abbie and Louis Lewis were active farmers in the 1930s, as was Morris Edelstein, who farmed at Steinsrust during the 1930s and 1940s. According to Graham Brodovcky, Steinsrust was near Armoedsvlakte on the Kuruman Road, and Edelstein was “known for breeding black Afrikander cattle.” He later retired to the International Hotel in Johannesburg and died there in 1964.

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Morris’s brother, Louis Edelstein (Lipman), was a butcher, speculator, and farmer. He died in Vryburg in 1933. A third person, S. Edelstein, also farmed during the same period. The family originated from Hope Town, which had a notable Edelstein presence. Louis Edelstein was married to Rosa Goldstuck, also from Hope Town. They married in 1912, and Louis’s marriage certificate shows him as living in the Warrenton district at that time. The Goldstuck family, originally... from Courland, were deeply involved in livestock speculation. Records refer to:

• Simon Goldstuck, who died in Strydenberg in 1914;

• Another Simon Goldstuck, who died in Britstown in 1942;

• Isaac Goldstuck, who married in 1904 as a feather merchant, later became a stock farmer; he died in Britstown in 1951 at the age of 72.

Another Jewish butcher was Nicolaas Friedberg, from Douglas, who died in 1927.

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From the 1930 birth certificate of birth certificate, it appears that his parents, Cecil and Rhoda Blumgart (née Rosenblatt, daughter of Herman Rosenblatt), were farming on a property called Laurencedale. Elias Helfer,was another Jewish farmer. He owned three farms—Putpan, Geluk, and Warden—located on the Kuruman road. Geluk also had a general store. Simon Maurice Suchet (Suchedowitz), who married Fannie Katzin in December 1926, lived and worked on Geluk for six or seven years. 

 

Ben Oshry farmed near Taung and Reivilo on a farm called Hoek Plaas. Related to Cyril Jocum, Oshry was described by Arnold Bayer as a phenomenal marksman. He later joined a circus with an Afrikaans partner who became his wife—herself an equally skilled shooter.

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Fred Abrams farmed near Taung on Bowood, while Sam and Amelia Joffee farmed near Delareyville on Driehoek, just outside town on the Vryburg road. According to local recollections, no Delareyville auction was complete without their presence.

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An advertisement from 1955 announces the retirement of an M. Cohen and the sale of Iffley Ranch. This M. Cohen was almost certainly Max Cohen, son of Moses Cohen (owner of the Grand) and brother of Jack Cohen.

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Other Jewish farmers included Alphonse Blum, a farmer and trader; Ludwig Solomon, who lived for a time on Mooifontein; and the Rosenfels brothers, previous owners of Mooifontein, who were based in Rouxville in the Free State.

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This preceding description of Vryburg Jews in the meat industry is not unique. In Julius Kopelowitz's  2002 essay on Frankfort's Jews, he mentions - Harry Goodman, a cattle speculator, the Bernstein and Gross families who were farmers, Dave Nisleow the butcher and the Bregin Family who were "produce dealers and founders of the "Frankfort Cold Storage" for the sale of refrigerated kosher slaughtered poultry." What held for Vryburg and Frankfort held for any other towns in South Africa. Julius is the brother of Norman Kopelowitz who passed away in Vryburg in 1962.  

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Jewish Townsfolk Who Also Farmed

Some Jewish residents of Vryburg combined town-based occupations with farming. This tradition dated back to early land acquisitions by families such as the Sonnenbergs and Rosenblatts.

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Max Sonnenberg wrote of owning a 20,000-morgen ranch near Tlaping. In his memoirs, he recounts a “tragicomic” attempt to settle German Jewish refugees on the ranch. Despite financial backing, agricultural instruction, equipment, and supplies, the settlement failed within months—though neighboring Boer farmers were described as kind and curious observers.

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Julius Rosenblatt owned numerous farms, which were sold in 1916 following his death. These included Dwarsrivier, Uitzoek, Ryno, Kruisfontein, Kalahari, Holpan, and Khaw, totaling more than 27,500 morgen. The farms Kuie and Masilibitsani belonged to a consortium that included Maurice and Harry Joseph Sonnenberg (by then in Cape Town), Julius Levin of Cape Town, Elise Hartog of Kimberley, Jeanette Rosenblatt, and Daniel Hendrik Willem Wessels.

Later owners included Harold Scheckter, who owned Amalia, and Phil Rauff, who owned a farmstead whose name has not yet been established. According to Cynthia Garb, the hotelier Jack Perel owned four farms.

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Although known primarily as a retailer, Joe Joffe owned numerous farms: Messilibetswani, Doxen, Langgewacht, Battle Mount, Tweefontein, Mashowing Ranches, and Lynridge. He also established an impressive Afrikaner Stud, known as Langgewacht, with his prize bull Glen Maritz. When interviewed on his 88th birthday by the Argus, Joffe described himself first and foremost as a cattle farmer.

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Joe Joffe’s brother Harry Joffe owned Springbok Farm, Lessfontein, Josephsdal, and Duffield, and was in partnership with Max Cohen of Vryburg Wholesalers. In 1948, Harry Joffe and Monty Ross (Chairman of the Epol Group) founded the Vicedale Hereford Stud, later sold to Bokkie Niselow and Morris Hyman in 1957.

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According to Graham Wald, his father Henry Wald owned the impressive Brussels farm on the Kimberley road, as well as Bernau, near the railway station. He recalls Brussels as having a large stone-built colonial house powered by a petrol-driven generator, often used for weekend social gatherings. The Brodovcky and Allen families were also owners of Vicedale.

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The “Out‑of‑Towners”

Two Johannesburg-based figures who had a major impact on Vryburg farming were Joe Datnow and Bokkie Niselow.

Datnow, originally from Pumpian, Lithuania, arrived in South Africa at 16. He owned Coleville Ranch, Compton Ranch, and several other properties. His daughter Lynne recalled his monthly journeys to the “far farms,” often taking five hours. Datnow fitted a siren-like hooter to his car to clear cattle from the road, and regularly inspected boreholes and windmills with his managers.

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Bokkie Niselow, who also owned Vicedale and Grassy Bend (formerly owned by the Sussman family), amassed an extraordinary farming empire. At his death in 1977, aged 73, he owned 24 farms totaling approximately 96,000 hectares. Their sale in 1978 realized R3.9 million, a substantial sum at the time. Niselow arrived penniless and illiterate, starting work as an abattoir laborer before building SA Meat Wholesalers. Though unable to write, he possessed an exceptional memory and was notorious for dominating auctions.

 

He was also fiercely competitive at auctions. Arnold Beyer recollects that "if he wanted to buy a lot, the others buyers knew to walk away and go to the tea room." Steven Scheckter recalls; "When the Afrikaans farmers bid against him, he used to shout 'Kishmir in tuchas!'” Kiss my ass in Yiddish. Joe Davidovitz recounts that he once went on a mission to Israel with Bokkie Niselow. On that trip the group met with the Israeli leader, Golda Meir and Niselow took great pride in explaining to her that his land holdings were larger than the State of Israel.

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Joe Mankowitz, in partnership with Morris Hyman, owned extensive tracts of land in the Kalahari and near Vryburg. Later, Mankovitz’s grandson Mike (son of Louis Jaffe) and Morris Hyman jointly owned Floradora Ranch, measuring approximately 200,000 hectares. ​Louis Jaffe was the son of Morris Jaffe from Kimberley and Becky Joseph. Writing in 1996, Manfred J. Schwartz wrote that Louis Jaffe owned cheese factories as well as ranches in the Vryburg area.

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Even later, Oom Joe Scher of Durbanville operated out of Vryburg, acquiring a plot on the Mafeking road.

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