Jewish Family History Society of Cape Town
   Paul Cheifitz, President
   P. O. Box 51985, Waterfront, 8002, SOUTH AFRICA
   Telephone: 21-4344825, 21-4230223
       E-mail: jewfamct@global.co.za
       Newsletter: Journal of the Jewish Family History Society of Cape Town

Courtesy of Dr. Saul Issroff saul@issroff.com [June 2000]:
SOUTHERN AFRICAN SUBCONTINENT AND ADJACENT ISLANDS:
     Jews settled in many of the smaller African countries between 1880 and 1930. Some were previously British Colonies or Protectorates, others Portuguese or Belgian. Some of these communities have dwindled in numbers or even vanished. Information for most of these places is sparse. An African Jewish Congress has been established. The spiritual leader travels extensively to visit remaining Jews and to photograph cemeteries (over 14,000 tombstones recorded to date), old synagogues and look after areas of Jewish importance.

Mormon Family History Library Materials for South Africa :
Note: Consult the FHL catalog to find the precise film numbers for a particular year and location. The date of death needs to be known fairly accurately in order to be able to find a particular certificate. Searching before and after the date of death needs to be performed in the records, since some certificates have been filmed out of order.
National coverage: 1955 - 1965 - Film numbers in range: 1925527 through 192612- (not all film numbers are used)
Cape Province: 1895 - 1928 (not all film numbers are used)
   Film numbers in range:
        1768645 through 1768970
        1887008 through 1887235
        1925589 through 1926175
Transvaal: 1888 - 1954 (not all film numbers are used)
   Film numbers in range:
        1887020 through 1887233
        1925519 through 1925810
        1768631 through 1768968
 Burial, Marriage, and Death Information for Cape Town Interment registers for
    several Cape Town cemeteries: 1886-1981 Indexes are included.
    Film numbers: 1258779, 1259122 through 1259150
 Marriage and Death Certificates Cape Town Jewish Cong.1851 - 1989:
    Film numbers: 1560759 through 1560764, 1560773 through 1560775
 Jewish Helping Hand and Burial Society (Chevra Kadisha), Johannesburg.
      Film number: 1259151

Commonwealth War Graves Commission
PO Box 9849
Centurion 0046
South Africa
Tel: (012) 663 7285
Fax: (012) 663 7258
E-mail: cwgc@mweb.co.za
Secretary: Brigadier-General Johan Potgeiter

http://www.jewishgen.org/Safrica/synagogues/index.htm is a list of functioning and defunct synagogues on the Southern Africa Jewish Genealogy website. Source: Roger Harris rh@nationalfinder.com [March 2001]

• The Old Cemetery: Over 1000 names from the three cemeteries. Old: {10677}. The oldest of the three cemeteries, dating from 1871, is simply a small fenced off area of a public cemetery near the city center. It includes a few graves of several Jewish pioneers involved in the early days of the city who died serving on either side in the Boer War, 1899-1902. Each of the thirty or so tombstones of these pioneer families has been completely transcribed. Some of the gravestones are in poor condition; and some graves now are unmarked.
  
• South Park: {10678}. This cemetery was consecrated in 1978 and now includes about 100 graves. Further information may be sought from the Secretary of the United Hebrew Institutions of Bloemfontein, 1 Dickie Clark ST., P.O. Box 1152, Bloemfontein 9301; fax Internat +27(51) 536 6447. Memorial {10679}
  
• Name?: Dates from 1903 and includes some 1,100 burials, mostly Litvaks or their first generation descendents. The graves are well maintained despite recent politically motivated vandalism.

• The First Jewish Cemetery: (1844-1886) Our group (The Jewish Family History Society of Cape Town) will be going to the second oldest cemetery in November 1997 to photograph and record all the details.
  
• Albert Road Jewish Cemetery: {10713} Source: Paul Cheifitz, Cape Town, South Africa: pcheiftz@global.co.za . Burial lists are obtainable on microfilm under the auspices of the United Council Orthodox Hebrew Congregation, Cape Town from the Mormon FHL
  
• 7th Avenue Cemetery: {10714} Source: Paul Cheifitz, Cape Town, South Africa: pcheiftz@global.co.za . Burial lists are obtainable on microfilm under the auspices of the United Council Orthodox Hebrew Congregation, Cape Town from the Mormon FHL:
  Mormon FHL films for Cape Town:
      Film no. 1560759 Marriages 1900-1938
      1560760 Marriages 1938-1962
      1560761 Marriages 1966-1971
      1560762 Cemetery Register Pinelands. Death Register
      1894-1949: 1560763

• Brook Street Cemetery: All graves are documented but not computerized as of 1998. Records are in the shul office as are photographs of the graves. The 100th year anniversary book of Durban states that the first burial was in 1880, a Morris Rouse, in a portion of the West Street Cemetery now at the corner of Brook and Queen streets. The book then mentions another area, walled in 1905, which goes on to the Umbilo Road Cemetery. There are probably no Jews in the Umbilo Road Cemetery. The first cemetery in Durban to have a Jewish section was Brook Street. The unmarked graves are unidentified persons. Len Hack checked old newspaper records. A train going north in 1899 was derailed or attacked by Boers somewhere in Northern Natal just after outbreak of war. Many were killed and Boers plundered the bodies. Unidentified Jewish bodies returned to Durban for burial. Source: Miriam Margolyes: 75342.3217@compuserve.com
  
• Red Hill: {11025} Tel: +27(0)31 564 5771 or 201 5177
• Stellawood Cemetery: {11024} Stellawood Cemetery is in Selbourne Road, the extension of Nicolson Road that runs parallel to Manning Road. The site is in the upper Umbilo area (next to Glenwood), and is close to the Natal University.
  
• Umbilo Road Cemetery: see Brook Street
  
• West Street Cemetery: see Brook Street

• Braamfontein Cemetery: {10177} Began 1888. Anne Lapedus Brest: angi@icon.co.za has done research there and checked graves against existing lists. 5/10/1999. These corrections are not included here. [SIC Meaning?]
  
• Brixton Cemetery: {10178} began 1914
  
• West Park Cemetery: {10179} Began 1942. Memorial to Holocaust victims in West Park Cemetery. Source: Freedman, Warren. World Guide for the Jewish Traveler. E.P. Dutton Inc: NY. 1984. Extracted by Bernard Kouchel: koosh@worldnet.att.net

• Creek Jewish Cemetery: Oldest section is 29 July 1863 to 15 October 1918. Council meeting on 31 July 1861 received a letter of application for a piece of land in the newly granted North End Cemetery. It was a great expense to convey bodies to Grahamstown for burial in the Jewish Cemetery there. The local community wished to have its own local burial ground. A report in the "Eastern Province Herald" dated 31 July 1863 states: "The Jewish Burial Ground at Creek has been used for the first time on the occasion of the burial of the child of Mr. E.H. Solomon on Wednesday, 29 July 1863." The grave of this child, Aaron Solomon aged 8 years, is to be found in Row 4 of Section A. The other graves in that row cover the period up to 1871 and include one for 1903. This indicates that burials did not take place in a specific order and that they seem to have worked from the "center" out which is usual for all cemeteries of that period. Overall, the objective has been to account for all the people of the community who were buried within this area between commencement of the cemetery and mid-October 1918. There are certainly a small number for whom no one will be able to account, except by hearsay, because of the shortcomings of the records, but we like to feel that every effort has been made to get all names. Source: (Mrs.) Liz Eshmade, for and on the behalf of The Genealogical Society of South Africa (East Cape Branch), Port Elizabeth, May 1998 and forwarded by Dr. Saul Issroff: saul@issroff.com

• Cemetery: P.O. Box 85 Potgietersrust; source 1976 Yearbook

• Cemetery: Hebrew Block D Rebecca: {10703}. Source: Ed Goldberg: egoli@direct.ca

• Cemetery: Congregation established 1905; P.O. Box 445. Source 1976 yearbook ?
  
• Rustenburg Transvaal Cemetery: Incomplete list of names: {10662} There is no longer a Jewish Community. Two cemeteries, each with approximately thirty Jewish burials, appear well maintained by the local town council. There is a small tahara (pre-burial house) on one location. The older cemetery section is not separated from non-Jewish burials (Christian and Muslim) but is to the left of the main entrance, opposite the Hospital. Two of the tombstones have Freemason's insignia. The foundation of the Freemasons Meeting Hall (adjacent to the synagogue) has a Hebrew date on it. A.H. Wulfsohn laid the synagogue foundation stone in 1924. Source: ?

• Cemetery:
  Congregation established 1904; Temple Emeth & Dram Memorial Hall is at corner of Kariba & Star Roads, Selcourt, Srings. Telephone 818-2613. Source 1976 Yearbook

• Cemetery:
  Congregation established 1898; P.O. Box 31; Source 1976 Yearbook