Germiston, South Africa

From Facebook

Dec 2000: The closure of that iconic building in Germiston, The Synagogue, built in 1930, it was ironic that the end of Germiston Jewry coincided with the end of Germiston as an autonomous city. The first jewish immigrants to set up in Germiston followed the gold mining developments, many from  Lithuania

The first Pioneer Jewish settlers go back to 1888, before Germiston was proclaimed a township however it was only after 1900 that the were sufficient members to form a congregation. These early pioneers were largely from Lithuania, escaping religious and political persecution.
Most of these early settlers set up stores among them:

Woolf Rosenthal - hairdresser
Israel Rabinovitz - Photographer
Mr & Mrs A.L. Marks - Boarding House owners
Joseph Block - Hotellier
Mr Miller - Pharmacist.
Oscar Gavronsky - Butcher
Jacob Gavronsky (brother) - Plumber.
David M Jacob - Auctioneer
Samuel J Cohen - Storekeper
Solomon Stein - Outfitter.
S. Isaacs, G. Teron, S. Seif, S. Wolk, Nathanson, H. Nurensky, Israel Glass, C. Tucker, Edel Grolman, Samuel Arkin, I Kirshon and F. Blau: all storekeepers and well known names of the early pioneers.

Pioneers