My Grandfather Ben Hoffenberg (b 1891, Erzvilkas, Lithuania, d. 1963, Durban) was a fairly well known Dealer in Skins and Hides based in PE. He had a brother, Jacob Hoffenberg (b 1887) who also made his way to SA to attend his brothers wedding in 1917, then left for New York (early 1918) to act as an agent for his brother. The only other records I have for Jacob Hoffenberg are - a WW I Draft registration card, and gravestone in Cradock dated 1938 . Other siblings include Minnie Florence / Reiback (lived PE area) and Sarah Margolis (Cape Town), both sisters arrived in SA circa 1924. Their Jewish Names tie in with the Cradock Gravestone ie end in "... Shlomo Gershon Hoffenberg".
I would be very interested to learn anything at all of Jacob Hoffenberg's life - did he have a family of his own? why did he return to South Africa? Of his sisters, I know nothing, that comes next!
My principal resources are Ancestry.com, Myheritage, Fold3, Jewishgen.org NAIIRS, Rootweb SA and Google.
As part of my ongoing research, I have compiled a database of all known Hoffenberg's / Gofenberg's who arrived / resided in South Africa between 1860 and 1930 if anyone is interested in a copy.
Many thanks in advance