Oudtshoorn story uncovers more long-lost connections

When Blake Andrew embarked on a journey to discover his forgotten Jewish roots, he never imagined that his quest would touch the lives of others across the oceans. But since his story was published in the SA Jewish Report last week, incredible new links have been found, allowing one 101-year-old woman in England to connect with family she never knew she had.

Andrew grew up in Zimbabwe, was raised Christian, and felt strong ties to the Scottish roots of his grandfather. His grandmother’s story never came to light until seven weeks ago, when he found out that she was the daughter of the late Reverend Myer Woolfson, a prominent Oudtshoorn rabbi.

Now living in Johannesburg with his own family, Andrew (51) says the last week has been “a complete whirlwind” as people across the globe have celebrated his story and he has been put in touch with even more relatives. “Suddenly there’s this whole Jewish side to my family that I never knew! It’s mind-blowing.”

Perhaps the most incredible aspect is how one woman in Cape Town spotted a connection that had been lost in the sands of time. Jacqui Singer says that after reading the story, she realised that a 101-year-old woman in London named Jeanette Bloom was also part of the Woolfson family. And yet Bloom had lost contact with all her relatives – until now.

In a tale filled with coincidences, Singer says that her daughter, dietitian Lana Pinshaw, was working in a London hospital when she noticed that her patient, Bloom, lived across the road from her. Not only that, but both have roots in Oudtshoorn. Pinshaw was born there, as was Bloom’s father – Sam Woolfson. He was the son of Reverend Myer Woolfson, and just like his sister, Dorothy, (Andrew’s grandmother), he also married out of the faith. He had travelled to London to go to yeshiva and become a rabbi, but then served in World War I and got injured. He landed up marrying his nurse, Mabel, and they had one child – Jeanette. Family lore tells that Sam insisted that Jeanette marry someone Jewish, which she did. She still lives in the home she grew up in and turned 101 on 27 January 2022.

“I got goose bumps when I realised the connection,” says Singer.

Pinshaw has been Bloom’s closest contact ever since they met as Bloom has only one relative in South Africa that she kept in contact with. But because of Singer’s incredible detective skills, new family members that Bloom didn’t know existed – and who didn’t know she existed – have now been discovered.

“I didn’t realise she was still alive,” says David Woolfson in Cape Town. His father, Eugene, is 91 and is Bloom’s first cousin. Eugene’s father, Henry, and her father, Sam, were brothers, and their dad was Myer Woolfson.

Woolfson and Andrew are thrilled that at this late stage of Bloom’s life, she has discovered long-lost relatives, and they hope to build a connection. However, the moment is bittersweet, as Bloom is currently in hospital. Pinshaw isn’t allowed to visit her because of COVID-19 regulations, and because she can’t hear well on the phone, she doesn’t yet know of her new family members.

Meanwhile, even further across the oceans, Elan Burman in Washington D.C. was excited to discover his new cousins, Andrew and Bloom. Like Woolfson, he’s connected to the clan through Henry, his great grandfather.

“It’s always fascinating to build out these branches and realise how disparate [yet close] people’s lives can be, all while stemming from common ancestry,” he says. “I didn’t know of Blake or Jeanette. I dabble in genealogy, but have spent a lot less time on my maternal grandfather’s line, since I thought we had most of it documented. I have added Blake to the online family tree at MyHeritage, so he now has access to the full picture too.

“David’s sister, Janine, had a similar experience in matric,” remembers Burman. “She had some friends over to the house and one of them pointed to Myer’s portrait and asked, ‘Why do you have a picture of my great-grandfather in your house?’ Of course it was her great-grandfather too. I guess with big families come these discoveries.”

But the story isn’t over as Andrew hopes to make his way to Oudtshoorn in the next few weeks as part of his journey of discovery. New relatives and friends like Woolfson and Singer hope to join him. And all around the world, family members will pray that Bloom recovers and comes out of hospital, where she will find out about relatives across the globe that she never knew she had.