| The Van Praagh Family
Story... 1700 - 1998 Chapter 4 THE VAN PRAAGH AND BROWNS IN SOUTH AFRICA |
In April 1867 the children of
a Boer farmer had picked up an unusually pretty pebble on the banks of the Orange River.
It was a fine diamond of 20 carat. Two years later, a much larger stone was found near the
Vaal by a shepherd boy. It was the 'Star of South Africa'. Several thousand prospectors were soon scouring the river
banks for diamonds but the major finds were made on the dry diggings inland. Two mines
were to be public diggings: the De Beer Mine and the Colesburg Kopje, which became the
Kimberley Mine. Other major mines were on the Dutoitspan and Bulfontein farms. Amongst the rush of prospectors from all parts of Europe in
1870 was Aaron Van Praagh, second son of Lewis, aged 25. He set up in partnership with
Harry Barnato, as diamond buyers, and "Van Praaghs" became one of the leading
firms. Harry's brother Barney, in due course became on of the two largest mine owners, the
other being Cecil Rhodes and these two combined their resources to form the De Beers
Consolidated Mines Ltd in 1888 De Beers soon came to control 95% of the world production
of diamonds. In 1875, Aaron married Miriam Lackenback in London. The
April 1881 census shows them living at 45 Tredegar Square with four young children.
Elizabeth aged 4, Benjamin and Cecil (twins) aged 3, and Gertrude aged 2. Gertrude's twin,
Lilian had died in infancy. Aaron was a load office clerk, and so after his adventurous
years in the diamond fields he had returned to London and settled into a humdrum job.
Miriam (Marie) died in Hampstead in 1933. Aaron's death record cannot be traced, nor his
gravestone. One of Aaron's younger brothers, Soloman born 1855, is
buried in Willesden Cemetery. His gravestone says "Soloman Van Praagh (of
Johannesburg), aged 42 died 1897". Aarons elder half-brother, Morris born 1862, went to South
Africa, perhaps in the 1880s, returned to England and married in 1910 Hilda Swinden. They
had two daughters, who whet to the USA. He died in 1926 and was buried in Willesden
Cemetery. The younger half-brother Joseph, born 1864, went to Beira,
Portuguese East Africa, in 1891 and walked 300 miles to Salisbury, Rhodesia with his
cousin Julius Altman, where he became the manger of the Manios Trading Company. He served
in the military volunteers during the native rebellion in 1896. He became the third mayor
of Salisbury in 1900. Soon after this he went to Griqualand West, which was the territory
where the diamond mines were. He died in Kimberley Hospital in 1946. He did not marry. He
was a very religious Jew and an active Freemason. So the Van Praaghs left no descendants in South Africa.
However, three of the children of Elizabeth, sister of Aaron, went to South Africa to
live. The eldest (apart from Jacob, who died aged 7), Maurice Brown, went to Johannesburg
in 1904 and created a number of successful businesses, first in iron and steel and then in
various secondary industries. Jeanette, daughter of Lewis Van Praagh and Bella (his
second wife) went to South Africa with her husband Abraham Brown and her family in the
early years of the century. Thus, many of the great-grandchildren of Lewis Van Praagh
grew up in South Africa. |