Maurice Steckoll, also known as Morris, is the son of Nochum Aaron Steckoll, known as Aaron, the brother-in-law of Rachel Levin, my 2x great aunt. Levin family HERE. Steckoll family HERE.
Parents: Nochum Aaron Steckoll (1867 - 1933) and Gittel Bucher (1870 - 1926)
Born: 1895 in Varaklani, Latvia
Maurice and Golda in 1926
Maurice was initiated into the the Sir John Brand Lodge in Ladybrand, Orange Free State, South Africa on 24 March 1920, age 24. His occupation was given as a storekeeper. He was also a councillor on the Ladybrand Town Council
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Tombstone inscription: In memory of my beloved brother Maurice Steckoll died 19th June 1948 aged 53 years. Deeply mourned. May his dear soul rest in peace (Abbr.) The date given for his death differs from his death certificate which is 18 June. The tombstone was probably the work of his sister Eva Stein
Burial
Maurice was born in Varaklani, Latvia
By the eve of the Holocaust in 1935, the Jewish population stood at 952 people, making up roughly 57% of the town’s residents. This community was supported by a network of merchant families with surnames such as Zogut, Schneir, Chait, Kaplan, Morain, Matchevsky, Steiner, Boorenstein, Berzon, Kopolovitch, Kodish, Solevy, Shvalb, and Fingerhuts. These families maintained the town's shops, schools, and cultural institutions until the Nazi invasion in 1941.
Hebrew name: Moshe son of Nachum Aharon
Siblings
- Simon Steckoll (1893 - 1935) married Fanny Esther Gould (1904 - 1987) in Senekal, Orange Free State, South Africa in 1923
- Jack Steckoll (1898 - 1989) married Lily Chaitow (1902 - 1980) in Johannesburg, South Africa on 7 July 1925
- Eva Steckoll (1903 - 1983) married Woolf Stein (1898 - 1947) in Ladybrand, Orange Free State, South Africa on 7 February 1929
Occupation: Merchant owning and operating a general store in the Orange Free State, South Africa. He was in partnership with his father Aaron and brother Simon and they each had a one third share. There were three stores located in Ladybrand, Hobhouse and Vinies (a railway siding in the Ladybrand district) - so one store for each of the shareholders. The firm was called A. Steckoll and sons. Simon managed the Hobhouse store, his father the Ladybrand store and Maurice the Vinies store. After his father's death in 1933 the brothers had a half share each and it appears that the Ladybrand general store was either sold or leased. On Simon's death in 1935 it appeared that Maurice went insolvent. On his death certificate his occupation is listed as a bookkeeper
Married:
Golda Casper
Children
- Samuel Steckoll (1926 - 1985)
- Gerald Steckoll (1929 - 2000)
- Arnold Steckoll
Freemasonry
Death
18 June 1948 in Bloemfontein, South Africa from pneumonia and bronchitis causing cardiac failure at age 53. He was buried in the Bloemfontein Memorial Cemetery there on 19 June 1948 in plot 3A:838
Death notice
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Death notice for Maurice Steckoll who died on 18 June 1948 in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, South Africa
Hebrew translation:
Burial
Jewishgen Cemetery record for Maurice
Place of Birth
The Jewish community in
Varaklani
officially began to form in the late 18th century, shortly after the region was annexed by the Russian Empire. While a few Jewish families may have lived in the area earlier, the community truly took root around 1780. By 1797, there were 413 Jewish residents recorded in the town, a number that grew steadily as Varaklani became an important trading post. Throughout the 19th century, the population expanded rapidly due to migration from nearby Lithuania and Belarus. By 1847, the number of Jewish residents had increased to 584 people, and religious life began to flourish under leaders like Rabbi Aharon Zelig Zioni, who headed the community during this mid-century growth.The community reached its numerical peak in 1897, when a census recorded 1,357 Jews, which accounted for approximately 75% of the town's total population. During this era, the town was led by Rabbi Abraham bar Gabai, who served as the chief rabbi for five decades starting in 1873, and Rabbi Jacob Pollak, who served as the crown rabbi. This overwhelming majority meant that for several decades, Varaklani functioned almost entirely as a Jewish town where the rhythms of life were dictated by religious law and the Hebrew calendar.
The population began to fluctuate during the early 20th century due to the turmoil of World War I and the Russian Revolution. In 1920, the first census of the newly independent Republic of Latvia recorded 868 Jewish residents, a significant decline from the pre-war peak. However, the community remained the dominant group in the town, and by 1925, the number had climbed back up to 991 people. During this period of Latvian independence, Jewish citizens became deeply integrated into the town’s governance. Reuven Arsh achieved significant prominence as the town’s mayor, while Michael Kagan served as the deputy mayor.
The destruction of this community began shortly after German forces entered Varaklani in early July 1941. Immediate restrictions were placed on Jewish residents, and they were forced into a provisional ghetto established next to the Jewish cemetery. On August 4, 1941, a German SD unit known as the Arājs Commando, assisted by local Latvian self-defenders and police, carried out a mass execution. Approximately 540 Jews were taken to the cemetery and shot to death in pits they had been forced to dig themselves. Rabbi Eliezer-Yaakov Hacohen Grodsky, the final spiritual leader, was particularly mistreated during this event; he was dragged to the execution site with his beard tied to a horse’s tail. After the massacre, local peasants were forced to fill in the mass graves. Before their retreat in 1944, German authorities ordered the bodies to be burned to destroy evidence of the crime
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