From Plungė to Port Elizabeth: The Journey of Moshe Jaffee (Joffe Marks)

Before emigration, Jewish families in Lithuanian towns followed certain rituals: reciting Torah on Shabbat, visiting family graves, and sharing freshly baked challah. These moments marked the transition from the familiar to the unknown. Then came the journey: to Hamburg, Antwerp, or Riga, where a ship ticket could be the first step toward an entirely new life.

It’s unclear if 17-year-old Moshe Jaffee of Plungė followed those traditions. More likely, he left quietly, packing his modest belongings into a small bag, saying goodbye only to his brother and sister.

For a while, Moshe stayed in Riga, where he found his first job delivering bread for a baker. In this new environment, he became Joffe Marks. Soon he set his sights on South Africa, a country that promised opportunity, land, and freedom. It was around 1886.

After several weeks aboard a cargo ship transporting timber from Riga, Marks arrived in Port Elizabeth. The enormous steam-powered mills that greeted him were unlike anything he had seen in Plungė or Riga.

He began modestly, trading in ostrich feathers, but eventually built a business empire. Joffe Marks founded Premier Milling Company—now Premier FMCG—which became one of the largest food production companies in the Southern Hemisphere. Today, it operates mills, bakeries, and factories in South Africa and beyond.

Though Marks had no children, his relatives who followed him to South Africa continued the business. His grand-niece Georgina documented the family story in a published book. Another descendants, Rosemary from France and Jeremy from the USA, visited Lithuania in 2024 and 2025. They reconnected with their family’s ancestral roots, and I will soon tell about their trips to Lithuania

Stories like this remind us how far Litvak families traveled, and how much they built from humble beginnings.

Would you like to trace your own family’s journey from Lithuania to the world? Let’s talk, your story could be next.