In case you got to this site because you are interested in the name Wallach

The story of our branch of the Wallach name starts with two brothers, Benjamin and Marum, from Limberg in Germany. Around 1800, they were asked to take a surname (in order to make it easier to tax the population). Marum (living in Floersheim) took the name Sonnenberg and Benjamin (living in Hesse-Kassel)  the name Wallach.

 Why Wallach? Many people choosing surnames took places of origin - Wallach was a place name near Dusseldorf - there was also Wallachia which was part of Germany (now part of Rumania). Alternatively, German Jews from Alsatia were nicknamed "Welsch" (ie foreigner), and Wallach is another way to spell Welsch.

Benjamin Wallach had two sons, Joseph and Meyer, who both emigrated to South Africa around 1850 - as did the Sonnenberg sons, Lazarus (Louis) and Isaac, and who were thus cousins. Louis’ son Max Sonnenberg started Woolworths in South Africa - which, despite its name, is like M&S in Britain.

Meyer Wallach (or Myer or Meir or Maurice or Morris, spelling was very variable in those days) married Deborah Woolf, who died  after bearing two daughters. He then married Julia, and they had six  children, including my grandfather, Joseph, born in 1867; my great uncles Wulf (William), Benjamin, Isaac, and Charles. And my great aunt, Mathilda, b.1864

Isaac, who liked to be known as Claude, was MP for West Pretoria, founded Wallach’s printing press, and was involved in publishing the Volkstem. When the local rabbi was asked whether Claude Wallach was Jewish, he replied, “Oh no, no, no....” Then, “he is no more Jewish than I am.”

Benjamin was reserve wicket keeper for the Springbok cricket team which toured England in about 1904 - he then stayed on for a while and played for the MCC, including one match on the same side as Arthur Conan Doyle and WG Grace.  

Joseph married Lily May Carlsen (who  was Irish Catholic , but  from Dunedin in New Zealand), and after moving to South Africa,  they had two sons: Julian Carlmeir Wallach, and his brother Sydney Joseph.

Julian married my mother, Geraldine Luyt in 1940, and they  had three children: me, Peter John; my sister Suzanne and my brother Anthony David.

I married my wife Colleen Anne in 1966, and  we have six children: Jaclyn, Jonathan, Elizabeth Mary, Abigail Kirstin, Stephen John, and Michael Peter.

Last time I  counted, we had seven  grandsons and three granddaughters. But that’s another story.