Jules Ellenberger (16 January 1871 – 20 August 1973) was an Imperial

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. Ellenberger was born to an old

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n pioneer family in a cave in what is now

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

. He was the son of D. F. Ellenberger of the Paris Mission Society mission in Lesotho, an Alsatian missionary and historian, and was educated at the Lovedale missionary school and in France.Neil Parsons
Charles Rey And Previous Commissioners of The Bechuanaland Protectorate
/ref> Ellenberger held a variety of posts in the

Bechuanaland Protectorate The Bechuanaland Protectorate () was a British protectorate, protectorate established on 31 March 1885 in Southern Africa by the United Kingdom. It became the Botswana, Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966. History Scottish missionary ...

, as the equivalent of a district commissioner at

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

Ngamiland The North-West District or Ngamiland is one of the first-level administrative subdivisions of Botswana. For census and administrative purposes Ngamiland is subdivided into Ngamiland East, Ngamiland West and Ngamiland Delta ( Okavango). It is gov ...

, and

Mafeking Mahikeng (Tswana for "Place of Rocks"), formerly known as Mafikeng and alternatively known as Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast o ...

. He served as assistant commissioner of the Southern Protectorate from 1902 to 1916, government secretary from 1916 to 1923, and Resident Commissioner of the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1923 to 1927, replacing his brother-in-law James MacGregor. He collected

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

of the BaTswana. Ellenberger's son, Vivien Frederick Ellenberger (died 1977), also served in the Protectorate's civil service, and wrote on BaLete and BaTlokwa history.

References

1871 births 1973 deaths Colonial Service officers Commissioners of the Bechuanaland Protectorate South African men centenarians Place of birth missing Place of death missing {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub