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THE
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA
INTRODUCTION
The Genealogical Society of South Africa (GSSA) is an international organisation of people engaged in the study of genealogy, family trees and family history with a South African connection.
MISSION
The GSSA's mission is to promote and facilitate interest and research in genealogy and family history.
MANAGEMENT & MEMBERSHIP
1. The National Executive Committee as well as the National Council are responsible for the general
2. management of the GSSA.
3. Membership of the Society is open to all individuals and organisations that share the same goals and objectives. Members generally participate in the activities of the GSSA through its regional
4. branches:
" Durban & Coastal Branch, Durban Northern Transvaal Branch, Pretoria
" East Cape Branch, Port Elizabeth Northwest Branch, Potchefstroom
" eGGSA (Virtual Branch) Vaal Triangle Branch, Vanderbijlpark
" Free State and Northern Cape Branch, Bloemfontein West Gauteng Branch, West Rand
" Johannesburg Branch Western Cape Branch, Cape Town
" Natal Midlands Branch, Pietermaritzburg
ACTIVITIES AND PRODUCTS/PROJECTS
1. JOURNALS AND NEWSLETTERS
" The GSSA publishes the quarterly journal FAMILIA that contains a variety of articles
covering all facets of genealogical research.
" Capensis and Genesis are genealogical journals published by the Western Cape and eGGSA
branches respectively.
" Various newsletters are published by regional branches.
2. PUBLICATIONS
To date, the GSSA has issued the following publications:
" Genealogical Reference Guide for South Africa (1999) (being updated; see website)
" Die Kilians (1999) - The Kilian Family Register
" FAMILIA CD (Back issues of FAMILIA from 1964 to 2004 are available on CD. Additional
issues will be released periodically on CD)
" FAMILIA Omnibus CD (2002 and 2003)
" Estate File Indexes CD, 1994-2002 (2003)
" Van Wij(c)k/Wyk CD (2004)
" Indian Passenger Lists (2004)
" Cemetery Recording Project/Begraafplaasprojek (2005) - more than 160 000 records
available on CD. Ongoing project.
3. WEBSITES
" The GSSA maintains the following website: http://www.ggsa.info
" Links to all GSSA branches (eg. eGGSA) various national and international genealogical
websites are available on the GSSA website. Information on additional links can be provided
on request.
GSSA Cemetery Recording News
Vol 9 No 1 - March 2011
Welcome
I just do not seem to succeed in getting this Newsletter out in time. You say I should practice time management? - I need to fit 26 hours into a 24-hour day. Anyway, I am glad to be back, sitting at my laptop, wading through Peter Moss's and other emails of the past three months. Every quarter I promise myself that I will start the Newsletter the day after I send the current one out. So far - no success, but I shall keep on trying.
I promised to tender my apologies for a 'boo-boo' I made in the last Newsletter. My sincere apologies go to Natal Inland Family History Society & Natal Midlands GSSA, and to Eckhard von Fintel, one of their members. It was they who manned the Heritage Day stand shown in our last Newsletter, NOT Durban & Coastal.
Please note that I have included the objectives of the two cemetery projects as an ANNEXURE to this Newsletter.
Peter, Beverley, Stuart and Adrian Moss receiving the Extra Mile award from GSSA President Hendrik Louw
Sincere congratulations to Peter and his family for their sterling effort on the Google Earth Iniative - a true example of going the extra mile. Well done!!
New Contributors & Volunteers
Welcome to Win Saunders who will be submitting information from the Marico district where he is involved in researching local history. Also to Pam and Phil Beck, members of the Boksburg Historical Society, who are mentioned in the Country-wide Round-up.
Country-wide Round-up
(Period 24.12.2010 to 31.03.2011)
" Sunelia Heath is in the process of transcribing photos taken by Tian Schutte of the Kloof Cemetery, Heidelberg.
" Faan Naude has submitted a spreadsheet of the Delareyville Cemetery which includes both headstone recordings and a transcription of the registers, and the GPS reading.
" An old hand at the cemetery recording game, Alta Roux, has provided register information of the Breyten Cemetery up to the year 2003, when a new register was commenced.
" Simone Kay (ED Is this the Simone without the surname of the last Newsletter?) has supplied a huge amount of information from the West Coast area of the Western Cape - 2169 names from 26 cemeteries, including among others, Doringbaai, Klawer and The Englishman's Grave. Congratulations!!
" Pam & Phil Beck paid a visit to the Norval's Pont Concentration Camp Cemetery and recorded and submitted the data.
" Freestater Corrie Evert is still hauling them in! Brandkop 702, District Bloemfontein (18), Alandia (3) and Lemoenput (2), Kaffirs Kop 193, District Herbert, are his latest.
" Gaynor Lightfoot will soon be submitting info on the graves at Fort Umlugulu in Zimbabwe.
" Owen (?) has sent us a photo, details and GPS readings for an SA Military Grave in Linaion Cemetery in Pembrokeshire.
Branch News
" Congratulations to Alta Griffiths and her team for being nominated to receive an award for their work on the Headstone Photographs Project, by the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs & Sport during February 2011. Well done to you all! The following was the announcement:
"Dit is met groot genoee dat ons die volgende aankondiging maak:
Gisteraand tydens 'n glansgeleentheid by die Kronendal Landgoed in die Paarl, het die Wes-Kaapse Minister van Kultuursake en Sport, dr Ivan Meyer die volgende toekennings gemaak vir 2010/11.
1) Award for a contribution towards public awareness/ documentation of our heritage resources' aan die GGSA Wes-Kaap se begraafplaasprojek onder leiding van Alta Griffiths
2) Award for the best individual/institution that promotes the Archive Services to the public through published articles and physical visits' aan die GGSA Wes-Kaap se Uitstalspan onder leiding van Mariana Olivier
Ons is baie trots op hierdie lede van ons en hulle is waardige wenners van die toekennings.
Groete
Andrew Kok"
" Just to confirm that the recording of Boksburg Cemetery was undertaken by the South East Witwatersrand Family History Society, NOT by Johannesburg GSSA.
" Other than the above - the Branches have been very quiet so far.
Enquiries
" Peter Moss received an enquiry from Heidi Morgan in respect of a Mary Blampied and was able to provide info on 3 Blampied's, but, more importantly, was able to confirm that a Marie Blampied is buried in the President Brand Cemetery, Bloemfontein. She died in 1886 at the age of 71.
New DVD
The 2011 DVD was launched at the AGM in Vereeniging on 12/13 March. For details of price, please contact Andre Heydenrych at aheydenr@mweb.co.za.
General/Selected Letters
Received from Margaret Truter in the USA:
Hi John:
Thank you for this newsletter, really enjoyed reading through it.
Alas, I live in Tujunga, California, USA, so not much help.
I do have a book here called:
Monumental Inscriptions: Cemeteries in and around 1820 British Settler Country,
Eastern Cape.
I saw it advertised years ago, puvliahws 1997, bought it because I was hunting for
my mother's grand-parents.
Still have not found them but really thought they would be listed in this book, it's a
great reference to the Eastern Cape Cemeteries.
If anyone wants a lookup, I would be happy to help with checking out a name or two for them.
Again, you're doing a fantastic job, and your work is appreciated.
My very best. Happy New Year's for 2011.
Margaret Truter
Author of the Truter Family Register
Received from Audrey Portman:
Hello John
Thanks very much for the Newsletter.
I just wanted to mention that if anyone is looking for graves for men who served in the SAC, I do have a list of most of these.
As we are compiling a publication on these men, I am not able to let you have this list at the moment but once the book is published, you will have access to these.
If anyone asks about a particular man, I am happy to pass the information on to you.
Regards
Audrey
(ED SAC is the South African Constabulary, as kindly explained to me by Audrey.)
Received from Sam Basch:
FINDING THE MISSING FRAGMENT
A stopover on a relative's farm during the December holidays unearthed a valuable trove for GSSA's farm cemetery project.
At 'Roosterhoek' near Burgersdorp in the Eastern Cape I found three old graves, presumably those of former owners named Prinsloo. Sadly all three were badly damaged, with only one headstone intact, kept upright by means of a metal bar. Traces of dried mud showed it had recently been raised from a toppled position. The remaining two were in pieces, though I could still read the inscription on the oldest, dating from 1917. Seeing very few fragments around the third (middle) grave I started digging, feeling rather like an archaeologist.
For digging tools I had a rusted tin and short iron rod from the headstone's own reinforcement. As darkness fell the partly reconstructed inscription still lacked key information: dates of birth and death.
It became a race against time, because we were departing the following day. With the help of two volunteer farm workers wielding shovels I continued the search early next morning. It paid off: we found one more essential fragment. Frustratingly, the birth date was incomplete: 186? And we still had only the month of death, no year.
I suggested that we stop digging and rather go through the loose soil heaped around the grave. We found the one important missing piece with the dates, allowing me to photograph the shattered headstone "rebuilt" on the grave. I still need to find the deceased's full name, but that is for another day.
Hopefully the photographs submitted to the GSSA cemetery project would assist researchers, and bring comfort to any living relatives of the Prinsloo family.
Sam J Basch
January 2011
Received from Alta Griffiths of the Headstone Photographs Project:
Good morning everyone!
For those of you that I have missed, we are wishing you all a wonderful 2011, with loads of strength to face all the challenges that comes our way.
Last year ended with a bit of a bang, when I reset the logon to our album the Photo Labelling Group, and the passwords were compromised 5 minutes later. A problem caused on my side! We are now issuing individual passwords, so if you have not received your new logon details yet, pls send an e-mail to me.
As always we set ourselfs a target in the eGGSA headstone project and for this year we are hoping to have a total of 350 000 photos published on the web by the end of 2011. Which is roughly 90 000 new photos. It does sound like a lot, but by looking at our past performance, we should be able to achieve it.
Secondly we are hoping to also reduce the turn around time for publishing the photos onto the web to about 4 months. Take in consideration that it takes about 4 - 6 weeks for the photos to reach Eileen in Canada , who is doing our uploads. That gives us captioners 3 months to mark and transfer the graves. And from what I have seen of your performance in the last few months - marking the graves should not be an issue here.
A more challenging obsticale we need to address, is the last step of our process and that is 'opening the graves up to the public'. This is where we check the captions, create sub-albums, move the photos into the ABC files and inform the person who donated the photos that they are finally on the web. As you know we work together with the GGSA Cemetery DVD project, and all our cemeteries gets entered into the Cemetery Index. Which means that the we need stuff like the correct locations and GPS info! This nitty gritty - is helping us to cut down on duplications and also to ensure that the cemetery locations on the website are more accurate. But very time consuming, especially if the GPS info is not readily available or incorrect.
If you have any queries please let me know. We are also open to new ideas, but be assured you will be the one implementing it!
Kindest regards
Alta Griffiths
The Cost of Dying
Everyone complains about the cost of living - what about the cost of dying? Well, recently I had some correspondence with Grahame Naudé. The following is the result thereof:
Grahame: The following just out of pure interest sake, they were my maternal grandparents. Both were born in England.
Edith Beatrice Robins née Horne died 1945. The receipt for her burial in the St.Peter's Cemetery, Mowbray, Cape Town was from the Undertaking firm of Human & Pitt.
English coffin, hearse, 2 cars, removal to the Chapel, arranging and attending the funeral £37.9.0; Revd Thompson £1.1.0; Notices in the Cape Times and Cape Argus 10/-; 2 Death Certificates 5/-; opening of grave £2.0.0. Total £41.15.0
George Nicholas Robins died 1946 buried by the same undertakers in the same cemetery.
English oak coffin with shroud, a hearse, 2 cars, removal to the chapel, arranging and attending the funeral £39.6.0; Clergyman's fee £1.1.0; Notices in the Cape Times and Cape Argus 10/-; 2 copies of the Death Certificate 5/-; opening of the grave £2.5.0. Total £43.17.0.
John: It would be rather interesting to establish the comparable costs for today and then calculate the "Burial Business" inflation rate over the period.
Grahame: The local AVBOB say that they don't list the items separately anymore, but to-day, with an oak coffin, shroud, minister, grave preparation etc., could cost ± R8000 - 8500. You could calculate?
John: Assuming today's exchange rate of R11.26 to the pound, today's costs would be £710.48 to £754.88.
Taking the higher figure and relating it to the 1946 burial costs gives me an inflation rate of 4.55% over the 64 year period. (ED Hope someone doesn't have a better financial calculator than mine.)
Well, at least something is not maintaining double-digit inflation!!!!!
Special appeal
In our last Newsletter we had three appeals for information. I am happy to say that two have had replies:
" Cobus Holtzkampf has provided the photos and GPS coordinates for the C J van den Berg buried near Wyliespoort, in the Limpopo Province.
" Francie Wellen of the S E Wits Family History Society has provided Vic Marneweck with a contact person who may be able to assist him in his search for graves at the Tongaat Mushroom Factory Cemetery, Sandton.
New appeals:
" Lamia Bezer is looking for graves of the Imbrolio family who lived in Beaconsfield, Kimberley. Please contact Lamia at lamiabezer@gmail.com.
" Has anyone any ideas about the Cemetery on a Traffic Circle in 9th Street Alberton? Only one has a recordable headstone and this was done by Derek Walker some time ago. We would certainly like to know who else was buried there. Elly Harrison - do you perhaps know? (ED Unfortunately unable to manipulate the photo I have on hand.)
KAMMIE'S KORNER
For those of you who do not know who is behind the alias (nickname?) Kammie, let me briefly introduce you: His full name is Mogamat Kamedien. He is the Co-Editor of the recent slave history publication : "BIBILIOGRAPHIES of BONDAGE" and an independent slave historian. He is also PRO and Secretary of the Cape Family Research Forum. He may be contacted at kammie@new.co.za.
Below is another one from my bag of emails received from Kammie last year. Unfortunately due to its length, I shall have to publish it in serial form. This article written by Dawn Kennedy and published on 25/02/2010, is at times very serious, but at other times very humorous. Take the time to read it - it is very enlightening.
PART 1
"In Maitland Cemetery, where passion entwines with mortality, a team of committed workers ensure that the dead are given a dignified exit.
At the mandala-like centre of Cape Town's 100 ha cemetery, two workers scrape their brooms calmly through the dust, making a cicada-like noise that sounds like a teacher telling a class to "shush". But for the dead who lie in Maitland cemetery, it's too late to learn any more lessons.
Here, the brief and brutal lives of Cape Town's gangsters are etched onto the tombstones and the sound of gunshots accompanies them into eternity. James Thomas, who has worked for 26 years as a tombstone layer, says, "Gangsters are our main customers. They have a short life.
If they die, the boss looks after them." And, if they're the boss? Then, having spent a life of skullduggery, they will be laid to rest in a splendid structure, replete with pillars. Lording over the space is the resting place of the notorious gang leader Coleen Stanfield. "His grave cost R74 000," says James, "and a lot of trouble." On the day a gang-lord is buried, police line the perimeter of the cemetery, rifles cocked towards the gravesite, ready to step in and stop the violence if rival gangs appear.
The undertakers are a jovial bunch. It seems that being close to death reminds them to enjoy their allotted lifespan: pot bellies, deep laughter and smile-wrinkled faces are evident among them.
Throughout the day, the tombstone layers troop in and out of the record office, a grim place the electronic age hasn't yet reached. Everybody buried at Maitland cemetery, dating back to the first burial on 16 January 1886, is recorded as a hand-written entry in a dusty ledger. The books are close to disintegrating, their pages threadbare and torn, but the tombstone layers flick through them as though looking for a number in a telephone directory, double-checking that their tombstones are allocated to the correct grave, regardless of the fact that tearing a page might eradicate evidence of a corpse's resting place forever.
1994 brought big changes to the business of burial. Until then, three institutions monopolised the death market: Cliff, Gardener and Monumental Art. But after 1994, new laws opened up the market and soon entrepreneurs like Ronnie Abernaud began offering tombstones at a quarter of the price. However, this new freedom has brought a scourge of opportunism. 'The bakkie gang', as James calls them, have been making a quick profit, passing off cheap concrete tombstones as genuine granite, designed to weather all elements into eternity. Unwitting mourners, who spend up to R10 000 for a granite tombstone, are dismayed to find that in less than a year, concrete starts to poke through the spray-painted granite effect and the writing on the tombstone begins to vanish.
But most people are lucky and get what they are able to pay for. There's no limit to the amount you can spend. At the upper end, you can have gold leaf inscribed on black marble, and at the lower end, a plain wooden cross or an estate agent-like sign. Variety is the spice of, well, death. Popular in Maitland is the heart-shaped tombstone that adds a touch of kitsch to any grave, especially when combined with water bottles filled with plastic flowers. Another tradition is to attach a photograph of the deceased, generally unflattering and out of focus, to the tombstone.
Why is it that we address the dead in tones that we would never use to speak to them when they were alive? In death, the cold-shouldered husband suddenly becomes a 'dearly departed'. The most gut-wrenching condolences are written in honest, heartfelt tones: I get a lump in my throat after reading "Mummy, our whole lives through our aching hearts will always love, miss and remember you.' Still, each grave tells a story and my imagination longs to fill in the blank spaces. There's the grave of the 'beloved wife' who passed away in 2003. The right-hand side remains blank, waiting for the husband who will join her at a future date. Meanwhile, the grave is sadly neglected. Has the husband found a new lease on life? Is he sailing the world, or has the departed wife been replaced with a living version? Then there's the 20 year old who died in an aviation accident. I want to know more. Why can't each grave have a biography sealed in a glass jar beside it: a record of that person's achievements, their loves and passions? Surely, each life is worth that much? The clichéd lines etched in stone suddenly seem so inadequate to the task of remembering a life. Towards the far end of Maitland cemetery rest those of European extraction. Celtic crosses abound and graves, overgrown with ivy, are watched over by white marble angels. It's a piece of history, a slice of apartheid trapped in amber and a pertinent reminder that death is the great equalizer and cannot be made to obey laws, or be kept out by fences. In this European section, I feel a familiar melancholy, as though the grey skies of Europe descend upon my shoulders. I read of people who died in the year that I was born, and those who passed away too early to love. (To be continued.)
Editor's Note
Well, again it is quite a mixed bag, but I hope you find it informative as well as entertaining.
Next Issue
The next Newsletter will be issued during June 2011. (I'll really try.) Any comments, criticisms, articles of interest, etc should reach the Editor by not later than 31st May 2010.
If you wish to unsubscribe, send an e-mail with the Subject "Unsubscribe" to sfred@vodamail.co.za.
Contacts
Editor: John Schwartz
P O Box 1263
Rosettenville
2130
011-432-0048 (h)
011-432-0048 (w)
082-921-6876 (c)
e-mail: sfred@vodamail.co.za
Cemetery Recording Project: Peter Moss
e-mail: peter.moss@mweb.co.za
Further information re the Project can be obtained on the GSSA homepage
www.ggsa.info. Follow the menu to Projects/Cemetery Project. Information re present
Status etc is provided via Excel files.
ANNEXURE
The Genealogical Society of SA
Cemetery Recording Project Outline
November 2010
Mission
To preserve the genealogical information contained in cemeteries of South African interest and make the information accessible to genealogical researchers.
Scope and objectives of the project
" The Project is an initiative of the Genealogical Society of South Africa and as such will align its goals with the goals of the GSSA.
" The aim is to preserve information by the collecting, recording, processing and safekeeping of cemetery data. This is achieved by recording the genealogical information, including birth, death and burial data plus any personal historical data (e.g. occupation, marriage or any other family relationships) contained in the cemetery data.
" The data is collected from all cemetery type sources, including headstones, burial registers, memorials and cremation plaques.
" The project covers all cemetery data of South African interest, inside and outside of South Africa.
" A prime focus of the Project is the collection of information from the very many farm cemeteries that exist throughout SA. These have no burial registers and the headstones are more subject to neglect and damage than the town cemeteries (which are also under threat).
" Credit and acknowledgement will be given to Recorders.
" The GSSA is a non-profit organisation. All recording and administrative work is done by volunteers.
The Project is organised in two parts:
1 The DVD Project
The DVD Project collects name information from various sources (headstones, memorials, registers etc) and publishes this annually as an Index in DVD form. The Index is searchable by name, cemetery etc, DVD 9 published in April 2011 contains 412,453 names from 2,787 cemeteries. In addition to Cemetery Recording efforts at the various GSSA Branches, we have a large number of individuals who record data and assist with data processing.
The DVD can be ordered from Andre Heydenrych at tesourier@ggsa.info
DVD Data coordinators: Peter and Beverley Moss: cemadmin@ggsa.info
DVD Newsletter Editor: John Schwartz newsletter@ggsa.info
2 The eGSSA Photo Project
The eGSSA (the web-based Branch of the GSSA) publishes headstone photos on the internet; these photo albums are searchable by name, cemetery etc. There is no charge for access.
The albums presently contain over 240 000 photos, with some 50 000 photos still to be processed.
This effort is coordinated by Alta Griffiths: cemphoto@ggsa.info ,
eGSSA webpage: http://www.eggsa.org/library/main.php
Postal address: PO Box 1998, DURBANVILLE, 7551.
Also visit the GSSA webpage
Please also visit the GSSA homepage www.ggsa.info/ for further information.
Select PROJECTS/CEMETERY PROJECT from the menu bar on the left. This page contains several Excel files which give details of the status of cemeteries recorded, recorder's names, etc. These files are updated monthly.
Also, explore the GSSA cemetery locations live on line! Click on GSSA Google Earth Cemetery Initiative, where we display our cemetery locations on a Google Earth platform. You will need a broadband connection and "Google Earth" preloaded on your pc to view this (free download from www.earth.google.com )
About the Cemetery Index
The Cemetery Index is used to correlate recording data between the DVD and eGSSA projects. It contains 3 main areas:
1. Cemetery naming, Cem ID, where we use the farm name / number as found on the 1:50000 maps of SA. There can be more than 1 cemetery location on a farm (see 3.)
2. Documents, which tracks recording and submitting names, dates entered, etc
3. Cemetery locations, GPSID, which contains the GPS coordinates, links to eGSSA photo albums, etc, and provides data for the Google Earth Cemetery Initiative.
Recording - please help
We request that recorders send in headstone photos, or provide a transcript of the headstone information (preferably in our standard excel format which saves time at our end), and also to provide GPS coordinates and a view photo of the cemetery.
If you are interested in helping with recording work, in data processing or any other aspect of the Project, please contact the Coordinators noted above for further information.
GSSA Cemetery Recording News
Vol 8 No 3/4 - September/December 2010
West Street Cemetery, DURBAN Compliments of Eleanor Garvie
Well! What can I say? The year 2010 ran out on me. My other avenues of endeavour kept me so busy that when I looked again December loomed and before I had time to take breath, I found myself two days away from Christmas, and I had not yet put pen to paper. (I suppose it is now 'finger to keyboard'.) Enough of excuses! I shall endeavour in these dying days of 2010 to bring you up to date on the activities of your friends and colleagues during the past year.
First of all: Congratulations to everyone throughout the country and abroad who made a contribution, no matter how small, to the success of this year's headstone recordings and photographs - THE FINAL FIGURES ARE AN INCREASE OF 115 CEMETERIES CONTAINING 41 291 NAMES GIVING A DVD9 TOTAL FOR MARCH OF 2787 CEMETERIES CONTAINING 412 453 NAMES RECORDED
In the meantime, Alta Griffiths, Project Leader of the Headstone Photo Project of eGGSA has not been sitting on her thumb. She and her team of volunteers have increased their PHOTO COLLECTION BY 77 000 OVER THE PAST YEAR TO A FINAL TOTAL OF 257 000. (In addition, she still has another 35 000 in various stages of processing.) TO ALL YOU PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO SEND IN PHOTOS FOR INCLUSION, PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT TO FIND YOUR PHOTOS THERE NEXT WEEK! THE CURRENT TURNAROUND TIME IS ABOUT FIVE MONTHS.
New Contributors & Volunteers
Every few months new names appear on the horizon to assist with this huge task which we have undertaken. Dennis Pretorius speaks of eating an elephant one bite at a time in reference to his Project of transcribing the 1984 Census. Man, are we busy with a beeeg elephant. Welcome on board to Thinus Theart, Rina Hartzenberg, Danie Gerryts, Sam Basch, Faan Naude and Mike and Beverley Moll. Look forward to seeing your names on a regular basis. We also have a Simone and a Lizette who have not provided their surnames.
Country-wide Round-up
(Period 1.07.2010 to 23.12.2010)
" Sunelia Heath has lodged a typed up batch of 1275 names from the Burghersdorp Cemetery, Dist Albert, E.Cape. In addition she has submitted 573 names from the Coligny Cemetery which she transcribed from photos of the register taken by one of our stalwarts, Tian Schutte.
" Peter and Beverley Moss are still keeping their hand in and recorded and photographed Mandeni, Lot 14 Tugela (7 names). MacCorkingdales Grant 19 (Bethany) (35 names) and two Fort Pearson cemeteries (5 and 2 names) were also submitted by them.
" Die Veldrif Nuwe Begraafplaas is deur Thinus Theart opgeskryf en ingedien (762 name). Aurora, Distrik Piketberg se begraafplaas is ook opgeskryf en ingedien. (467 name). Riversdal is gefotograveer en Sunelia Heath is besig met die transcripsie.
" Corrie Evert continues with his farm cemetery campaign and has brought in three new ones: Rondefontein 511 (26), Voorspoed 1585 (Kanonfontein) (1) and Doornpan 404 (2) and 5 from Soutpan, District of Brandfort: Geluk 34 - 2 cems (3 names) Vaalbank 581 (15 names) Florisbad 686 (15 names) Rietfontein 155 (1 name) and Jakkalsfontein 155 (13 names). In addition one name from Wolvenfontein, Belmont, District Herbert. Corrie also provided photos and records of the five names of those buried at the Vroue-monument, Bloemfontein.
" They've done it again! Janet and Koos Lourens have found another three farm cemeteries in the Reitz District: Smitsrus 127 (10), Nooitgedacht 94 (4) and Sterffontein 170 (4).
" John Deare continues researching cemeteries in and around Pietermaritzburg - his latest submission being the Italian POW Cemetery.
" And from the Free State again comes another one from stalwart Fanie Blignaut: Pistorius Rust 288, near Parys.
" Natalie da Silva of Johannesburg GSSA has promised photos of the Bulawayo Pioneer Section's headstones.
" Danie Gerryts has sent in photos of the two Vos graves in the Chobe Safari Lodge.
" Another one of our travelers, Rentia Landman, has provided photos of the cemetery in Gaborone.
" Peter Moss provided Alta Griffiths with a photo of the tomb of Enoch Sontonga (composer of Nkosi I'Sikelele), as well as photos of Sherwood, Glenardie Cemetery, Loon Road, while son, Adrian Moss and daughter-in-law, Lauren submitted photos and GPS readings for 2 headstones on the farm Grootsuikerbosch 124, Dullstroom as well as the farm Tweefontein 462 (4 names), District Bela Bela.
" John Schwartz and Ken Mutch managed to obtain a new set of photos as well as GPS readings for the Rietfontein (now Siswe) Hospital cemeteries.
" From further afield again, Johan Victor and Gaynor Lightfoot have provided photos of the Mangwe Cemetery, Plumtree, Zimbabwe (6 names).
" It seems like Petro Coreesjes-Brink (our Project Leader) and Beverley and Mike Moll have been on a farm cemetery safari!! The results thereof are:
District Namaqualand: Kammieskroon - Doornfontein 464, Koeroebees & Keerom 341 Kykokeis (still being processed);
Kammieskroon - Ouss 463, Blyderus 4 cemeteries (29)
Kammieskroon - Wolwepoort 459 2 cemeteries (7)
Garies - Dikdoorn (10)
District Calvinia Tankwa Karoo Nat Park - Gannaga 1029 (2)
District Sutherland Tankwa Karoo Nat Park - Langekloof 60 (5)
District Van Rhynsdorp Nuwerus Old Cemetery (10)
District Worcester McGregor NG Church (4)
" In addition, Petro did Welgemoed 333, Weltevrede (3), District Ceres and Cederberg, Matjiesrivier 324 (22) District Clanwilliam, with Fay Lea doing the photos for the latter cemetery.
" Eleanor & Ken Garvie of Durban have, over a period of years, compiled a database of 90 000 names which they have transcribed from the cemetery registers at Stellawood Cemetery. These will be submitted once the photos are complete. Not only that! They are also involved, together with Eckard von Fintel, in serious attempts to preserve the heritage and, in particular, the cemeteries from vandalism and neglect. (ED Well done, Eleanor & Ken and your helpers.)
" Sam Basch has got off to a good start with two farm cemeteries: Nietgenaamd 9, District Uniondale (3 names) and Zeevenfontein 110, Burghersdorp, District Albert (6 names). In addition he has provided photos of the farm "Geluk" near Belfast. See the photo of the war memorial on the right. (We look forward to many more farm cemeteries, Sam. ED.)
" Faan Naude (via Fanie "Blikkies" Blignaut) while at a funeral at Debeng (Deben), photographed 111 headstones. He also recorded the GPS of the entrance and the centre of the cemetery. Faan has also promised us photos and transcriptions of the Delareyville headstones and registers.
" Someone we haven't heard of for some time has surfaced again. Barend Leach has given us 29 photos, taken on the farm Uitgevonden 355, known as Bakerville, between Lichtenburg and Zeerust.
" Simone (?) and Lizette (?) recorded the Drosty St Christ Church and AL1 sections of the Swellendam Main cemetery (226 names), as well as Keurbosberge, Drogerijst Kloof 74, Winkelshoek, District Piketberg. (17 names)
" Peter Moss has forwarded to Alta Griffith, photos taken in Zambian cemeteries during his monthly trips to Zambia in bygone years.
" Another person who has been quiet for some time, Hentie Joubert, has submitted info on two farms in the Lydenburg District: Rietfontein 375 (13 names) and Rooikrans 57 (9 names).
" Pam Cerff submitted her recording of the Worcester English Cemetery, Somerset Street, Worcester, reflecting 59 names.
" James MacKenzie has contacted us: he runs a website http://southernafricamilitaria.com on which he currently has in the region of 1200 grave photos of German military graves in Namibia. Negotiations are afoot.
Branch News
WEST GAUTENG : This branch has recently commenced their cemetery recording in the Eikenhof area of Gauteng: Elandsfontein 334 (25 names), Hartzenbergfontein 332 (5 names) and Muldersrus 330 (15 names) (Well done! Keep it rolling. ED)
DURBAN & COASTAL: Not content with having a database of 90 000 names, Eleanor & Ken Garvie got a team together on 11 December 2010 to commence photographing the headstones of Stellawood Cemetery. The day was a great success with 18 volunteers pitching in. A total of 3540 photos were taken - a good start to eating this elephant. Alta Griffiths, who heads up the Headstones Photo Project for eGGSA, was holidaying on the South Coast, but took off the day to, together with her family, pitch in to assist with the task.
DURBAN & COASTAL HERITAGE DAY STAND
We had a number of enquiries from members of the Indian community. Apart from the GSSA CD listing the original Indentured workers it is quite a challenge to find suitable sources of information for them and we urged them to use family networking to gather and record data from their own
relations.
Eckhard Von Fintel explain-ing the finer points of family
research to a group.
S E WITS FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY have reached another milestone and have completed recording, typing, proof-reading and submitting the headstone recordings for the Boksburg Main Cemetery. Under the leadership of Project Leader, Ken Mutch, a total of 16 196 names were recorded. A word of congratulation to their typist, Roz du Plessis is definitely in order. She singlehandedly typed the whole recording with absolutely minimal errors.
Enquiries
" Lere Visagie enquired re Kruger graves in the Eastern Cape, but could unfortunately not be helped.
" Peter Moss could assist Sharron Peters of New Zealand with the help of Alan Buff of Johannesburg Parks, providing her with the grave no of James Murphy who died in Johannesburg in the late 1890s.
" Doreen Piner, new member of Johannesburg GSSA, was helped to find her Norval ancestors.
" Mrs M A de Villiers, free lance researcher of the Cape was approached by Misty de Vries with a request to trace her grandmother's grave (Potgieter)
" Malcolm Stevens wrote to Peter Moss and Eleanor Garvie for assistance in tracing the graves of his grandparents who were buried in Stellawood Cemetery. Eleanor not only found the info for him, but also went to the trouble of providing him with photos of the graves.
" Gail Liss enquired about recordings of her grandparents on the farm Lagerspoort, Heidelberg - John Schwartz was able to assist via the DVD.
DVD
For details of price, please contact Andre Heydenrych at aheydenr@mweb.co.za.
General/Letters
E-Mail 1 received by Peter Moss
The reason for my request is that my sister is writing a book about our family and our Mom, born 11 March 1925 Rhoda Conway nee James (widowed as a Mrs RC van der Byl), who died recently. She leaves a history of the James family which is largely undocumented. FFE Conway James was a Welshman and was divorced from our grandmother early on in the marriage. Little contact was achieved after that, although he did die in Johannesburg, where he used to visit us when we children were growing up, and as I told you, was cremated at Braamfontein. If you are doing the birth register, any details you find on Frederick Farnham Elliot Conway James would be useful. The names Elliot and Conway may be transposed into Conway Elliot, I am not sure of which way round. He would have been born in Conway, Wales, sometime in the 1880's. I'm sure you won't have his details of him, in any birth register, though. He was married to Johanna Carter, widowed (nee Joubert), born on 11th December, 1885 (or so we think). Importantly, is that we would love to have info on FFE C James. Any help you could give us would be appreciated.
With thanks,
Regards,
Sue Poole (
E-Mail 2 received by John Schwartz
Dear John
You will remember that your June newsletter contained a query from a Sister Grehan. It was a request for information about a Joubert grave in Somerset West. I forwarded it to my brother, who wrote to her as follows:
Dear Sister,
Our telephonic conversation of this morning refers.
Hester Johanna de Villiers was born on 3 November 1771 and baptised at Paarl (Drakenstein) on 10 November 1771 and died on 22 March 1807. One can reasonably assume that she was directly related to the "de Villiers" family who owned Boschendal in Drakenstein. The de Villiers as well as the Joubert family originates from France, who as Huguenots emigrated to South Africa during the late 1600's. Pierre Joubert arrived in 1688 and when he died he owned the following farms in the now Western Province; La Provence, La Motte, Lórmirans and Bellingham in Franchhoek and Mont Pellier in Tulbach and La Plaisante in Wolseley.
Hester Johanna married Gideon Jacobus Joubert who was born in 1765 in Wellington Cape and baptised in Graaf- Reinet on 24 November 1765. He died on 3 June 1846. They had nine children:
Maria Magdalena born 16 May 1790 in Paarl (Drakenstein)
Maria Johanna born 25 July 1791 do
Joshua Andries born 27 September 1793 do died 1833 - married Aletta Catharina Reitz born 9 April 1798
David Petrus born 6 March 1795 do
Esther Susanna born 2 May 1797 do married Gysbert Jan Carel Reitz
Anna Margaretha born 17 March 1799 do
Jacobus Johannes born 20 February 1801 died young
Maria Johanna born 30 April 1803 died 30 March 1874. Married F.Dickenson
Jacobus Johannes 31 Augustus 1806
I trust this information will be of some value to you.
Regards,
Hardie Joubert
Do you know somebody who will go and record the grave and possibly send me a photo? Is Elmien Wood still active?
Regards
Hentie Joubert
E-Mail 3 received by Eleanor Garvie
Dear Eleanor
Oh my Gosh - how do I thank you - words are just not adequate enough. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to photograph the Crowder graves and also the grave of Ange Calteaux my greatgrandfather - yes his son is buried with him.
Thank you so very much for putting Samuel and Mary Crowder's gravestone together and photographing it - I am so grateful to you and honestly this is the best Christmas present I could ever ever ever have been given.
Once again - my humble gratitude for helping me.
Regards
Helen Calteaux van Tonder
A BRIEF HISTORY of Dikhololo Submitted by Fanie Blignaut
The farm was established in 1912 by J J Kloppers and named Siena No. 14. Several family
members are buried in the cemetery below the Piet-My-Vrou camp. The farmhouse ruins can
still be seen near the cemetery. The Bezuidenhout sons were married to the daughters of
J J Kloppers.
Many ox-wagons, on their way to Pretoria from up to North, stopped over to refill water supplies
from the watering hole near the old farmhouse. Hence the existing pub is called
"Die Laaste Watergat" (the Last Watering hole).
The Kloppers family sold the farm to Mr Olivier who later resold to Mr Herman. PI was the
residence of Mr Herman. The old stone gate can still be seen at the entrance of the
Piet-My-Vrou camp. Minister Carel de Wet purchased the farm and sold it to Willem Bester,
property developer, when the airbase at Hoedspruit was established.
Permission was granted to develop 11 hectares of the 450 hectare property. Building
commenced in 1981 and Dikhololo was fully developed. Mr Willem Bester, Developer and Chairman of WB Trust, resigned on 15th July 1991 and he also resigned as director on 9th
September 1991.
The company is a Share Block company in terms of the Act of 1980, for use by shareholders.
Directors are appointed annually at an Annual General Meeting, who then in turn appoint a Management Committee who administer it on behalf of the shareholders.
The entire development has been completed and there are no more shares held by the developers. The resort boast with a number of over 8500 shareholders. It is presently the largest share block
holiday resort in South Africa.
KAMMIE'S KORNER
A GRAVE DISCOVERY
(PART 2)
Article By: Sharon Marshall
Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:40
In my travels overseas, I have never been able to resist a graveyard and the silent history it relates. At home I'm so caught up in the cause of progress it's easy to pass off a cemetery as the dead centre it seems.
Until I found boy-soldier SE Morley (see Part I of the story) and started tracking down his and my own ancestors, who moved in the same circles.
In a little cemetery on Grassridge Farm in Cradock , James Lydford Collett, the progenitor of my paternal grandmother's family and that of the late Professor Guy Butler, is buried beside his wife Rhoda Trollip, herself a settler in search of a better life and unknowing pawn in England's grand emigration scheme which shaped the complicated history I call my own.
I'm told the grave-site still exists, and the thought of seeing it produces the same chilly-warm feeling that I have somehow come home - to the mighty Fish River, Bartholomew Diaz's turning point in 1488, strategic boundary of the 1820 settlement and site of my great great great uncle's marriage to a slave from Madagascar in the early 1830s.
This is Frontier country: nine wars were fought here before 1900, the ANC and resistance to Nationalist rule was born here in the 20th century and graves are as much a part of the landscape as the melting pot of people who have fought to own a part of it.
Halfway between nearby Graaff-Reinet and Aberdeen in the middle of the veld lies the overgrown grave of an Afrikaner voortrekker, fenced in by his wife on their pilgrimage north, and, not far away, an ancient rock painting of the sacred eland and runic inscriptions proclaim spiritual homage to a San hunter-gatherer.
Closer to colonial strongholds like Grahamstown, settler graveyards like St James at Southwell, St John's at Bathurst and Cuylerville Cemetery complement the lone testimonies of an unnamed Hottentot whose hand was chopped off to save the life of a Xhosa chief to whom he was handcuffed.
The grave of cult figure and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in King William's Town, who was murdered in jail in 1977, also bears testimony to generations of political strife."
If Queenstown's on your route, there's an elderly gentleman in the town who knows every 'inhabitant' of the vandalised graveyard, because he made it his business, as a United Party member, to ensure the opposition Nats weren't using dead people as bogus postal voters in the 1960's elections.
If you're into drama and have access to a 4x4, get someone to guide you to the top of Buffelskop, overlooking Cradock, where the spirit of controversial author of Story of an African, Olive Schreiner, lives on, in an elaborate igloo-shaped tomb built in 1920 by her estranged husband Samuel Cronwright, who had her remains moved from Maitland Cemetery in Cape Town.
More of a contrast would be hard to find. Maitland or Woltemade Cemetery, though it houses hundreds of notables, is run-down and a source of much agitation for visitors. Over 100 homeless squatters camp out in plastic 'tents' beside their stone-slab 'postboxes', hanging out their washing to the approval of the dead who they say protect them from gangsters.
Unorthodox form of respect though it may be, respect it is; which, many believe, is a civilised custom that began right here in South Africa.
The Border Cave, a site on the KwaZulu Natal/Swaziland border, is the site of the first known deliberate burial in the world 80 000 years ago, and as recently as 1999 archaeologists discovered the mummified remains of a 2000-year-old San hunter-gatherer embalmed by an indigenous plant, in the Kouga mountains.
RESPECTING THE DEAD
It is this same need to show respect that sparked the international battle over the remains of Sara Baartman hundreds of years after she was publicly humiliated in Europe and which saw them finally brought to rest in Hankey; the same debate that raged over the removal of Chief Makana's remains from Robben Island to the Eastern Cape; the same urge that motivated local tribesmen to preserve the Valley of the Kings in KwaZulu Natal, home in life and death to a long line of Zulu chiefs which include Cetshwayo, the man who brought the British to their knees at the Battle of Isandlwana in 1879.
For better or worse, spiritual consciousness deems it necessary to honour the dead, and like the circle of modern South African life begun at the foot of Table Mountain, the Mother City is the fulcrum around which at least one circle spins.
Begun over 250 years ago, when Islam slaves were first brought to the Cape, a circle of tombs of saints of their religion is now complete. It starts at the kramat on Signal Hill and ends at Robben Island.
For those with little inclination to travel beyond the fairest Cape, just one trip is necessary: embodying the essence of what all this battle and heartache is about: a granite Celtic cross marking the grave of Kirstenbosch's first director, Professor Harold Pearson, states simply, "If ye seek his monument, look around."
Extract from Thabo Mbeki's words at the adoption of South Africa's constitution on May 8, 1996:
"I owe my being to the hills and the valleys…the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land. I owe my being to the Khoi and the San... I am formed of the migrants who left Europe to find a new home in our native land...
in my veins courses the blood of the Malay slaves... I am the grandchild who lays flowers on the Boer graves…I am the grandchild of the warrior men and women that Hintsa and Sekhukhune led…the soldiers Moshoeshoe and Ngungunyane taught never to dishonour the cause of freedom."
TOUR YOUR LOCAL CEMETERY
Eastern Cape
Liz Eshmade, known as the 'Grave Lady' by the Port Elizabeth press, has, with the help of school groups and other volunteers, recorded a comprehensive list of graveyard inhabitants in the greater Port Elizabeth area, and is in the process of publishing a second book which already covers over 16 000 names in 230 cemeteries - from the Fish River to Port St. Johns and north to the Orange River. It should be out later this year.
On visiting graveyards, Liz says: "The main element here is that cemeteries are NOT sad places, they are gold mines of information about our past, they are the best and easiest way to learn history and get a load of fresh air and exercise at the same time. Everything from battles, the rise of commerce and industry, the killer diseases of their period, their way of life, their thinking, their religious beliefs - it is all there to be noted and can be so easily understood when you are away from the comforts of your lounge and standing in a forgotten cemetery in the bush."
However, she cautions that it is safest to do tours in groups, especially in more isolated areas, and she herself conducts tours to this end of St Mary's in Port Elizabeth, while Rose Treahaven includes other cemeteries in her Ghost Walk Tours.
Contact Liz at eshmade@mweb.co.za or 041-3682213.
Settler Country
If you're into experiencing the whole Frontier shebang, Rob Speirs of Frontier Tours runs comprehensive tours of settler country. Brochures can be obtained from info@speirstours.co.za or 043 642 1747, or by visiting www.speirstours.co.za
Gauteng
Elaine Persona runs customised tours of Brixton and Braamfontein cemeteries, combined with other architectural legacies in Johannesburg.
Contact her at the Parktown & Westcliff Heritage Trust on: 011-482 3349.
Cape
To find out more about graveyards around the Cape peninsula, contact info@twinoaks.co.za or catch a ride on the Mystery Ghost Bus Tour.
And if you're ever in the Prince Albert district in the Karoo, make sure you try out their ghost walk.
In the Northern Cape town of Kimberley, you can join the Kimberly Ghost Trail.
Phone: 053-832 7298 for more info.
(ED From an article in travel.iafrica by Sharon Marshall)
Editor's Note
Here's wishing everybody a prosperous and blessed 2011. Keep the info rolling in so that we can make the difference for the researchers who come after us.
Special appeal
" Vic Marneweck is hunting for the grave of Cornelis Johan Marneweck, buried at Tongaat Mushroom Factory Cemetery, Sandton according to an old entry on our DVD. So far he has been unsuccessful Can anyone throw any light on the mystery?
" GPS coordinates and a photo are sought for the memorial to C J van den Berg, shot dead on 10 May 1901; it is supposedly on the farm Lokovelha 793 (Harnham 793) near Wyliespoort, Limpopo. Please help, someone.
" Marg Mansfield is searching for the final resting place of Catherine Kidd and Ebenezer Kidd.
Next Issue
The next Newsletter will be issued during March 2011. Any comments, criticisms, articles of interest, etc should reach the Editor by not later than 28th February 2011.
Contacts
Editor: John Schwartz
P O Box 1263
Rosettenville
2130
011-432-0048 (h)
011-432-0048 (w)
082-921-6876 (c)
e-mail: johnfs@vodamail.co.za
Cemetery Recording Project: Peter Moss
e-mail: peter.moss@mweb.co.za
Further information re the Project can be obtained on the GSSA homepage
www.ggsa.info. Follow the menu to Projects/Cemetery Project. Information re present
Status etc is provided via Excel files.
GSSA Cemetery Recording News
Vol 8 No 2 - June 2010
Welcome
Well, brrrrrr what is there to say about the weather other than that it is, as the Afrikaners would say, "vrekkoud". Nevertheless, it appears that the cold has not kept our brave band of warriors from going out and doing battle. There has been a marked increase in the number of submissions over the past three months. In addition, numerous interesting e-mails have been received, some of which have been reproduced here.
New Contributors & Volunteers
As far as I am aware, the new contributors and volunteers for this period are: Ron Wills, Corrie Evert, John Deare, Lynden Lund, Annette van Rensburg and Frank Butler.
In Standerton Cemetery Marthie Oosthuyse
Country-wide Round-up
(Period 18.03.2010 to 30.06.2010)
Branch News
Enquiries
New DVD
This has been available since the AGM in March. There were some glitches in the new format, but these have now been resolved. For details of price, please contact Andre Heydenrych at aheydenr@mweb.co.za.
General/Letters
For this Newsletter I have included a number of interesting e-mails received from members, some brief, but some quite lengthy. They are unedited. I must apologise to Kammie who regularly sends me information and articles. I am including one such article below; unfortunately it is not possible to include everything Kammie has sent me. Letting my mind run back over the past twelve months, I think Kammie's contributions could easily fill two Newsletters!! Thanks again for the effort and I will use of the material in coming Newsletters.
" Marielle Ford recently sent in this article from Grahamstown:
Grocotts Mail article 19 February 2010 by Kwanele BUTANA:
Despite Makana municipality spending more than a million rand erecting
perimeter fences around its cemeteries last year, vandals continue to
raid the unguarded graveyards. The MUNDY family tomb in the Albany Road
cemetery has been laid bare and residents say that children play in it.
The tomb resembles a small room in the basement floor and is accessible
to everyone as the slabs that once covered the stairs that lead to it
have been removed while the lock securing the gate has been broken.
There are signs that people have been there recently as beer bottles,
paper and remnants of plastic bags are scattered everywhere. The top of
the tombstone is destroyed and surrounded by pieces of broken glass.
Inside the grave is a coffin with 3 skulls lying on top of it with human
bones strewn nearby. Another skull can be seen on a shelf which is
hanging against the wall while another is lying on the floor among the
bones. The stench emanating from the tomb is almost unbearable. !
Despite Grocotts Mail reporting the dire state of the grave to the
municipality's Parks and Recreation Department on Tuesday, nothing has
been done about the situation yet.
Makana spokesperson Thandy MATEBESE said that some cemeteries have
caretakers which stay there but that it is not "financially sustainable"
for the municipality to hire a caretaker for all the cemeteries. "The
issue of vandalism is regrettably becoming too common, it is even more
disturbing when places of the departed are also affected.
The community members need to speak out against such behaviour as this
paints a tainted picture of our social fibre and brings our morals into
question," he said. However, he did not say why the gates of cemeteries
are not locked at certain times to restrict access. Nor did he say if
there is a law or by-law which prohibits people from vandalising graves
or what happens if a person is caught in the act.
Buried in the grave are Sarah Ellen MUNDY who died on 7 March 1894 at
age 46, Stephen MUNDY who died on 15 June 1894, Stephen (the older son
of the above) who died on 8 November 1911 aged 70, Mary Boyce MUNDY died
on 8 December 1890 aged 84 years, Mary Cox MUNDY died on 5 January 1898
and Robert MUNDY who died in Basutoland on 9 March 1881 at the age of
39.
" An e-mail received by Peter Moss from the UK:
Dear Peter and Beverley
My name is Nicky Maggs and my aunt, Angela Talbot, gave me your e-mail address.
My husband, Rob, was born in South Africa along with his siblings, one of which, a brother, died and was burried in Tongaat. A while ago I asked my Aunt and Uncle if they could help in finding his grave guessing this was a mamouth task as he died in 1970 and my husband and his family moved back to the UK in 1977.
Amazingly, after loads of searching they found Alan Edward Maggs' grave. Just after finding it, they received your e-mail with the details and photo of it. We are so chuffed with the information you have provided and would like to thank you very much for the work you are doing. Seeing the picture made us all very emotional but also very happy. Maybe sometime in the future we can get over to South Africa to visit it ourselves. At least now we know where to locate it.
Many thanks again
Love Nic and Rob Maggs xx
" From: Alta Griffiths [mailto:alta@pinnaclespot.co.za]
Sent: 24 May 2010 23:07
To: Peter Moss
Cc: Petro Coreejes-Brink
Subject: Fw: BINGO!!! 200 000
Dear Peter and Petro
We have 200 000 gravestone photos on the public site tonight!
Kind regards
Alta
" Colleen Gerhan of Grootte Schuur Hospital sent in the following:
Hi,
I visited my brother yesterday and he has a grave next to his hous. Do you know about it?
Inscription is in Dutch I think. I don't understand it all.
Liefdes onser flyk
aan nagedachtenis van de beste moeder
Hester Johanna Joubert ( could be Iohanna Ioubert)
nee De Villiers
geboren den 3 November 1771
Oorlede den 22 Maart 1807
.......wyd kindern ( or wijd)
...Roeg wijd door kindern
Joshua Andreas
Hester Suzanna
Maria Johanna Joubert
Do you have anything on her? I can't find it on the internet., Farm is called Rowan, not sure of spelling, seems to have belonged to Simon Van der Stell.
It is near Somerset West and the area is due for major developement. I am afraid the grave may be lost.
I have a couple of photos but still need to see if they are clear.
I can be contacted o/h 021 404 4356 Mon to Fri. House also needs Heritage protection if not already done.
I am researching Prinsloo and Bezuidenhout so find family history important to preserve.
Sincerely,
Sr. C. Grehan at G. S. H.
(ED Anyone out there perhaps looking for a missing link?)
" Kammie's contribution is a 2003 article from travel.iafrica.com and is included with due acknowledgement to them.
A grave guide to SA
Article By: By: Sharon Marshall
Wed, 07 May 2003 10:58
There is something about a grave that speaks of dignity...perhaps the only real permanent spot one gets on Planet Earth. In a mission to trace her settler origins Sharon Marshall uncovered the evolution of her family as well as that of the land which gave her birth - through the monuments to the dead.
It all started in Sri Lanka a few months ago.
We were catching a tuk-tuk ride up in Trincomalee, a strategic spot which has seen few foreigners in the last 13 years because of civil war, when the driver pointed out a pristine Bougainvillea-bordered patch of ground amidst the war-ravaged countryside.
A few steps closer and the rows of white benches turned into perfect little crosses - not a refuge for tired travellers or locals, but an honorary haven for allied forces who fought here in World War II.
All too aware of the irony of seeming to be paying homage to an imperialist soldier in a Buddhist land, which ironically was once the source of slave labour for our country, I told the overseer I was a South African Buddhist.
Unperturbed, he proudly unlocked his register from a vault in the wall and, following the map to one South African citizen - 19-year-old Private SE Morley from Queenstown, the very place of my own birth - I flounder.
A halo appears around the head of this gentle man who has probably seen more senseless deaths than I have read about, and I am transported back to a time when my travelling partner, an unwilling conscript in the apartheid government's great Angolan cover-up, nearly lost his life.
Not much I can do, but this I can - a photo for the family back home.
An act which, I discover on returning in search of this young man's family, was pre-empted 100 years before when Rose McEwan and a band of women friends took to the Anglo-Boer battlefields in Lydenburg, photographed the resting places of fallen soldiers and sent the pictures to their wives and mothers.
A fitting tribute
She herself now occupies a respectable place in Brixton Cemetery (Krause Street, Vrededorp), which has recently been upgraded with tar roads and trees to accommodate tourist tours at the recent World Summit. Something macabre about the concept at face value, but on deeper reflection, a fitting and clever tribute to many who left their personal marks on the history of the country.
Her neighbours in this leafy olde-worlde cemetery include the likes of Johannesburg trade unionist Mary "Pickhandle" Fitzgerald and Samuel "Taffy" Long, whose spot in eternity is marked with a granite cross stating that he was executed "for a crime he did not commit" in the aftermath of the 1922 Miners' Strike.
Laid out in 1912, Brixton Cemetery speaks silent testimony to battle and success across the board, and is the site of the first Hindu crematorium in Africa (built in 1918) conceptualised by human rights pacifist Mahatma Gandhi before he left the country for good.
A lesser-publicised inhabitant of the cemetery is Cornelis Broeksma who was executed by firing squad at Johannesburg Fort on September 30, 1901, for exposing the appalling conditions at concentration camps in the South African War at the turn of the 20th century, with the help of Emily Hobhouse. Her ashes were brought from England and placed at the bottom of the Vroue Monument in Bloemfontein to commemmorate the deaths of over 28 000 women and children in the camps.
Of the 115 white concentration camps, the biggest in Johannesburg was at the Turffontein Race Course, which housed around 5000 people, of whom 700 died and were buried in Winchester Hills, on a farm called Kliprivier Berg.
Vandalised by an anti-Ossewa Brandwag group during World War II, it was overhauled and re-opened in 1961. It now consists of a number of coffin-shaped terraces, with a memorial listing the names of the dead and a few headstones, including that of an eight-month-old baby.
Not far from Brixton, in Braamfontein Cemetery (Graf Street), lies another tragic rite of passage.
Unaware of the passive resistance campaign instigated by Gandhi in response to 1906's Asiatic Law Amendment Ordinance, by which Indians and Chinese were bound to register their presence in the Transvaal, a 24-year-old Chinese man, Chow Kwai For, registered.
When he realised what he had done, he committed suicide - his letter of apology (written in Chinese) is engraved on the headstone. Put this one high on your grave tour agenda.
Besides other passive resistors, the graveyard also accommodates dynamite explosion victims, South African War soldiers, cholera and flu epidemic victims, and a memorial to Enoch Sontonga, the creator of South Africa's national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, who died in obscurity at the age of 33.
Though it took authorities over a year to find his grave which itself had been buried, a glamorous black granite tribute to his unique legacy has now been erected.
Nearby, in Soweto's overcrowded Avalon Cemetery, lie Communist Party leader, Joe Slovo; 1976 Soweto hero Hector Pieterson; and human rights stalwart Helen Joseph; not recommended if you can't ignore the rows of cot-like structures and pauper's graves of Aids victims that will forever bear witness to this tragic slice of SA history.
If you're in Johannesburg, don't miss the three words on the SAHRA memorial commemorating the casualties of the Soweto "uprising" in 1976:
"Never never again…"
"Fascinating, isn't it? And that's not all. Sharon Marshall has many more grave stories to share." Kammie (ED Part 2 of this article will appear in the September Newsletter.)
Editor's Note
Every now and then we receive queries about the Somerset Road Cemetery in Cape Town, which no longer exists. The headstones from this old cemetery were taken to the Maitland Cemetery; there they were laid horizontally as paving stones in the older part of Maitland Cemetery. I know this because I was a member of the GSSA group that recorded these stones back in 1987/8. I am not able to remember exactly where, but an educated guess would put it in the Gate 1 or Gate 1A area. What I do remember is that the paths lay on a North-South axis.
I have included an additional attachment: It is an excerpt from a booklet, "Rayment's Notes on Recording Monumental Inscriptions" 4th Edition. Revised by Penelope Pattinson. It is reproduced with due acknowledgement to Penelope Pattinson, the copyright holder. It was issued by the Federation of Family History Societies in the UK. The section I have chosen to reproduce is headed "Worn inscriptions". It reveals some ideas that I have certainly not yet come across.
Special appeal
I recently received an appeal for help and assistance from Rïette Zaaiman, the Archivist at the Voortrekker Monument and promised that I would make all our subscribers aware of it. It is in connection with the Mafikeng concentration camp cemeteries of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902. The Voortrekker Monument, under the auspices of the Heritage Foundation own and maintain these sites. A proposal has been put forward to exhume the bodies and re-inter them in the larger Mafikeng Cemetery, and suitably memorialize them. However, in order to do this, it is necessary that living family members of the deceased buried there of all races be approached. If you are aware of any such family members, they should be requested to contact Cecilia Kruger at erfenis@voortrekkermon.org.za.
In addition I am forwarding to all subscribers a copy of excerpts of the proposals, as put forward by the Forensic Anthropological Research Centre of the Department of Anatomy of the University of Pretoria. For those of you who do not understand Afrikaans, you may ignore the first paragraph - it is purely an introduction.
Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.
Next Issue
The next Newsletter will be issued during September 2010. Any comments, criticisms, articles of interest, etc should reach the Editor by not later than 31st August 2010. Besides Part 2 of Kammie's contribution mentioned above, there will also be an interesting one-page history of the Presbyterian Church in Pietermaritzburg passed on by John Deare and a brief history of Dikhololo submitted by Fanie Blignaut.
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Contacts
Editor: John Schwartz
P O Box 1263
Rosettenville
2130
011-432-0048 (h)
011-432-0048 (w)
082-921-6876 (c)
e-mail: johnfs@vodamail.co.za
Cemetery Recording Project: Peter Moss
e-mail: peter.moss@mweb.co.za
Further information re the Project can be obtained on the GSSA homepage
www.ggsa.info. Follow the menu to Projects/Cemetery Project. Information re present
Status etc is provided via Excel files.