Main menu:
The affairs of the society are administered by a small voluntary committee.
All rely on the assistance of volunteers
in the Society to be able to fulfill the positions they have accepted.
Our Chairman and Programm convenor is David Slingsby. David was born 30 August 1944 and married to Annette Versfeld 7 December 1968. They have two married children with four grandchildren. David was educated at Diocesan College, Rondebosch and, after military service, The Cape Technical College - qualifying with a Diploma in Construction Supervision. He joined Murray and Stewart (Pty) Ltd as an apprentice carpenter and later as Construction Supervisor. He then joined Slingsby & de Jager (Pty) Ltd in 1969 made a Director 1980 until the company’s liquidation in 2004. David now works with his son in Slingsby & Gaidien [a building contracting business owned by his son]. He is a past member of the Rotary Club of Claremont serving as President 1991/1992 and was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow for service to Rotary. During his membership of Rotary he was involved with major fund raising events “The Good Hope 100” (Chair and Committee member) and Argus/Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour (Committee and Finish Co-ordinator). In 1994 David was appointed to lead a Group Study Exchange team to Devon. He is a past Master of Lodge Southern Cross and at present hold the position of Lodge Secretary. For many years David served as the Chairman of the Masonic Education Fund. He researches the Slingsby, Versfeld, Harsant, East, Dove and Cunningham families.
The workshop co-ordinator and past Chairlady is Lois Harley, a retired social worker and administrator. Lois was born Johannesburg 1937 to parents William Grieve Laburn and Eileen Ayerst. She was educated at Barnato Park and University of Witwatersrand [graduated BA Soc]. Lois married John Harley 1959 in Pretoria and they have 4 children. She was widowed in 1974. She was the owner/manager of Quadrant Booksellers in Arcadia Centre, Pretoria until 1986 when she moved to Cape Town. She has worked for the Progressive Federal Party & Democratic Party [1986 to 1989], St. John Ambulance [1990 to 2003] and is now retired. Her hobbies include family history, embroidery and reading. She has published several books relating to genealogy.
Steven Peel - Treasurer [photo and personal specs to follow]
Sandara Cruywagen - Membership [photo and personal specs to follow]
Margaret Robinson - Reception [photo and personal specs to follow]
Derek Pratt, our Projects Convenor, was born in Durban but has lived in cape Town since 1957. His father Tom served in the RN during WW2 but settled in South Africa and joined the SA Navy in 1946. Derek's mother, Mavis (nee WEARN) came from and old Kimberley family and was a teacher before she married. Derek was educated at Wynberg Boys High School and obtained a BA (History and History of Music) and a BTH from UNISA. After 22 years as a Medical Laboratory Technologist at Groote Schuur and Red Cross Hospitals he resigned in 1994 to follow his vocation in the Anglican priesthood and obtained a MTh in Ecclesiatical History from Rhodes University 1997. After ordination in 1996, he served in the parishes of Camps Bay and Steenberg and he is now the Rector of St Paul's Church Rondebosch. His hobbies are family history, computers, cooking and music.
Our secretary is Ann Smythe
Our Librarian is Cynthia Winstanly
Honary member, Lucille Le Roux who also contributes her talents as a layout artist to design brochures and posters for the Society. Lucille was born in Claremont, Cape and attended Grove Primary School Claremont & Westerford High Rondebosch. She then went on to train at Postal School Cape Town. She worked at various Post Offices & Lewis Stores before she & husband, Errol moved to Kommetjie where she ran a creche while rearing their children. In 1978 Lucille was awarded the title "Mother of the Year" She later worked at Timber City [Fish Hoek] and Omnigraphics. She believes 1998 was her most memorable year because in May she joined Errol in his early retirement. In Nov she underwent Double Bypass surgery and was bitten by Genealogy bug - and is still suffering today !! Main career she describes as being the best she can be - as wife, mother of 5 & grandmother of 8 ! . She gets pleasure from baking, playing piano, graphic design, creating cards,scrapbooking & family research.
In abstentia: Jawn Goosen is our Treasurer and has been a member of the society for 5 years and has been climbing around in his family tree for about 10 years. He is still trying to tell the wood from the trees. This adventure has take him all over South Africa and the UK . His main family interests are Goosen, Booysen, Coetzee and Esterhuisen as well as Hutton, Lawrence, McCall and Gray.
In abstentia: Jeanette Goosen is not sure that she has a family tree, it’s more like a Bonsai! She has been a member of this group since about 2004 but she actually started researching in 1999 and has had to scale many brick walls in that time. Some are still to be broken. Her Scotland family searches are for Dickie, Kinnes, MacInroy, Munro, Robertson and Scott. The UK branch is Edwards, Hearne, Somerset, and Thompson. The South African limb is Dert, Lindemann and Spengler and she has one Swiss twig with the name Buret