MOODIE'S SETTLERS TO THE CAPE

On 14 June 1817, one of the forerunners of organized immigration to the Cape, Benjamin MOODIE begged leave to acquaint the colonial public 'that, under the sanction of Government, he has arrived from England with a number of mechanics and labourers consisting of smiths, carpenters, cabinetmakers, turners, coopers, masons, tanners, stonecutters, ploughmen, gardeners etc, and that ... he proposes hiring part of them out for such periods as may be agreed upon.' This party arrived on the ship Brilliant. Later the same month he announced that a further 50 were on their way to the Cape, on the Garland, which duly landed at Table Bay on 23 August 1817. They were followed by another group on the Clyde on 24 September 1817. The men were Scottish artisans, about 200 in all, brought out under indenture to Moodie.

This experiment wasn't an unqualified success. The indentured immigrants were dissatisfied with the conditions of service and a few ran away to become outlaws in the Knysna forests. Some of Moodie's settlers married into Dutch families.

Moodie himself was 9th Laird of Melsetter (pronounced Meltster), Orkney. Born 1 January 1789 he married Margaret MALCOLMSON in 1816. Shortly after that the idea of taking indentured settlers to the Cape, and of settling there himself, took strong hold of Moodie's imagination and he applied for purchase of suitable property. His brother John Moodie also decided to settle in South Africa and arrived on the Mary in 1819. In 1829 he produced a book, 'Ten Years in South Africa', before emigrating to Canada. Another brother, Donald Moodie, also later came to South Africa.

Apart from the source offered here - 'Moodies of Melsetter' by Edmund H Burrows - some details of Benjamin Moodie's immigrants can be found listed by surname in Peter Philip's 'British Residents at the Cape 1795-1819'.

ALLAN, John
ANDERSON, George, Robert and William
ARMSTRONG, John
ARNOT, David
BAIN, Colin
BARTY, John
BARTHGATE, John
BAXTER, William
BEGBIE, Peter
BELL, James
BERTRAM, John
BLACK, John
BLAIK(I)E, James (Also William) and Robert
BURNS, Peter
BUTTERS, Edmund
CAIRNCROSS, James, John and William
CAIRNS, Alexander
CAMERON, James
CARR, Thomas
CARSE, George
CLARK, Andrew
COCKBURN, George
COLLIE, Kirkpatrick
COULTHERD, James
COUSIN, James
CRAIL, Robert
CUMING, Niman
CUNNINGHAM, Alex.
CURDIE, Michael
CUTTING, W. and John
DARLING, James
DAVIDSON, Alexander and Adam
DAVIS, John
DODDS, Archibald
DONALD, George
DOUGLAS, John
DOWNIE, James
DRYDEN, John
EDINGTON, Andrew
EDWARD, Hugh
ELLIOT, George
FLEMING, William
FOTHERINGHAM, J and W
FRIER, Robert
GENTLE, Alexander
GIBBY, James
GORDON, James
GRAHAM, Andrew
GRAY, John and William
GRUAR, David and John
GRUBB, James
HARDY, James
HAUTON, James
HAY, John
HENDERSON, John (1) and John (2)
HILL, John
HOGG, James, John and Robert
HUME, David
HUNTER, Thomas
JACKSON, James
JACOBS, William
JARDINE, Robert
JARVIS, William
JOHNSTON, John and Patrick
KATER, Thomas
KAY, James
KERR, Archibald and William
KILPATRICK, Alex.
KINCAID, Charles
LAIDLER, John and Thomas
LAING, John and Peter
LEARMONT(H) John (Jamie)
LILLIE, Allexander
LISTER, Jeffray
LOW, James and Robert
LOWRIE, Allan and James
LYALL, William
McDONALD, Alexander, Donald, and Thomas
McGREGOR, John
McHARDIE, Charles
McHENDRICK, James
McKENZIE, John
McLACHLAND, Alex. and Philip
McLAUGHLAN, John
McLELLAN, Alex.
McLEOD, Murdoch
McLUCKIE (Also McLUSKIE), William
McNEIL, Donald
McPHAIL, Alexander and James
MATHIESON, Job
MEIKLE, James
MILL, William
MILLAR, Robert
MITCHELL, Thomas
MORRISON, Alexander and William
MURCHISON, John
MURRAY, Andrew
MUTER, John and Robert
NASMYTH, John
NEILSON, George
NICOL, George (Also William)
NORVAL, Archibald, John Senior, John Junior and William
OGILVIE, Robert
OLIVER, John
PARKER, James
PATERSON, Archibald, and David
PENNYCOCK, William
PRENTICE, Thomas
REID, James
ROBERTSON (?ROBSON), James
RODGERS, David
ROSS, Andrew, George and Robert
SANDERSON, John
SCOON, James and Robert
SCOTT, George, John (James), Thomas, William (1) and William (2)
SELKIRK, James
SHARP, Archibald
SIMPSON, Archibald and James
SMALL, James
SMITH, Anstruther, George, and James
SPENCE, Thomas
STRATH, Scott
STEPHENS, James
STEPHENSON, George, and John
STEWART, Archibald
STRACHAN, John (1) and John (2)
SUTHERLAND, Robert
SYME, John
SYMINGTON, James
TAIT, Alexander and Thomas
TAYLOR, James B.
TESTER, John
THOMSON, Robert and Walter
TOLMIE, James
VAWSER, William
WAIT, James
WAITER, John
WALLACE, Alexander, David and James
WATSON, Andrew
WATT, James and Peter
WEATHERHEAD, G.
WEIR, John
WHITELAW, John (1) and John (2)
WILSON, John
WILKIE, James
WINTER, George
WRIGHT, John
YOUNG, George

For further information please contact Lynn by e-mail.