DIARY OF A NATAL MOLE
November 2005

1 Hear from John CRAIG researching TWIGG and from Nigel TYSON re a dentist ancestor in Cape Town; SA dental practitioners had to be licensed and this generated records; directories are helpful too, e.g. Natal Nuggets on Genealogy World lists dentists as well as chemists practising in 1899, taken from the Natal Almanac and Yearly Directory.

2 LAST OF THE LINE by Patricia Gumbrell takes a very personal look at one lighthousekeeping family's dedication to this unusual world over nearly two centuries. It tells the story of Harold HALL who entered service with Trinity House in 1922 and served for 44 years. It is very much the family story of the Halls, but also takes in KNOTTS and DARLINGS - the Darlings being of the same family of Grace Darling fame. Although a personal memoir of interest to anyone with connections to the three main families, the book is also a monument to the passing of an entire way of life. If you've ever wondered what living in a lighthouse was really like, it's all here. www.whittlespublishing.com

3 Discussions with Carlos GADSDEN in Mexico on descendants in that part of the world, stemming from Fisher GADSDEN. David BARNARD phones re arrival of his grandfather on the Herzog in 1903 at the Cape. The Herzog was built in 1896, a sister-ship of the Konig, both 5 000 ton vessels of what was called the Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie (German East African Line, or D.O.A.L. as it was generally known). These ships left Europe from the port of Hamburg. They did not touch at any port in England until 1904, when a call at Dover was established and from then on D.O.A.L. competed with the other passenger lines trading to the Cape and Natal. Deduction: if David's grandfather came to SA in 1903, this would have pre-dated the stop at Dover and he must have taken ship from Hamburg.

4 Continue piecing together article on female immigration.

5 A rainy Guy Fawkes Day and few fireworks; no bad thing for the animal population.

6 Receive Sue Roberts's wonderful article and timeline on the Wilgefontein (Willowfountain) Settlers to Natal, 1880, to be uploaded on Genealogy World.

7 From a column transcribed by the prolific Ellen Stanton, from South Africa Magazine, March 29, 1902: "While on a voyage to Cape Town on board the steamship Galeka, the wife of Benjamin RAFFLE, on January 3, when in latitude 1 deg. 18 min. N., longitude 12 deg. 52 min. W., gave birth to a daughter, who was promptly named Mary Emily Gudron Galeka Equatoria."
Coincidentally, a query comes in re RANDELL: a member of that family had the middle name 'Norham', chosen because on the day the child was born, his uncle left for SA on the Norham Castle. So, if an unusual middle name suddenly crops up, it could be the name of a ship and present a clue to follow. No prizes for guessing where a baby named Ocean Robert was born ...

14 Someone asks if there was a flood in the Pietermaritzburg area at the turn of the last century as family legend says some ancestors drowned; haven't found an answer to that question yet. All suggestions welcomed.

16 Marion MERLYNN asks why there is no deceased estate file for her ancestor. Reasons for this vary. Firstly, the death, contrary to family belief, may have occurred elsewhere. Also, not everyone who died in South Africa had an estate file lodged. Sometimes there were minimal assets i.e. literally no 'estate'. The death may have been fairly recent, in which case the estate file may not appear on NAAIRS but could be found at the Master's Office in the appropriate area; an approximate year of death is necessary for any search to be feasible. An ancestor may have lived to an unexpectedly great age.

17 Lists of Boer POWs buried in Bermuda and other names from Colin Benbow's book 'Boer Prisoners of War in Bermuda', published 1962 by the Bermuda Historical Society, will be an intriguing addition to Genealogy World, thanks to Pamela WILLCOCKS and the author.

18 Visit the Old Court House Museum, Aliwal St., Durban, looking for photographs.

19 Discussions on the NOON family include interesting excursions into early Mormons in Natal. Results soon to be uploaded on Genealogy World.

20 Important news from the Society of Genealogists UK: following the publication in December 2004 of the Regulatory Reform Committee's reports on the modernisation of civil registration, the General Register Office consulted with stakeholders on future priorities. Of immediate concern are comments made about access to local records: the standards of care, storage and access to the older historical local (hence original) registrars' certificates. Duties are transferred to local authorities but the proposal that both GRO and local government produce a draft code of practice looks like the code will be very wide, leaving loopholes on access to local records. Future local registration will be done electronically and will be web based - there will be no more handwritten paper registers. There are proposals to add extra information e.g. on death certificates (widows details as well as widowers) and record name changes. GRO says it wants secondary legislation to make minor changes to what is recorded. This might be an opportunity for family historians to request more significant changes such as the addition of dates of births and marriage of parents on a birth certificate, or marriage details on death certificates. The full document will be seen on the SoG website shortly or see www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/aboutus/lookingahead/Latest_news.asp

21 Enquiry on Indentured Indian Immigrants comes in from an ex-South African in Canada.

22 Looking back over surnames researched this year, among them KIRKHAM, MITCHELL, SWEENEY, FRANKISH, SERPELL, KERKIN, RODE, GIELINK, ELFORD, NOON, DAND, POLYBLANK, WESTCOTT, GEE, HUNT, BAXTER, GREWER, INGRAM, FOYN, WOODWARD, TOWNDROW, SHRUBSOLE, RUNCIMAN, IRELAND, PEACOCK, HARMER, LUNDY, LISTON, LEE, KELLAND, HODGE, HAMBER, VANDERPLANK, GUBBINS, GOODSELL, MAYDEW, CROSSLEY, NEAVE, GARLAND.

25 A unique date in the life of Lyle DIXON-SMITH who turns 25 on 25 November 2005.

26 Preparations in full swing for Mole to do some overground wombling near Wimbledon during December.

30 Quotable Quote for the fly-leaf of any family history narrative:
'Remember me in the family tree - my name, my days, my strife:
Then I'll ride upon the wings of time and live an endless life'.
(Goetsch. From CARRUTHERS Rootsweb list via Ian Carruthers of Zimbabwe.)

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY:
1900 Nov 24 - Boer leader Paul Kruger arrives in France
1900 Nov 30 - Oscar Wilde Irish poet/dramatist dies aged 46
1902 Nov 20 - Lord Tennyson, grandson of poet, appointed Governor General of Australia
1903 Nov 12 - Camille Pissarro French painter dies in Paris aged 73
1904 Nov 08 - Roosevelt elected President of US
1904 Nov 18 - Rhodesia massive source of gold found 200 miles south of Salisbury
1905 Nov 12 - Russian occupation imposes martial law on Poland
1905 Nov 22 - UK world's largest turbine liner Carmania maiden voyage to New York
1906 Nov 21 - Glasgow man dies when 200 000 gallons of hot whisky burst out of vats
1907 Nov 13 - First prototype helicopter takes off in France
1907 Nov 22 - Cunard liner Mauretania maiden voyage to New York; 13 Dec 1908 runs aground at Liverpool
1908 Nov 05 - Cullinan diamond cut into 8 stones in Amsterdam
1909 Nov 20 - Herbert Gladstone appointed Governor-General of Union of South Africa
1910 Nov 04 - Cape Town opening of first Parliament of the new Union of South Africa
1910 Nov 23 - UK wife-murderer Dr Hawley Crippen hanged in London

Mole