DIARY OF A NATAL MOLE
September 2005

1 Enquiries received from Brenda Moss re John Eccleston MOSS, a Guard on the NGR, who was run over by a train at Pietermaritzburg station in 1907 (his widow and four children returned to England). Marion WEBB asks about George William SMITH of Anstey's Caravan Park on the Bluff, who died in 1971.

3 A Zulu War hero, Henry HOOK VC, defender of Rorke's Drift, was honoured by a volley of rifle fire as people paid their respects at a recent graveside ceremony at St Andrew's, Churcham UK. Members of The 1879 Group, which organised the event, were in full Victorian uniform holding original Martini-Henry rifles which they fired three times over the grave. Hook died of tuberculosis on March 12 1905; he married Ada Taylor in London in 1897 but there was an earlier marriage in 1879 to Comfort Jones, who bore him three children. Hook divorced Jones on the grounds of adultery. The commemoration ceremony was particularly poignant because Hook descendants from both marriages were brought together at the graveside for the first time.
Frank McCarthy, 81, of Weston Rhyn in Shropshire, Hook's great grandson from his first marriage, said: 'We own a pub and we've been asked to change the name of one of our bars to the Henry Hook bar and fill it with memorabilia'. Henry Bunting, 80, of Brockworth, Hook's grandson from his second family was pleased to meet his relatives. In the film 'Zulu', Hook was inaccurately portrayed as a malingerer. A brave man by any standards, Hook had already had his baptism of fire during the Frontier War of 1877-78 but his real moment of glory came in January 1879 at Rorke's Drift where he was one of a small group fighting in furious hand-to-hand combat inside the narrow confines of the hospital, 'pinned like rats in a hole' (Hook's own words). In an era when debunking heroes has become an international sport, it's heartening to hear of the Hook commemoration ceremony and to know that there are those who endeavour to keep our heroes' memories green.

4 Anne CLARKSON in the Cape asks where to access the Verulam Wesleyan Baptismal Register having seen the index to this on Genealogy World - her families of interest include GARLAND, HARVEY, STRANACK and LEAN. The original Register is now held at the Campbell Collections, Durban, as a result of the efforts of Eira MAKEPEACE of Bristol UK, descendant of the STARR family of Verulam.

5 Receive October issue of Family Tree Magazine containing my article on the NAAIRS index. I note that editing of the original text results in the confusing sentence, "Passenger lists are not accessible online". This should have read "Passenger lists are not accessible on the online index", which means something entirely different. There are, of course, some passenger lists online - on the Genealogy World site, for one! Delyse and I are pleased to see that the Genealogy World banner has been used prominently in another article on SA internet research in the same edition.

Research results on INGRAM for Elizabeth Gabriel; this man died of miners' phthisis. Inquests for miners often do not give a surname, and families may never have known what happened to them.

6 Enquiry on MAYDEW from Douglas Maydew in Spain; Samuel Oldham Maydew was returning from England to SA in 1933 when he was taken ill and a doctor called to see him on board the Ulysses. Maydew was transferred to hospital, died and was buried in Egypt. His deceased estate file includes a death certificate issued in Ismailia - no cause of death is stated, most unhelpful of the British Consul. Interestingly, St John's cemetery, Pinetown, has two memorial inscriptions, one for Gloria Maydew who pre-deceased her husband, and one for Samuel Oldham Maydew, which might lead to the supposition that he was buried there - but the estate file documents (among them invoices from Egyptian merchants for funeral transport and a coffin with 6 brass handles) prove this not to be the case.
Discussion on sources for circus ancestry with Julie LAYTON in England. Carol Birkby's book on Pagel's Circus, and Rodney Manser's "Circus" both recommended reading.

7 Rainy day, perfect for working on article on female immigration deadlined soon.
Investigating CLARK arrivals at Natal in 1850s for Paul in Merseyside. I suggest "The Clarks of Clark Road: the story of the family of William Clark of Clark Road Durban" by Stuart C Clark. (privately published by the author, Durban 1995)

8 Online auction includes a mountain landscape by C J SHRUBSOLE, whose works usually reflect a maritime theme, and a copy of "Natal Birds" by the WOODWARD brothers.

13 At Pietermaritzburg Archives following up MAYDEW, MOSS, SMITH et al.

14 Continuing research at PMB Archives. The lift used for transporting volumes to the reading room isn't functioning so I'm allowed to go to 4th floor storage to search (successfully) for birth entries of the MOSS children in civil registers.

15 In the newspapers at Natal Society Library find report on the gruesome death of John Eccleston MOSS. Also pleased to find the arrival at Natal in July 1861 of the barque Randolph carrying Thomas THOMAS, guardian of Delyse's ancestor.

16 The boys go to Munich for the Oktoberfest. What it is to be young: the prospect of being one of 10 000 people sitting quaffing beer in a large hall holds no attraction for me.
Preparations in full swing for the Family History Fair to be held at Durban LDS on Heritage Day.

17 Jenny Harries collects film on high profile Mormon, Donny Osmond, tracing his roots in Wales, which will be shown at the Fair.
Downloading results from archival searches last week.

20 Launch of Jeff Guy's book: "The Maphumulo Uprising - War, Law and Ritual in the Zulu Rebellion", timed to coincide with the centenary of the 1906 rebellion. Paul Thompson also has a new book out on this topic.

Discussions with Pat Frykberg on people who expect their family history to be handed to them on a plate, neatly pre-digested, rather than making any effort themselves. Looking at Delyse's Family Chronicles on Genealogy World, and the immense amount of work involved in gathering and collating this material - most of it done long before the advent of internet - I believe this is a valuable object lesson in 'real' research procedures, exploring many different avenues and following each step painstakingly towards uncovering the truth. There are no short-cuts.

22 Query from Beryl Chipchase re MASON, and one re Andrew MILNE believed to have come out on the Lady of the Lake 1858.

23 Talk on conservation of books by Johann Maree in Pietermaritzburg but unfortunately not good timing for me with the Fair next day.

24 Heritage Day and attendance at the Fair exceeds everyone's expectations. All agree that an annual event is indicated. Of the people I spoke to personally during the course of the day, two distinct groups emerged: those who had never used a computer, sent an e-mail or done a Google search, and those who were fully computer literate and expected to be able to do ALL their research on internet.

25 Recovering from Fair - and the flu which struck, most inopportunely, the night before.

27 Watch one of the BBCTV excellent genealogy series 'Who do you think you are?', this time Bill ODDIE tracing his roots among the textile mills 'oop north'; a voyage of discovery which included some sad revelations. Requires courage to reveal the intimate secrets of your family's past on TV, but in Bill's case must have been worth it - at the start of the journey he believed he had no surviving family other than his own children, and by the end of it he had acquired over 30 living relatives.

30 Note two useful websites for those in search of Victorian ancestry: www.victorianweb.org/index.html background information on social conditions
www.victorianlondon.org The Victorian Dictionary

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY:
1900 Sept 30 - Lord Roberts announces supposed end of Anglo-Boer War
1901 Sept 08 - Birth of Hendrik Verwoerd
1901 Sept 14 - US President Wm McKinley assassinated aged 58
1902 Sept 29 - French writer Emile Zola dies, accidentally gassed
1903 Sept 26 - US: women get the vote in Connecticut State elections
1904 Sept 01 - Helen Keller, blind and deaf from age 2, obtains Doctor's degree
1905 Sept 19 - Death of British doctor/philanthropist Thomas Barnardo
1906 Sept 25 - Birth of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich

Mole