EAST CAPE BRANCH
GENEALOGICAL
SOCIETY OF
SOUTH AFRICA
August, 2012 No.101
10110110197 96
This issue is dedicated to presentations given at our meetings this year.
FROM POLSBROEK TO LEADHILLS.
died in Johannesburg at the age of 47, leaving
his young wife and 4 children destitute, one of
whom was my Grandmother. From that
smattering of knowledge, after much research
and ‘detective’ work, I have unraveled the
most fascinating family history. Apart from
visiting archives and museums, I was
fortunate to find much information on the
internet. After I discovered the correct form
of the Dutch surname, ‘De Graeff van
Polsbroek’, I was awed at all the information
available on the internet and the discovery
that the ‘well-known family in Holland’ was
one of the aristocratic families in Europe from
the 17th to 19th Centuries.
My research revealed that my father’s
maternal grandmother was Emily De Graeff,
(b. Knysna 1862; d.Hillcrest, Natal 1947) whose
father Gerrit Arnold Theodoor De Graeff van
Polsbroek (b.Amsterdam 1831; date and place of
death not known) came to the Cape Colony from
Amsterdam in 1850. He started out in Mossel
Bay where he married Agnes Henrietta van
Rijssen in 1854, and in the early 1860’s
moved to Knysna where he became a partner
in the firm, Thomas Prince & Co., a Landing
and Shipping company and general dealer.
The original building now houses the Knysna
Police Station and Court Rooms. In the early
1870’s, the family moved to Graaff-Reinet,
where Gerrit worked as Secretary of the
Graaff Reinet Board of Executors from 18721883. Emily, the youngest of Gerrit and
Agnes de Graeff’s six children, married
Alexander Charles Martin, (b.Leadhills, Scotland
1850; d.Johannesburg 1898), the banker from
Scotland who also came from a most
interesting family. Alexander and Emily were
married in November 1883 on the farm
Colonies Plaats near Graaff Reinet, which
was owned by Emily’s oldest sister, Caroline
A Genealogical Journey of Discovery.
By Cheryl Vermaak.
It was a cool late
September
morning as we
ascended into the
clouds above
Amsterdam on our
way to uncover
further
genealogical
discoveries in
Scotland. As we
winged our way
over the North Sea,
the thought
occurred to me that
one can achieve
anything if
determined enough! Three years ago I had
very scanty knowledge of my family history,
and here I was, on a trip of a lifetime,
realizing my dream of visiting the homes,
graves and churches of ancestors in foreign
countries, who lived as far back as four
centuries ago!
From childhood I was fascinated by the bits
of vague knowledge which my father Gordon
Coleman (b.Greytown, Natal 1918; d.East London
2011) shared with me, especially about his
grandmother’s side of the family. She had
told her grandson that her father, who had
immigrated to South Africa in 1850, had
come from a ‘well-known family in Holland’
and she had been brought up to be a ‘lady’ so
that she could marry well one day! My father
could not remember his grandmother’s
maiden name, except that it had something to
do with ‘Graaff’. She married a young
Scottish banker with the surname Martin. He
came to Graaff Reinet in the late 1870’s and
1
EN RAAD DER STAD AMSTERDAM
and her husband, well-known farmer C.J.
Watermeyer.
Our first stop was Amsterdam, where we
visited the house on the Herengracht, no. 573
in which my ancestors, the De Graeff van
Polsbroek family lived from the late 1600’s to
1800’s, when they were mayors of
Amsterdam, Presidents of the Dutch East
India Company and Lords of Polsbroek,
Purmerland and Ilpendam. The house is now
the Museum of Bags and Purses. The original
ceiling paintings still adorn the two period
rooms. The plot was purchased by my most
illustrious ancestor, Cornelis de Graeff (b.1599;
d.1664. Amsterdam), who died before the house
was built. It was inhabited by at least three
generations of Cornelis’s descendants who
also inherited his titles. They were his son,
Pieter de Graeff van Polsbroek (1638-1707);
grandson Johan de Graeff van Polsbroek
(1673-1714) and great grandson Gerrit de
Graeff I van Polsbroek (1711-1752), the first of
a succession of Gerrits I to IV. It was a
profound experience to climb the original
wooden spiral staircase and to walk around in
the rooms which were once inhabited by my
ancestors two to four centuries ago.
We visited Dam Square, where Mayor of
Amsterdam, Cornelis De Graeff (9 x Great
Grandfather) and his six-year old son Jacob
laid the foundation stone for the building of
the Paleis op de Dam (Palace on Dam
Square). It was originally built as the city hall
and municipal offices, and the magnificent
structure was then considered the 8th Wonder
of the World. It is now one of the royal
palaces used by the present Dutch Royal
Family.
I had read on the internet that prominent De
Graeff ancestors from the Dutch Golden Age
are buried under the floor of the awesome 14th
Century Oude Kerk (1309), the oldest parish
church in Amsterdam, which is now in the
centre of the notorious Red Light District! I
was dumbstruck to discover that a special
burial chapel had been built into the church
building for Cornelis. The inscription on the
marble plaque on the chapel wall reads
Cornelis’s elder son Pieter, grandson Cornelis
II and brother Andries are also buried there.
Other prominent family members are buried
in the floor of the Hoge Koor at grave no. 108
and 109. Nearby is the Hooft family grave,
also a regent family from the Dutch Golden
Age, whose daughters married into the de
Graeff family, the most famous being
Catherina Hooft, wife of Cornelis.
Famous Dutch artists such as Rembrandt,
Jacob van Ruisdael, Nicolaes Pickenoy, Frans
Hals, Caspar Netscher and Thomas de Keyser
painted portraits of family members, a
number of which are in the Rijksmuseum and
other galleries in Europe. Dutch poets of the
day, such as Joost van de Vondel and Jan de
Vos also wrote poems about the family and
their political exploits. One of Van de
Vondel’s most famous poems is about 8x
great grandparents Pieter de Graeff and
Jacoba Bicker’s wedding in 1662 at the
family castle Ilpenstein in the village of
Ilpendam, 12k’s north of Amsterdam. Sadly
the castle was demolished in the late 19th
Century.
We spent a delightful sunny day in the
picturesque village of Polsbroek, 27k’s south
of Amsterdam. I had recently discovered that
in 1834, 2 x Great Grandfather Gerrit, as a 3year old, laid the foundation stone when the
centuries old Hervormde Kerk in Polsbroek
was renovated. He used the same silver
trowel that his ancestor Jacob had used 200
years previously to lay the foundation stone
for the Paleis op de Dam in Amsterdam. The
engraved trowel is on display in the
Rijksmuseum. Gerrit’s father, Gerrit IV, the
last of the De Graeff lineage to inherit the title
and rights as Lord of Polsbroek, Purmerland
and Ilpendam, presided over the inauguration
of the renovated church, and donated the
pulpit which is still in the church. Originally
the pulpit was painted black and maroon to
avoid paying ‘wood tax’ to the French
government! If wooden items were painted,
taxation was waived! In a booklet given to
me about the history of the church, 3-year old
Gerrit is referred to as the ‘ambachtsheer’
(apprentice Lord). Sadly he was not destined
to inherit his father’s titles. After the French
Revolution, the French took over Holland,
bringing in a municipal system of
A.D. 1648 IS DEZE KAPEL
TOT BEGRAAFPLAATS GESTIGHT
DOOR CORNELIS DE GRAEFF
VRIJHEER VAN ZUID POLSBROEK
2
government, and the rights of the Lords were
largely abolished. It is interesting that Gerrit
and three of his brothers left their motherland
and settled in foreign developing countries.
The most famous brother was Dirk (18331916) who had an impressive political career
as the first successful Western diplomat in
Japan.
I had emailed the church website some weeks
before the trip and the ‘scriba’ (secretary) set
up a meeting for us. We were made to feel
very welcome by members of the community
who entertained us in one of their homes and
took us to see the church. I also had the
privilege of playing the old organ dating from
the 18th Century. It was very special.
It was with a heavy heart that I left the
Netherlands, as there is so much I still need to
see regarding the family history. Hopefully
there will be another time! Our next stop was
Edinburgh to do the ‘family history thing’
again and trace Emily de Graeff’s husband,
Alexander Martin’s Scottish roots. We were
not disappointed! We hired a car, and
travelled 75k’s south-west to the quaint exlead-mining village of Leadhills, which is the
second highest village in Scotland.
Approaching the village we drove through the
exquisite Mennock Pass alongside the
Mennock Water, surrounded by the majestic
rolling green and purple hills which meet at
the roadside. I had read in the book, ‘God’s
Treasure House in Scotland’ by Porteous
(1876), that Alexander Martin’s father, - my
2x Great Grandfather, Dr James Martin (b.
Leadhills 1790; d. Edinburgh 1875), often walked
this distance when he was a medical student
at Edinburgh University!
Some weeks before the trip, I had emailed
the old Miners’ Library in Leadhills, and
arranged a visit to the village. The Miners
Library was begun in 1741 and is the oldest
subscription library in Britain. The people of
Leadhills were most helpful in getting
information for me, including copies from
two 19th Century publications about James
Martin, who was a prominent surgeon,
working for the Scots Mining Company. As a
young man, he served in the British Army as
a surgeon directly under Wellington’s
command in Spain and France during the
Napoleonic Peninsular Wars. After the wars,
James served in the British forces in the West
Indian Islands, where he met his Jamaicanborn British wife, Eliza Martin (b.Jamaica 1804;
d.Leadhills 1874). They met at one of the grand
balls which the planters arranged for the
British officers. Strangely enough, Eliza was
the daughter of a British merchant, who was
also named James Martin! James and Eliza
were married on the Island of Dominique.
James retired from the army after contracting
yellow fever during an outbreak in the
islands. After living and working in France
for a few years, he took up the position of
surgeon for the Scots Mining Company in his
home village of Leadhills. He is also known
for having given evidence to the Children’s
Employment Commission of 1842 about the
health of children and young people working
in mines, which ultimately led to the
abolishment of child labour. Apart from his
duties as surgeon, James also succeeded his
father as Baillie (agent) to the Earl of
Hopetoun, and was also the postmaster in
Leadhills!
Opposite the Miners’ Library, a few metres
down the road is the ‘Doctor’s House’ which
was owned by the Scots Mining Company
where my Martin ancestors lived.
Surrounded by a stone wall, the picturesque
cemetery in Leadhills is situated on a hill
above the village, surrounded by the green
and purple Lowther Hills. The Martin grave
site consists of two huge stone slabs
resembling table-tops resting above the
ground on heavy cement legs! I was told that
the reason for these ‘table-like’ graves was to
prevent grave robbers from stealing bodies
which they sold to medical schools for
research in the 1800’s.
Being in short
supply, no questions were asked as to their
provenance! I was amazed at the amount of
family information on these mossy, mildewed
gravestones. It felt as if the family member
who had all this information inscribed so
many years ago, wanted James’ story to be
known and passed on, with the hope that one
day a descendant may venture to this remote
little village in the hills - like me, 140 years
later, visiting from another continent in search
of my family roots on a cold stormy late
afternoon in the second highest village in
Scotland!
When I initially emailed the Leadhills library,
prior to our trip, I sent a request for
3
Coleman was six-years old when her father
Alexander Martin died, and I doubt that she
knew
much
about
her
interesting
grandfathers. What a joy it was for me to be
able to pass on the details of my research to
her son, - my father, Gordon Coleman, before
he passed away in his 93rd year in May 2011.
a. Pieter Graeff (b.ca.1484), founder of
Dutch family De Graeff. Descendant of
Von Graben family, Austria.
b1. Jan Pietersz Graeff (<1512 - 1553)
c3. Dirk Jansz Graeff (1532-1589);
merchant, mayor of Amsterdam.
d3. Jacob Dircksz de Graeff (1571-1638)
regent and mayor of Amsterdam; baron
of semi-sovereign lordship of Zuid-Polsbroek;
lord of the manor of Sloten, Osdorp and
Amstelveen.
e1. Cornelis de Graeff van Polsbroek
(1599-1664), regent and Mayor of
Amsterdam; baron of semi-sovereign
Lordship of Zuid-Polsbroek; Lord
of the manor of Sloten & Amstelveen.
President of Dutch East India Company.
f1. Pieter de Graeff van Polsbroek
(1638-1707); regent of Amsterdam; Baron
of the semisovereign Lordships of ZuidPolsbroek, Purmerland & Ilpendam;
President of Dutch East India Company.
(VOC)
g3. Johan de Graeff van Polsbroek (16731714) Amsterdam Councillor. Baron of
semi-sovereign Lordship Zuid-Polsbroek
h2. Gerrit de Graeff I van Polsbroek
(1711-1752 Amsterdam), regent of
Amsterdam; baron of the semi-sovereign
Lordships of Zuid-Polsbroek, Purmerland
& Ilpendam; President of Dutch East
India Co. (VOC) & Dutch West Indies
.
Co. (WIC)
i2. Gerrit de Graeff II van Polsbroek
(1741-1811) regent of Amsterdam; baron
of Semi-sovereign lordships of Zuid. Polsbroek Purmerland & Ilpendam.
j1. Gerrit de Graeff III van Polsbroek
. (1766-1814) Baron of semi-sovereign
. lordships of Zuid Polsbroek Purmerland
. & Ilpendam.
k2. Gerrit de Graeff IV van Polsbroek
(1797 Amsterdam-1870 Utrecht) City
Councillor, Amsterdam; Baron of semisovereign lordships of Zuid-Polsbroek,
information on the Martin family, and sent a
photo of a locket I inherited from my
Grandmother Mary Caroline Coleman (nee
Martin) (1891-1967 Pietermaritzburg), inside of
which are portraits of James and Eliza. For
over 100 years, hanging on a wall in the
Leadhills Miners Library, is a framed photo
of an unnamed elderly couple. After I sent
the photo of the locket, the library historians
were able to identify the people on the photo
as James and Eliza Martin! So now, this
elderly Victorian couple are no longer mere
portraits in a locket or photos on the wall, they are my family, - Great-Great
Grandparents about whom I have learnt so
much, it feels as if I know them!
When James and Eliza Martin’s youngest son
Alexander died suddenly in 1898 in
Johannesburg at the age of 47, his young
widow Emily was unable to cope, and the two
oldest of her four children, which included
my grandmother, were cared for by relatives.
It is a sad irony that Emily should end up
destitute, as both her father and father-in-law,
in their careers had worked towards the
welfare and rights of children. A large part of
Gerrit de Graeff’s work as Secretary of the
Graaff-Reinet Board of Executors, was to
attend to the plight of widows and orphans,
and Dr James Martin contributed to changing
the course of history by testifying about the
health of children working in British mines,
leading to the abolishment of child labour in
Britain. My Grandmother Mary Caroline
4
Purmerland & Ilpendam.
l 2. Gerrit Arnold Theodoor De Graeff van
Polsbroek (b.Amsterdam 1831; d?) x Agnes
Henrietta van Rijssen in 1854. Mossel Bay.
m1. Carolina Agnes Maria De Graeff
(b.1855)
x C.J. Watermeyer of Colonies Plaats.
m2. Gerrit De Graeff (b. Mossel Bay.1856)
m3. Hendrik George De Graeff (b.1858)
m4. Agnes Margaretha De Graeff (b1889)
m5. Joseph de Graeff (b. Knysna1861)
m6. Emily Gertrude De Graeff, (b.Knysna
1862; d.Hillcrest 1947)
x 1883 G-Reinet
Alexander Charles Martin, (b.Leadhills,
Scotland 1850; d. Johannesburg 1898)
[Son of Dr James Martin
(b.Leadhills1790 - d.Edinburgh 1875).
x Eliza Martin.
(b.Jamaica 1804; d.Leadhills 1874).]
n1.James Martin (b.1884. d.1945 Durban)
n2. Mary Caroline Martin (1891-1967
Pietermaritzburg.) x Edward John
Coleman (b.London 1866; d.PMBurg 1937
o1. Ernest Edward James Coleman (b.1911
Greytown d.1985 Pietermaritzburg)
o2. Leslie Charles Martin Coleman(b.1916
Greytown; d. 1943 POW Italy)
o3. Gordon Raymond Coleman
(b.Greytown, 1918; d.East London 2011.
x Margaret Nora Weekes
(b1927 PMBurg-d1992 E.L.)
o4. Stanley Kenneth Coleman (b.Greytown
1922. living in Pietermaritzburg
n3. Alexander Charles Martin(1895;d.1947)
n4. Laura Agnes Martin (Bethal) b.1897;
d 1970’s. Durban.)
-------------
---------------The Dicken Medal by Tiaan Jacobs.
My interesting hobby of
collecting and researching
medals, i.e. includes an
interest in animals that
served with the Armed
forces and the Civil
Defence units during
World War II.
The Dickin Medal, was
instituted in the United
Kingdom by Mrs Maria
Elizabeth Dickin CBE,
founder of the People's Royal Dispensary for
Sick Animals (shortly known as the PDSA – a
British veterinary institution).
As a young woman, Maria Dickin worked to
improve the dreadful state of animal health.
She wanted to open a clinic where people
living in poverty, could receive free treatment
for their sick and injured animals. Despite the
scepticism of the establishment, Maria Dickin
opened her free 'dispensary' in November
1917. It was an immediate success and she
was soon forced to find larger premises.
Within six years this extraordinary woman
had designed and equipped her first horsedrawn clinic and soon a fleet of mobile
dispensaries was established. PDSA vehicles
soon became a comforting and familiar sight
throughout the country.
She was also aware of the incredible bravery
displayed by animals on active service and the
Home Front. Inspired by the animals’
devotion to man and duty, she introduced this
special medal in 1943, specifically for them,
which was later popularly referred to as "the
animals Victoria Cross" (VC). It was awarded
in order to honour any animal displaying
conspicuous gallantry, outstanding acts of
bravery and devotion to duty associated with,
or under the control of, any branch of the
Armed Forces or Civil Defence units during
World War II and its aftermath.
The award, which can only be considered
upon receipt of an official recommendation, is
exclusive to the animal kingdom and
traditionally, the medal is presented by the
Lord Mayor of the City of London..
The Dickin Medal is a large, bronze
medallion. The obverse of the medal bears the
Les Williams Memorial Lecture
The East Cape branch executive extends
an open invitation to anyone interested in
genealogy to attend this address by our
National President, Petro Coreejes-Brink.
The meeting will be at our normal venue the Lolly Shtein Hall, Laubscher Park
West Retirement Centre, Villiers Road,
Walmer, on Monday 17th September at
7.30pm.
By having this Memorial Lecture it is to
recognise
the
extensive
research
undertaken by Les Williams and his
contribution to the well-being of the East
Cape branch.
5
initials "PDSA" at the top, the words "For
Gallantry" in the centre and the words "We
Also Serve" underneath, all within a wreath of
laurel. The reverse is blank for inscribing with
details of the recipient. The medal ribbon is
green, dark brown and pale blue, representing
water, earth and air to symbolise the naval,
military, civil defence and air forces.
Of the 54 Dickin Medals awarded between
1943 and 1949, 32 were presented to pigeons,
18 to dogs, 3 to horses, and believe it or not, 1
to a cat.
In 2002 the medal was revived and since then
recipients have included dogs who worked in
the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorism attacks in
America in 2001 and dogs serving in BosniaHerzegovina, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Sixty-three PDSA Dickin Medals have been
awarded to date. The citations on the Roll of
Honour's are a moving and unique insight into
the role animals play in the service of man in
times of war. The animals who have won this
award, and whose gallantry has been
honoured, must stand as representative of the
many through history, equally deserving,
whose value and service to man have passed
unmentioned.
The remarkable deeds of courage, fidelity and
endurance performed by dogs in war and in
peace, would fill volumes. During World War
II eighteen were nominated to receive the
award of the Dickin Medal in recognition of
their outstanding service
Many countries have had famous war
animals, but one remembered specifically by
me since my childhood, was Antis, an
Alsatian dog, belonging to Czech airman
Václav Robert Bozděch, that had received the
highest honour given to animals. We must
remember, however, that for each animal we
know and rejoice about, there are still many
unsung heroes in the world that deserve our
gratitude and respect and who will never get
the recognition that they deserve.
Owned by a Czech airman, this dog served
with him in the French Air
Force and RAF from 1940
to 1945, both in North
Africa and England. No.
311 Squadron RAF was a
Czechoslovakian-manned
bomber squadron of the
Royal Air Force during the
Second World War. It was first formed at
Honington on 29 July 1940, equipped with
Wellington I bombers and crewed mostly by
escaped Czechslovakian aircrew.
Antis’ exploits earned him the distinction of
being the first Foreign dog to receive the
Dickin Medal, the eqivalent of the Victoria
Cross, for bravery and outstanding service
during World War II, as far back as 1949.
Date of award – 28.01.1949.
Bozděch and Antis
Between 1940 and 1945 Antis served with his
owner in the French Air Force in North Africa
and with the Royal Air Force in England and
accompanied his owner, part of a six-man
crew, on more than 30 bombing missions over
occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, evading
formidable German defences, always lucky to
make it back. As his and his owner’s fame
grew, Antis went from being a valued mascot
for his crew, to a symbol of courage for all in
the RAF.
On March 15th, 1939, German troops entered
Czechoslovakia, and Hitler proclaimed
Bohemia and Moravia a Nazi protectorate.
Many in the Czech Air Force began fleeing
the country with a common purpose to serve
abroad. Among them, was 27-year-old Czech
airman Václav Bozděch. Like many of his
compatriots, he escaped first to Poland, then
to France, where he served in the Foreign
Legion, and later as a flyer. It was on one of
his missions over France that he found the
dog. The moment is described in Freedom in
the Air - A Czech Flyer & his Aircrew Dog,
by author Hamish Ross. From Glasgow, the
author told that there are two versions of the
story.
“The earliest version is from a British
newspaper of 1942 saying that Bozděch’s
plane went down in no man’s land in March
1940. According to the paper, the airman
found the German Shepard puppy in an
abandoned farmhouse which had been
recently deserted and he took him. He not
only saved the dog's life but provided his
squadron with a very lucky mascot.
The second version was in Czech, in Rozlet
published in 1945: it said Bozděch bought the
puppy from a farmer. We don’t really know
which version is correct, but certainly the
bonding between the two seems to suggest it
was something more dramatic than just
6
getting him from a farmer. Bozděch himself
subscribed to the earlier version.”
The airman escaped from France with the
puppy in tow, eventually making his way to
Great Britain. Although strict quarantine
laws were in effect, he managed to smuggle
his four-legged companion in, and as a result,
the dog was raised and spent most of his life
on air bases. Bozděch trained the dog well
within the No. 311 Czechoslovak squadron
and their attachment was great, so great that
ahead of one mission, the Alsatian (who could
no longer stand to be parted form his owner)
stowed away on the plane, the C for Cecelia,
the crew’s Wellington bomber. Hamish Ross
once again:
“He was surprised to find that the dog was
not waiting to see him off before the flight and
off they went. He just assumed the dog was in
somebody’s hut and wasn’t worried. As the
plane was crossing the Dutch coast at about
12 thousand feet, he felt this tap at his elbow.
He thought it was the navigator asking for a
radio fix on their position, but when he looked
in his direction, he saw the navigator was
busy in his charts. So he stared into the
darkness and couldn’t believe it, it was the
dog, lying on the floor, his sides heaving as he
was struggling to breathe! So he had to share
his oxygen mask! “That flight itself was a
difficult raid: they had more than their share
of enemy activity and there were also
lightning storms and several of the radios and
some of the electronics were put out of action.
When they returned, the Wellington crew
came to the conclusion that Antis had brought
them luck. And it was the collective decision
by the six men in the crew, that Antis would
join the combat team.”
Each time they took to the air, the dog lay still
and quiet in the cockpit, inches from Jan's
feet. It was not the safest seat on the plane and
Antis was injured several times by enemy
gunfire but he never complained and was
always eager to fly again.
Flying with the dog, was of course strictly
against regulations, nevertheless, Antis took
part in some 30 missions, bringing inspiration
to his crew. Twice, he was injured by flak,
once a scratch to his ear and muzzle, another
time a chest injury far more threatening.
Nevertheless, the animal’s nature and training
saw him behave exceptionally: it was only on
their return from one of the flights that
Bozděch realised the animal had even been
hurt.
“He said that the dog there showed courage
that perhaps a human being couldn’t show.
The dog did not panic, it did not whine, it just
lay at his feet.
In 1949, when Field Marshall Archibald
Percival Wavell, who was the commander of
British Army forces in the Middle East during
the Second World War, pinned the Dickin
Medal on his collar, he remarked ”that Antis
had inspired others through his courage and
steadfastness. That was the remarkable
thing.”
As the bombing raids continued, rumours of
Antis’s existence began to spread. They were
of course denied, even though the dog’s story
became something of an open secret.
Eventually the truth came out. But rather than
being an “embarrassment” for the RAF, Antis
with Bomber Command became an
inspiration for many. By then his flying days
were over, but a dog capable of braving
dangerous
flights
through
blinding
searchlights and anti-aircraft fire as well as
enemy fighters, was a hero and a worthy
mascot.
As the conflict wore on, slowly the scales
tipped in favour of the Allies. When the war
ended in May 1945 it meant that Václav
Bozděch and compatriots, including Antis
could now soon return home to his native
Czechoslovakia. . It had been a difficult six
years of sacrifice. But now democracy in
Czechoslovakia could be restored.
Unfortunately, their first taste of peace didn't
last long. Tragically it would be short-lived:
the country again descended into darkness in
1948, this time under the Communists.
Overnight, men like Bozděch, who had risked
and endured everything for their country,
became enemies of the state. After the death
of Jan Masaryk, who remained Foreign
Minister following the liberation of
Czechoslovakia as part of the multi-party,
communist-dominated
National
Front
government, it was time–again, to escape and
flee. He headed for the border and the
freedom of England. For Bozděch that meant
a personal tragedy: he left behind a wife and
baby son.
Hamish Ross again:
7
“Of course, the thing to note from the start
was that Bozděch couldn’t possibly take his
wife and a seven-month old child along. But
he could take the dog. That wasn’t just
sentimentality: he did feel that the dog could
alert him to danger in advance.”
In fact, the dog was to play a pivotal role in
the airman’s escape, substantially helping him
and two others to escape across the frontier
and slip into West Germany. A group of
strangers – nearby in the dark – was not so
lucky. “The crossing spot was compromised
and the searchlights came on. Machine guns
from a fixed position raked the ground and
these others were either killed or wounded. So
Bozděch and his companions then took a
round-about route, and the dog was their
‘guiding light’ and crossed safely over the
border.”
Bozděch never returned to the country of his
birth. He remarried in England and had a
second family. But also he never forgot what
he had left behind. The outcome must have
haunted him deeply.
“They fought not only for the freedom of
Czechoslovakia but for the freedom of the
western countries. Then in ’48, when they fled
again, those who were able to get out, there
was just no hope left. There was just nothing,
there was no intervention. For Bozděch it
meant complete severance from his country
for the rest of his life. He tried very hard to
keep in touch with his son Jan, who was by
then ten or 12, up until he was around 20,
sending him parcels under an assumed name
at Christmas.
As for Antis, Bozděch’s famous dog? The
brave Alsatian lived until the age of 13. After
the animal died, Václav Bozděch never
wanted - and never had - a dog again.
Today we salute the memory of Maria Dickin,
CBE and the Peoples Dispensary for Sick
Animals. Maria will be remembered as one of
the great figures in the history of animal
welfare.
The PDSA also made provision for a last
resting place for many of the animals who
died after receiving the Dickin medal. You
could be mistaken for thinking you have
stumbled upon a long forgotten village
cemetery : the ancient trees overhanging a
meandering path that winds between the moss
covered gravestones
impression.
certainly give that
One of the
PDSA’s
most
treasured
possessions
lies in quiet
corner of a field in Ilford, North London. The
PDSA Animal Cemetery is the final resting
place for over 3,000 animals, including 12
heroes awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal for
their gallantry in WW II. Today the PDSA
cemetery, is a much more mature place…
Epiloque Even before I opened my eyes for
the first time, the Jacobs household had an
Alsation dog, called Plato. He was extremely
fond of my mother and would follow her
wherever she went, always ready to protect
her with his life.
His successor, Nikita Krushshev, was named
after the Prime Minister of Russia, 1958 – 64.
She was a registered white German Shepard
and her grandparents were imported from
Russia – she was a real aristocrat...
Last, but not the least, shortly before I left my
parent’s house in Nylstroom, Northern
Transvaal to marry in 1974, my parents got
Alsation the third, Antis – so called after my
youth animal hero, on my request.
Bibliography : Made use of more than 40
sources to compile the presentation
Adapted from a DVD Presentation at our
April Meeting. Tiaan is one of our
enthusiastic
members
who
combines
genealogy with military medal awards.
------------
AVAILABLE NOW !
THE EASTERN and SOUTHERN CAPE
CEMETERY CD
VERSION 2012ii for only R100
*
NOW UPDATED TO INCLUDE
Almost 250,000 NAMES
from over 1500 CEMETERIES
* plus overseas postage
-----------8
The watershed moment came in 1933, in
Some of the medicines that
great-grandpa took…
the deepest, darkest depths of the Great
A most eloquent talk by Emiritas
Professor of Pharmacology, Ian Wiseman
Depression in the United States when
Only a genealogist regards
a step backwards as progress.
Many years ago Jonathan Swift said,
‘Every man or woman would live long, but
no man or woman would grow old.”
People are living longer: global average
age 100 years ago was 30. It is now 64.
In the Western world it is 80+ years.
In South Africa stats have surrendered 4
years of South Africans life expectancy
between 1985 and 2011. This is a
uniquely South African phenomenon as
there is no other country in the world,
barring those embroiled in wars, that has
seen life expectancy decline since 1985.
This reflects the sad story of HIV and
AIDS in South Africa.
Franklin D Roosevelt was faced
Reasons why people are living longer:
The Ageing Baby Boomers:
This is the Most Pressing Issue of the Age.
25%
Chancellor
Bismarck
based
being
Hence retirement was seen as the
shortest stage in one’s life. Today the
length of retirement can rival the duration
of your active career and can be 30 years
or more simply because people are living
longer.
The first cohort of post World War II baby
boomers turned 65 last year. This
chronological age categorizes them as
senior citizens and they pose a challenge
to the biblical calculus that life span is
three score years and ten. The greying of
the population is probably the most
significant demographic phenomenon in
the 21st century.
The concept of immortality: Behaving as if
they will never grow old. Examples: Mick
Jagger, Madonna, Hugh Hefner quoted in
Time Magazine April, 2011
Chronology of some medicines linked to
important events:
1785: William Withering
produces
Digitalis - A group of medicines extracted
from foxglove plants are called Digitalin.
”Poisons in small doses are medicines,
and medicines in too large a dose are
poisons.” [The first balloon flight across
English Channel (Blanchard & Jeffries)].
1806: Morphine isolated. {Cape Colony
becomes English colony]
1820: Napoleon Bonaparte said:
”I do not want two diseases, one nature
made and one doctor made.”
1854: Cholera outbreak in London
1899: Aspirin patented by Felix
Hoffmann. [Gideon Society established
scheme in the German Empire to move
their
force
life expectancy in America was 63 years.
Bismarck had come up with a pension
from
labour
for retirement. But in 1935 the average
* In the late 1800s, Chancellor Otto von
bureaucrats
the
unemployed. He settled on the age of 65
* Vaccines (Salk), Until 1955, when the
Salk vaccine was introduced, polio was
considered the most frightening public
health problem of the post-war
* Water sanitation (Cholera epidemic),
By tracing an outbreak of cholera in
London in 1854 to a particular water
pump in Soho, John Snow was able to
show that cholera was being transmitted
through water. Thirty years later, Robert
Koch
isolated
the
culprit: the
bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
* Golden era of medicine (Antibiotics and
pneumonia). With the advent of
penicillin and other antibiotics,
aging
of
with
posts.
the
retirement age on a biblical reference to
three score year and ten. But very few
people saw retirement as the average life
expectancy at that stage was 46 years of
age.
9
to place bibles in hotels].
Aspirin remains strong in the twenty-first
century with widespread use as a
preventive treatment for heart attacks and
strokes.
1926: Banting and Best - Insulin. –
[1st public demonstration of television,
John L Baird, London]
!936: Sulphonamides. [Hitler introduces
Ferdinand Porsche's "Volkswagen".]
1941: Penicillin produced commercially Pneumonia: ‘the crisis has passed.’
2000: Mapping the human genome. For
the first time, the world could download
and read the complete set of human
genetic information and begin to discover
what our roughly 20,000 genes do.
age] are far more important than your
chronological age!
How old would you be if you didn’t know
how old you were?
Satchel Paige was the oldest at 42 to play
major league baseball.
What are the things we can do to keep
our brains fit?
Even though ‘Brain fitness’ is not a
recognized medical term it is an
extremely popular concept. There are
things that we can do to keep the brain
sharp and growing. Neuronal plasticity,
the ability of neurons in the brain to
change in response to experience, has
been one of the most exciting discoveries
in neuroscience.
Eight things we can do to help keep the
brain sharp:
You can teach old dogs new tricks!
1. Stay relaxed and as unstressed as
possible.
2. Recognize the importance of exercise
which
causes
the
release
of
neurotrophins’
[Substances
which
encourage sprouting between brain cells]
3. Maintain an active social life.
“Loneliness - the worst poverty of all”.
4. The importance of being quiet
to meditate to keep those pre-frontal
cortex cells growing.
5. Pay attention: are we hurrying through
life without stopping to really look listen
and feel?
6. Keep learning
7. Laugh!
8. Find a Purpose .
What gives you a sense of purpose and
meaning in life?
“A successful retirement is inversely
proportional to the amount of time spent
watching TV”
Prevalence of dementias:
People are living longer and with
increased age we see diseases that were
not common in years gone by. One in
eight older Americans have Alzheimer’s
disease. In the UK one in 14 people over
65 years of age and one in six people
over 80 years of age has a form of
dementia. It is estimated that by 2021
there will be one million people with
dementia in the UK. Many people talk
about the 'demographic time bomb' or
'tidal wave' of older people, which the
state cannot afford to cater for.
There are currently nearly 36 million
people with dementia in the world.
By 2050 it is projected there will be 115
million people with dementia worldwide,
71 per cent of whom will live in
developing countries.
A negative view that is sometimes used
to define societal perception of ageing:
The 3Ds - despondent, dependent and
decrepid. Such prejudices arise from
unfounded notions about older people.
The three ages of man …Chronological,
psychological, and biological
What happens in the brain? As we age
the prefrontal cortex thins potentially
affecting memory.
“Why do we forget? Normal forgetting =
Transience,
absentmindedness
and
blocking. (FUD factor: Fear uncertainty
and doubt.)
Remember your psychological age (your
‘think age’) and your biological age [real
‘Every man or woman would live long, but
no man or woman would grow old.”
It is true to say that we all want to live a
long healthy life. And there is mounting
evidence, that when it comes to the mind,
there are strategies that we can follow to
help ensure that our prefrontal cortex
continues to grow and that we stay
mentally sharp. It can be done.
10
Franz Liszt, the 19th Century composer,
and starting piecing things together it
was composing some of his remarkable
became more and more clear why.
music at 70.
So, let me tell you what conclusions
Michael Angelo was well in his 70’s when
I drew from talking with family members
he completed the ‘Conversion of St Paul’.
as well as the older generations around
Golda Meir became Prime Minister of
me.
Israel at the age of 69 and the great
In a time, long, long ago, people
American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright,
lived in relative peace and harmony.
was designing some his greatest
Relative that is to the bonds created by
buildings in his 80’s.
National Pride. Some still regarded
Known as the Longevity Island, Okinawa
themselves as British, German, Dutch,
is home to the world's highest known
Indian, etc. Others were becoming true
concentration of centenarians. In the
South Africans.
Okinawan dialect, there is no word for
They started identifying themselves
"retirement". Instead there is another
with the beautiful land in which they lived.
word, "ikigai", which translates roughly to
This also included identifying with the
"purpose" or "that which makes one's life
various peoples of this beautiful land. The
worth living." Okinawans live with a sense
indigenous people: the Bushman, San,
of purpose whether nurturing their
Xoi-Xoi, Xhosa, Zulu, Sothu, Hottentot to
vegetable garden, working at a pineapple
name just a few.
plant, or raising a happy, healthy family.
This identification came to a point
The genealogist’s Theory of relativity,
that they fell in love with each other and
with apologies to Einstein: “If you go back
eventually they married and produced
far enough, we're all related.”!
offspring.
-------------Then
came
the
Nationalists
ideologies of separatism or Apartheid.
A colourful look at
This made it illegal to fall in love across
Our Sensitive History –
the colour barrier again. People were
Families Divided by Walter Renze
forcibly removed from their areas where
I would like to broach a subject that has
they were raised or made a livelihood.
many different opinions:
The generation to come out of the
* Many of us try and shy away from it.
previous inter-racial marriages were now
* Others just refuse to acknowledge it.
caught between a rock and a hard place.
It is our inter-racial genealogy.
* How should they register under the .
A family tree that has some very colourful
. new “requirements”?
branches to it.
* Were they “white” or “not white”?
I do not profess to know all there is
Even more demanding was the
to know about it. I just want to relay my
decision to be made by their parents.
personal experiences relating to this as it
* Did they now register as white or not?
impacts directly on my family.
* And what if they could register as
When I look at my collection of the
white, but not their children?
family photos that I have, I notice that
What a disaster!
there hardly seem to be extended family
In my entire family, I have a similar
in it, except for some of my maternal
problem. My great-great-grandfather was
family. And it was always something I
a German Citizen, registered as
wondered about. It never bothered me
European in South Africa. He married
too much as a child, but as I grew up, it
someone whose ancestry I’m still trying to
bothered me more and more. My father
find. She could have been the servant in
used to speak to me about family, but not
the home he stayed in for all I know. But it
too much. And I always wondered why.
does not bother me at all.
When I started doing my family
He preferred to stay within the
history and research about 2 years ago
confines of the Native Villages or
Townships, like the one where Albany
11
Road in Grahamstown is located, which
was referred to as the Hottentot Location.
He actually had two homes there that he
willed to my great-grandfather, one in
Albany Road and the other in Trotter
Street.
One of his daughters married into a
British Settler family. She was Elizabeth
Annie RENZE and she married Stephen
Josias FROST. The great-great-grandson
of Philip John FROST, the 1820 Settler.
So here we have that dilemma.
* Do their children register as “white” or
not?
* And what happens if they do not fit the
specified requirements of being “white”
under the new laws?
And then another of his daughter’s
married Richard H. RICHARDSON.
Another big dilemma.
I can go on and on here, but I don’t want
to state the obvious:
*
That we now have, under the new
Nationalist Government of the time, a
generation of very confused individuals.
* Some retained their “white” ancestry.
* Others opted or were forced to change
their national identity, their family identity.
* Now we have family on both sides of
the spectrum or fence.
* Family who now cannot interact with
one another.
* Family who have to now sever ties and
start a whole new existence.
A very sad day indeed.
I say sad because I can see the effects of
that now.
* I don’t know half of my family.
* The only portion of family I know are
those with whom I had regular contact.
*
And because in the “coloured”
township it was a mission to get from one
place to another, we never really visited
each other as often as we possibly
wanted to.
* If it was within walking distance, then it
was possible, otherwise we never met.
* In the days of my grandfather, owning
a car as a “coloured” meant that you were
“something” in life, that you have
achieved something.
* Other than that you were forced to
walk long distances or rely on public
transport.
And then the housing issues created
by the Group Areas Act also affected
many individuals:
My maternal grandparents, named
OWNHOUSE, owned many properties, a
general dealer shop as well as a dance
hall (which later became the Korsten
Townhall). This, my grandmother had to
sell for next to nothing when the Group
Areas Act affected the areas of Fairview,
North End, Sidwell and Village Board.
When they had to move, they bought a
house in Morat Street, Korsten (where I
grew up). When one of the many people
that lived on their property in Barry Street
came to visit them in Korsten, the first
comment was “Why are you living in a
matchbox?” For me that was the only
home I knew and it was big enough for all
of us. Big in terms of the homes of some
of my friends in Schauderville and other
areas of Korsten.
I cannot speak for the family on the
other side of the “fence”. Maybe it was
the same for them. I would not know.
When speaking to these affected
families about that time now, I can draw
some logical conclusions of how they
feel:
* I can still see the hurt in their eyes.
* I can still hear the hurt in their voices
when they reminisce of how it was to be
separated from family.
* To have bonds of family broken.
* To be brutally separated from those
whom you love, those whom you share a
blood-line with.
Was it their fault, NO!
Did they feel as if it was their fault, YES!
Sad when you think about it. People
that were so close were now divided by
an imaginary line. But, an imaginary line
that had the power of a Government
behind it.
How do we overcome this? That is
anyone’s guess. We just have to plod on
and on, hoping that the next generation
will be able to come to terms with it and
work through it and then once again enjoy
the bonds created by family.
12
I am currently writing a book on my
family history. To document our family’s
history as well as an attempt to document
the areas in which they lived, for the
future generations. It is entitled:
The Ties that Bind
Why did I choose that title?
It implies that, as a family, we all
have “Ties that Bind” us to each other.
Sometimes those ties get stretched by
various influences (internal and external)
that cause the parties concerned to move
in opposite directions. Sometimes those
ties are so slim, they are almost invisible.
Yet somehow they never get broken. Not
by life or by death. Not by circumstances
or feuds within families.
At our wedding, my father related
the story of the two donkeys tied by a
rope to each other. When they tried to
walk in opposite directions, they strangled
themselves because the rope would pull
tight against their necks. Soon they learnt
that if they both continue in the same
direction, they were saved from this
feeling of being strangled.
So it is with us as humans that are
tied together by blood. We sometimes
walk in the opposite direction to each
other and end up “strangling” ourselves
with the loneliness. When we eventually
come back to the “centre”, we find that
together, we can work through and
accomplish almost anything.
In conclusion:
* I cannot tell anyone how to react to
making these types of discoveries within
their family tree. All I can say is: “Keep an
open mind and heart. They are family.
Through their veins flows the same bloodline as yours.”
*
I know what a struggle it is to get
individuals to accept the non-white side.
* I’m currently going through that and let
me tell you, it takes a lot of courage to
stand up and say that “Yes, I see and
agree that we have common ancestors”.
* Our children will most probably do that
without blinking an eye.
-------------------
Led by Liz Eshmade on the 14 July 2012.
Saturday the 14th of July was probably the
worst winters day this city has seen in many a
year! It rained without stopping, there was
flooding and the temperature was way down
in single figures. We had planned a Beginner
course which had received a lot of interest
and 18 people had booked for the day long
do. It is interesting that the numbers were split
almost 50/50 between our own branch
members and the general public!
It was with some trepidation that I went to our
meeting venue as I seriously wondered if
anyone would come! Our catering lady Eve
Rheeder had opened up for us and got the urn
on and the cups out as she was going to make
tea and coffee at lunchtime.
Well, to cut a long story short, by 10.05a.m.
17 of the 18 had arrived and were all bright
eyed and bushy tailed and ready to begin.
We had put all the tables on the centre
carpet and many of them had come armed
with blankets so everyone was pretty cosy.
We stopped for lunch at 12.15 and Eve
supplied us with gallons of tea and coffee to
go with our sandwiches brought from home.
The decibel level of the chatting going on did
not suggest only 17 people but they were all
having a whale of a time.
We got back to work after lunch and a little
later a very cold and wet Becky Horne arrived
to tell them all about internet sources and
hammer home some of the points I had been
making in the morning (no prompting from
me) so it helped re-enforces what I had said.
Everyone was delighted with the addresses
and information she gave us and were dead
keen to get home to try them out (after all,
what else could they do on a day like that!).
Generally I think that they all learned
something! Some of our members who have
been doing research for years but had never
BEGINNERS COURSE
13
done the course were really pleased as they
discovered that some of the info they had
never been able to find was not there to be
found anyway (i.e. pre 1895 birth certificates)
while a lot of additional informative “do’s
and dont’s” were most useful to them.
All in all then, a pretty good day all round!
Speaking to many of those that attended all
agreed that it was a brilliant day, a lot of new
and exciting things learnt. Well worth it .Ed.
-----------------
man, archaeologists have established that
these early people ate rose hips. Much later,
about 5000 years ago, China started
cultivating roses and, in time, developed a
flourishing rose trade with ancient Egypt,
where the rose was revered. The remains and
images of roses have been found in ancient
Egyptian tombs.
It is interesting to speculate about the ancestry
of Elizabeth Wiggill’s rose cutting, but it is
hardly likely that she or her mother would
have given this a thought. Elizabeth’s
thoughts were much more likely to have been
focused on her expectations, trepidation and
excitement around her family’s new life.
When the British Settlers disembarked in Port
Elizabeth, they were transported by ox wagon
to their new homes – bare plots of ground – in
the Bathurst district. Elizabeth planted her
precious rose cutting and it flourished in its
new setting. Later, the family moved to the
village of Bathurst and then to Grahamstown.
Each time they moved, the rose, or cuttings
from it, moved with them. They also planted a
rose at the Bathurst Methodist Church.
Elizabeth bore another four children but died
soon after her youngest child was born in
1827. Her rose, however, survived and carried
memories of her for many generations
through propagation by her children and those
of Isaac’s second wife, Mary Sayers.
As adults, the Wiggill children spread into
other parts of the Eastern Cape, taking
cuttings from their mother’s rose with them.
The rose was affectionately called
‘Grandmother’s rose’ and it became a family
tradition to have one of these roses in the
garden. This resilient rose can still be found
growing in many places in the Eastern Cape
where the Wiggill families put down roots, as
well as in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and
Limpopo. I was told recently by a cousin that
my husband Roy’s grandfather, William
Amner Wiggill, (who grew up in the Thaba
‘Nchu district) had a beautiful white rose with
a wonderful scent and ‘a mysterious and
romantic family history’ growing at his farm
in the Harding district.
Many heritage rose lovers know of the musk
rose found on Klipfontein Farm in the GraaffReinet district by Gwen Fagan during her
search for old Cape roses. In her book, “Roses
at the Cape of Good Hope”, Gwen describes
Genealogist’s Bible Reading
Matthew Chapter 1 vs. 1 - 17
-----------------
A Heritage Musk Rose with an
Enchanting History By Helen Wiggill
The rose now known as ‘Grandmother
Wiggill 1820’ has been known to the
descendants of Isaac Wiggill and his wife
Elizabeth (nee Grimes), the 1820 British
Settlers that came from Gloucestershire, for
nearly 191 years. Elizabeth’s mother saw this
rose growing at a ruin in Gloucester and was
so captivated by it that she took a cutting,
which she managed to propagate. When her
daughter and her family left England in 1820
in Bradshaw’s Party she gave them a cutting
of this. Elizabeth kept it in a little water in a
jar, where it survived the long sea journey.
‘Grandmother Wiggill 1820’ is a musk rose
with a beautiful fragrance that is especially
strong in the evening. The blooms are small,
pure white, have an outer ring of biggish
petals and an inner ring of crinkly petals, and
bosses of yellow stamens. They are borne
sporadically throughout the year.
One wonders about the history of the rose that
was originally found growing in the
Gloucester ruin. Could it have been the
progeny of a rose planted during Roman
times? Gloucester was built on the site of an
old Roman town called Glevum and it is
known that the Romans, who imported roses
from China and Egypt, prized the flowers and
used musk rose petals to strew indoors for
special feasts.
The genus Rosa has a very long history that
stretches back into the mists of time.
According to some sources, fossils of roses
millions of years old have been found. By
examining the stomach contents of prehistoric
14
After Heather nervously uttered “Yes I am”
The Queen herself came on the line!
The Queen said, “I am the Chairlady of The
World Heritage Rose Society and have just
read the article on the ‘Grandmother Wiggill’
rose in the South African magazine. I would
like to commend you for saving this rose. I
have seen the photograph of the rose and it is
beautiful.”
Many of Heather’s family thought the call
was a hoax from one of her friends but she
firmly believes that the call was genuine as
none of her friends could imitate the accent.
She telephoned Helen, (who wrote the article)
to suggest she send the Queen a rooted cutting
of the rose and asked if this could be
arranged. Helen suggested that Heather write
a letter to the Queen to ask if the gift would
be acceptable. Heather agreed. A duly
composed letter was posted. A few weeks
later a letter on Buckingham Palace stationary
was received from Lady Mary, another Ladyin-Waiting to the Queen communicating the
Queen’s thanks but said that the Queen is not
allowed to receive gifts from her subjects.
From The Gardener July, 2011.
vividly her delight at finding this beautifully
scented rose. I have been informed very
recently by the Heritage Rose Society that this
rose and ‘Grandmother Wiggill 1820’ are the
same species. In my view, it can safely be
assumed that the rose on Klipfontein Farm is
a direct descendant of the rose that was
brought from England by Elizabeth Wiggill.
Barbara Long, Chairman of the Heritage Rose
Society, and Ludwig Taschner are satisfied
that ‘Grandmother Wiggill 1820’ can be
classified as belonging to the botanical
species Rosa moschata plena. Ludwig has
researched the presence of this species in
England and has found references to it as far
back as the sixteenth century. According to
him, there are a number of variations of the
species.
I learnt of the existence of this special rose
during a gathering of Wiggill descendants in
Grahamstown in 2009 and was fascinated by
the story behind it. Allan and Heather
Wiggill, who farm in the Queenstown district
and have a beautiful, robust specimen
growing in front of their house, had brought
some cuttings to the gathering. Allan is a
direct descendant of Isaac and Elizabeth’s
fifth son, Elijah, and their rose is a direct
descendant of Elizabeth’s rose. Later, they
kindly gave me cuttings, and Ludwig
Taschner to helped me and bud-grafted some
new cuttings. The plants grew well and apart
from four, which I kept for our family,
Ludwig used the remaining plants to
propagate stocks for sale to rose lovers. There
has been significant demand for these roses,
even from as far afield as England, the mother
country of the Wiggill family, and Australia
and America, where many Wiggill
descendants are living. At this stage it looks
as though the ‘Grandmother Wiggill 1820’
rose and its romantic story will
be saved for posterity.
Sequel
On the afternoon of 3rd August 2011 Heather
Wiggill received a telephone call from a lady
with a very cultured British accent and
introduced herself as “Lady Margaret, Lady –
in-Waiting to Queen Elizabeth II” and asked
Heather if she was Heather Wiggill from
South Africa”. Lady Margaret then asked her
whether she was ready to take a call from
Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace?
a Isaac Wiggill
b1 Eli
17.08.1789 – 21.02.1863 5.11.1810 – 13.4.1884
m1 21.12.1809
m 20.2.1832
Elizabeth Grimes
Susannah Bentley
1791- 1827
m2 30.12.1828
8.9.1812 – 29.3.1869
Mary Sayers
7.5.1813 – 29.5.1871
m 23.4.1837
b2 George
0.1.1793 – 31.12.1843
m3 24.03.1845
Mary Ann King
Mary A Brown
28.03.1817 – 28.9.1866
14.1.1812 – 26.7.1887.
b3 Joseph
b4 Elizabeth
23.6.1818 –
m 7.9.1840
4.10.1818 m
Alice Bentley
Richard Holmes
1822 -
b5 Elijah
b6 Jane
10.7.1821 – 21.7.1893
m 13.8.1844
22.12.1825 –
m
Harriet F Bentley
John Watson
1.1.1825 – 29.6.1904
b7 Mary Ann
b8 Jacob
1827 -
b9 James
15
b10 Thomas Moses
16.10.1829 – 25.9.1892
m 22.2.1854
24.3.1831 – 12.3.1894
m 5.10.1857
Sandra Miles
Patience Miles
28.9.1833 – 22.5.1901
1831 – 11.08.1916
b11 William Aaron
b12 Mary Ann
17.6.1833 – 10.4.1914
m 9.7.1862
23.1.1837 -15.2.1837
Charlotte Brown
12.3.1836 – 14.7.1913
At a meeting last year Arthur Ahlschlager told
us the story of his wife, Bev’s (nee Wiggill)
rose growing in their Port Elizabeth garden.
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Tale End
History gives life to Genealogy
17