A
Research Guide for Beginners
by Rosemary Dixon-Smith
The introductory guide presented here is aimed at those who are beginning their research into South African ancestry, possibly with minimal information and not knowing quite how to proceed, what sources are available or even what questions to ask. If you're reading this, you have the advantage of a computer and access to Internet, valuable tools for the family historian and essential if conducting your quest from a distance.
WHERE TO START?
The first step on the road towards researching South African ancestry is to become acquainted with the South African National Archives online index (NAAIRS - National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System) at www.national.archives.gov.za
Mainly public records stemming from the business of government, for the family historian they are a window on the lives of generations of South Africans. Several million records are available, with on-going additions annually. The site is user-friendly and navigating around it will soon become second nature to you. Before taking the plunge, read the introductory pages, particularly the sections on Abbreviations and Source Codes. Be imaginative in your searches.
Accept that your ancestor’s name may not have been spelled as you think it should have been.
It should be noted that the INDEX is just that: a way of identifying and locating relevant records. Once such references are found, the originals must be viewed at the archival repositories concerned, either visiting these yourself or, if you’re at a distance, delegating the task to local researchers who will then transcribe or provide digital photographs of the contents. On request, the Archives repositories in each centre will provide you with a list of professional researchers operating in that area. Contact details of researchers can also be found on a number of web sites. Bear in mind that lists of available researchers may change: people relocate, take holidays, retire.
DECEASED ESTATES
If your ancestor died in
The DEATH NOTICE typically contains the following details: full name of the deceased, date and place of death, birthplace, age at death, nationality, names of parents, occupation, place of residence, marital status, place of last marriage, names of surviving and pre-deceased spouses, children's names (in the case of minors giving dates of birth; daughters’ married names may be included), whether the deceased owned movable and immovable property, whether this was over a certain value and whether the deceased left a will. The signature of the informant, usually but not always the next-of-kin, appears on the document and states whether the informant was present at the time and place of death.
It’s true that sometimes there may be disappointing gaps in a Death Notice - e.g. birthplace given simply as ‘
Some vital points:
1. The Death Notice is not to be confused with the DEATH CERTIFICATE, which is a much briefer document. The only piece of information contained on a Death Certificate which does not appear on the Death Notice is Cause of Death. (See Civil Registration and Certificates below).
2. It’s preferable to have sight of all the documents pertaining to a Deceased Estate, and not to stop at the Death Notice. Other papers may include a WILL, LIQUIDATION & DISTRIBUTION ACCOUNT*, INVENTORY, and a variety of correspondence. These are all potential sources of information.
*Lists deceased's assets both movable and immovable and how they are disposed of among the beneficiaries under the will; the distribution account provides a list of such beneficiaries and may reveal names not mentioned in the will.
3. Deceased Estate files are only one of the many types of records found on the online Index. They're emphasised here simply as a good place to start your search.
4. Not everyone who died in
5. If your ancestor did not die in South Africa, but was here for a temporary sojourn before returning to his place of origin or moving on to another colony, other research avenues will be required. Occasionally, finding a Deceased Estate filed in SA for a person who died elsewhere, e.g. in
6. In the case of a comparatively recent death, a Deceased Estate file would not be referenced on NAAIRS, the online Archives Index: it would be held by the Master of the Supreme Court in the relevant province. e.g. Deceased Estate files up to and including 1974 are available at Pietermaritzburg Archives Repository.
See an example of a Death Notice http://molegenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/08/back-to-basics-in-sa-family-history.html
CIVIL REGISTRATION & CERTIFICATES
Compulsory civil registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths commenced in
Cape: marriages 1700, births and deaths 1895
Transvaal: marriages 1870, births and deaths 1901
Registers are maintained by the Department of Home Affairs,
If a Death Notice is found for an individual, ordering a Death Certificate may not be a priority. As mentioned above, the Death Certificate doesn't supply anything ‘new’ other than Cause of Death and Duration of Final Illness, with the name of the doctor attending. Sometimes, a Death Certificate may be found in a Deceased Estate file. If ordering a Death Certificate for family history reasons, request a FULL certificate. For purposes of obtaining Ancestral Visas, a VAULT copy is required.
Marriage certificates are notoriously uninformative: parents’ names, for example, do not appear (unless minors are involved, when the consenting parent’s name would be given). Witnesses’ names may include relatives of the bride and groom. Often, if the couple were later divorced, a copy of the marriage certificate is found in the divorce file, a useful shortcut.
For more on Natal Civil Marriage Index see
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/South_Africa,_Natal_Province,_Civil_Marriages_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)
CHURCH REGISTERS
These are a valuable source of information but before any search for your ancestors’ records can be undertaken you need to know location and at least an approximate date of an event. Apart from the major denominations such as Dutch Reformed, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic, there is a plethora of other denominations whose registers may not be centrally held.
The Dutch Reformed Church archives date back to 1665 and are well-maintained. Since this was the only official church in
The Church of the
A certificated copy of an entry in a church register, usually available for a small fee from the denomination concerned, can provide the family historian with a substitute for an official certificate and may obviate the Home Affairs route. It depends on the purpose for which the document is required.
Where allowed by the churches concerned, the LDS have filmed South African church registers. Visit the nearest LDS Family History Centre to order relevant films at minimal cost. Any search in parish records is time-consuming.
CEMETERY REGISTERS
Burial registers found at most municipal cemeteries are arranged according to year and give name, date of burial and age at death, as well as location of the grave. e.g. Stellawood cemetery in
The Genealogical Society of South Africa (GSSA) runs the National Cemetery Recording Project which aims at the systematic recording of gravestone inscriptions in
OTHER SOURCES
Census records are not preserved in SA, so this avenue, much used in
Directories providing useful lists of names, such as the Natal Almanac & Yearly Register, as well as Civil Service Lists etc. are available at Archives repositories and libraries.
Land registration began in SA in 1685. Deeds can be useful for tracing property transactions, and are found at the Surveyor-General's Office in each area. The name of a farm can be looked up in their registers. Maps showing farm names may be among archival holdings, and help to pinpoint location. The Inventory which is included in Deceased Estate files gives the legal description of a property: this description is essential for making any progress at the Surveyor-General’s Office. Mortgage Bonds often occur as references on the online index but their value for genealogical purposes is limited: they can, however, provide residential or business addresses.
For social history and background material on local settler groups or individuals, museums can be of considerable assistance: Huguenot Museum (Fransch Hoek), Kaffrarian Museum (King William's Town), Albany Museum (Grahamstown), the Old Court House Museum and Campbell Collections (Durban) are a small selection. Contact details for these and others appear on the National Archives site.
If your ancestor was in the military in SA at any period read Researching Ancestors Who Were Servicemen (see separate page on this blog). Troops performed an essential role in colonial
Newspapers are an enjoyable and rewarding source (personal announcements, obituaries, shipping columns etc.) but as they are not indexed by surname a reasonable date parameter for the event is essential. There are microfilms of some SA newspapers available, and originals can also be found at local archival repositories and libraries. (It’s much easier to search the pages of hard copy newspapers than on microfilm, column by column, though using the hard copies is not always good for preservation of the originals and there may be restrictions.) Natal Society Library (now called Msunduzi Municipal Library) Pietermaritzburg has a formidable collection of original Natal Witness, Natal Mercury and other newspapers. The Cape Town Press Index covering a portion of the 1870s is available on microfiche at the State Library Cape Town and other institutions. The British Newspaper Library at Colindale, has some SA newspapers; the catalogue can be seen at http://prodigi.bl.uk/nlcat/. Recently, subscription sites for access to thousands of newspapers have brought online searching of these within reach of people who own a computer and can afford the subs.
MARITIME RECORDS/PASSENGER LISTS
‘What ship did my ancestor come to SA on’? is without doubt the most Frequently-Asked-Question in South African ancestry research. While there are few thrills comparable with finding your forebear and family on an original passenger list, such records are not the ideal starting-point for your quest. It’s advisable to begin with the final act of the drama, i.e. the death of the ancestor, and work methodically backwards from there. Published passenger lists for organised immigration schemes such as the 1820 or Byrne Settlers exist, though there are often discrepancies. For individuals travelling as ‘free’ or ‘unassisted’ passengers, few printed sources are available. Newspaper shipping columns can be used but unless an approximate date of arrival and port of entry is known, such searches are not feasible. An increasing number of SA passenger lists are appearing on various web sites but so far the content is merely the tip of the iceberg, transcription time being the hurdle. eGGSA, the online branch of the Genealogical Society of South Africa, has embarked on a Passenger List Project: read more at http://www.eggsa.org/arrivals/eGGSA%20Passenger%20Project.html
Even the original manifests (where they have survived) present certain difficulties: occupations shown may have been expedient rather than truthful. Family groups are not always easily identifiable - sometimes the head of the family appears in the ‘surety’ column, if he arrived in the colony as the advance guard, sending for spouse and children at a later date. Detail supplied on the lists varies, e.g. initials rather than forenames in full, or, worst case, no initials at all.
Steerage passengers, by far the most numerous, are frequently omitted in newspaper shipping columns, a clear case of class discrimination! Troops are seldom listed as individuals, except for, occasionally, the officers in charge of the unit. The LDS has filmed certain SA passenger registers, so check the Family History Library Catalogue on http://www.familysearch.org/ or ask for advice at your local FHC.
Note: considerable confusion exists on the appropriate use of the terms ‘immigration’ and ‘emigration’. A way of remembering the difference between the two is thinking of immigration as ‘IN-migration’, coming into a country, and emigration as ‘E(XIT)-migration’, going out of a country. Joseph Byrne referred to his settlers as ‘emigrants’ because they were leaving
My advice is: do not regard finding your ancestor's arrival by ship in South Africa as a holy grail but as a 'nice to have' option. You could waste valuable research hours and end up in a cul de sac. Instead choose more rewarding avenues as suggested in the foregoing paragraphs.
JOIN A MAILING LIST
The knowledgeable enthusiasts who form the core of the online mailing lists are often willing to undertake voluntary look-ups at archives or in published sources in their personal library. Providing a forum for discussion on every conceivable SA genealogy topic, and an opportunity to make contact with others who may be researching linked ancestors, the mailing lists are a valuable resource. And don't neglect the searchable list archives: your question may have been answered previously. To get the best possible response, make sure that the subject line of your posting is clear and to the point, e.g. a name plus area and date Suggested mailing lists include:
SOUTH-AFRICA-L@rootsweb.com
SOUTH-AFRICA-IMMIGRANTS-BRITISH-L@rootsweb.com
SOUTH-AFRICA-EASTERN-CAPE-L@rootsweb.com
The above addresses should be used when posting a message to the lists.
To subscribe, send an e-mail with the word subscribe in the body of the message to:
SOUTH-AFRICA-L-request@rootsweb.com
SOUTH-AFRICA-IMMIGRANTS-BRITISH-L-request@rootsweb.com
SOUTH-AFRICA-EASTERN-CAPE-L-request@rootsweb.com
It is also possible to subscribe to the lists in Digest Mode (substitute D for L in the addresses above).
To search the list archives of any of the above, go to the Rootsweb page http://lists.rootsweb.com/ and insert the name of the relevant list, not forgetting the hyphens. You will then be able to search the messages by year and subject. There is no charge for use of the mailing lists, it is a free service. Go to the Rootsweb main page for all lists available.
Also explore Rootschat, a user-friendly messaging forum at www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php See specifically South African genealogy topics at http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/board,291.0.html
SELECTED PUBLISHED SOURCES
There can never be an all-inclusive list, but here are highlighted suggestions:
R T J Lombard, Handbook for Genealogical Research in
P Philip, British Residents at the
E Morse Jones, Roll of the British Settlers in
M D Nash, The Settler Handbook; a new list of the 1820 Settlers (Chameleon Press, 1987)
E Bull, Aided Immigration from Britain to South Africa 1857 - 1867 (Pretoria, HSRC, 1991); passenger lists and 12,000 names
G B Dickason, Irish Settlers to the Cape: History of the Clanwilliam 1820 Settlers from
G B Dickason, Cornish Immigrants to
S Spencer, British Settlers in
Dr J Clark, Natal Settler Agent: The Career of John Moreland Agent for the Byrne emigration scheme of 1849-51 (A A Balkema, 1972); detailed passenger lists and descriptions of voyages
C G Botha, The French Refugees at the
C C de Villiers and C Pama, Genealogies of old South African families (Cape Town, 1966)
D F du Toit Malherbe, Family Register of the South African Nation (Tegniek, 1966)
B Cilliers, Genealogiee van die Afrikaner families in
E L G Schnell, For men must work: an account of German immigration to the Cape with special reference to the German Military Settlers of 1857 and the German immigrants of 1858 (
S Watt, Roll of Honour of Imperial Forces Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902 (
J Wassermann & B
ADDRESSES
Contact details of all South African National Archives Repositories and many related organizations can be found at http://www.national.archives.gov.za/
Mole's Genealogy Blog (see Home page) offers further information and tips for research in the South African context. Use the Search facility at the top left of the blog page and enter a search term e.g. deceased estates, death notice, passenger lists, immigration etc.
www.molegenealogy.blogspot.com/
Rosemary Dixon-Smith
This guide is copyright and may not be reproduced in any other format.
Hiring a Researcher in South Africa
If you find relevant references on NAAIRS and you live at a distance from South African archival repositories, you will need a local researcher to access the files in person and to take digital copies of the documents required, which can then be sent to you by email. Alternatively the researcher could transcribe the content of the documents or, if permitted, make photocopies (photocopying i.e. on a flatbed copier is not allowed in deceased estate material or in any circumstances where damage to the originals could result; this is at the discretion of the archivist).
Lists of professional freelance researchers for each province are given, with contact details, on the NARS (National Archives of South Africa) website.
www.national.archives.gov.za/
Note that these details are not regularly updated.
If you decide to delegate to a local SA researcher, it speeds things up if you’ve done your homework first and are able to provide full source references from NAAIRS, copying and pasting these from the Results Details (not Results Summary!) section of the index.
If you haven’t been able to find a relevant reference to your ancestor on NAAIRS try to give the researcher a reasonable amount of family history detail as a starting point: not your entire family tree going back to William the Norman, but somewhere between that extreme and minimal information.
Questions to ask (other than the important matter of costs and preferred method of payment) include whether the researcher will provide information as transcripts or as digital image files. Photocopying – on a flatbed copier – is not permitted in deceased estate material, and is in any case often impossible due to the size and binding of older volumes.
For preservation reasons, access may be denied to files (of any type, not only deceased estate files) which are in a fragile condition. So, don’t shoot the messenger if a researcher reports that a required file cannot be ordered.
www.national.archives.gov.za/
Note that these details are not regularly updated.
If you decide to delegate to a local SA researcher, it speeds things up if you’ve done your homework first and are able to provide full source references from NAAIRS, copying and pasting these from the Results Details (not Results Summary!) section of the index.
If you haven’t been able to find a relevant reference to your ancestor on NAAIRS try to give the researcher a reasonable amount of family history detail as a starting point: not your entire family tree going back to William the Norman, but somewhere between that extreme and minimal information.
Questions to ask (other than the important matter of costs and preferred method of payment) include whether the researcher will provide information as transcripts or as digital image files. Photocopying – on a flatbed copier – is not permitted in deceased estate material, and is in any case often impossible due to the size and binding of older volumes.
For preservation reasons, access may be denied to files (of any type, not only deceased estate files) which are in a fragile condition. So, don’t shoot the messenger if a researcher reports that a required file cannot be ordered.
eGGSA provide a facility for copying files at archives. To find out more, visit the eGGSA site