Child Emigrants to the Cape Colony Part 4 cont

Continuing the contents of the 1840 CFS Report:

WATTS Margaret
Aged 13; came from city of London; has been since December 1838 in the employ of Mr Thomas Barry of Swellendam, assisting in the nursery; health generally good; personal appearance respectable; is very inattentive, very idle and very disobedient; moral habits fair, but tells lies sometimes; attends family prayers night and morning and goes to church every Sunday; can read a little but cannot write; has heard once from her mother since she came out, but has not got any one to write home for her, but Mr Barry professed his willingness to write for her whenever she wished it; is well clothed, and sleeps with her fellow apprentice; has 1 pound in the savings' bank, pocket-money included; is sometimes corrected by Mr and Mrs Barry both with a cane and open hand but never without giving some cause of offence or neglect of duty; neither party complained of each other.

SMITH Mary
Aged 14; comes from Peckham; in the employ of Mr Joseph Barry of Swellendam (about one year), in needle and housework; health good; personal appearance good; is regular, industrious and obedient; moral habits good; prayers are read in the house night and morning, at which she attends; goes to church every Sunday; can read and write; has not heard from her friends in England since she came, but has written home once; clothing good and sleeps in the room with her mistress; does not receive pocket-money; that and the other part of her allowance is paid into the savings' bank; has been corrected once only by her mistress, and then she says she had misconducted herself; will be able to obtain a livelihood when out of her time; no complaints on either side.

BIRMINGHAM William
Aged 16; born, as he believes, in London; was originally bound to Mr William Proctor of Drooge Vley about three years and a half ago, but transferred with the consent of the commissioners in Cape Town to Mr John Bourhill of Hamans Daal in the district of Caledon about six months since; he is employed as a shepherd; health good; personal appearance healthy; but though not very clean, is as much so as the nature of his employment will permit; is as regular, industrious and obedient as boys of his age usually are; occasionally tells lies, and there have been some trifling reasons to suspect his honest, but nothing can be proved against him; can read and write and when at Mr Proctor's used to avail himself of opportunities of perusing books in the boys' library and attend divine service every Sunday; but since he came to Mr Bourhill reads only on Sunday in the Bible; divine service is held every 14 days (about six miles off) but at present he goes to no place of worship; will be able to get a decent livelihood when out of his time; has written frequently to his friends, but has only heard once from them; is well clothed and sleeps in a room with three other emigrant apprentices; receives his pocket-money when he asks for it, but generally lets it accumulate to a certain sum, that he may be enabled to buy some useful article; the remainder of his pocket-money has not yet been paid into the savings' bank because Mr Bourhill has not got his indentures; general conduct good; no complaints from either party; when with Mr Proctor he wrote home some bad accounts of ill treatment (which were very true) but with Mr Bourhill he has nothing to complain of.

BIRMINGHAM Daniel
Aged 18; born in London; transferred by Mr Proctor to Mr Bourhill about five months ago; employed as a shepherd; good health; appearance decent; regular, industrious and obedient; good moral habits; can read and write; reads the Bible twice a week to the older boys; says his prayers twice a day; does not go to church, but will, when service is held nearer; will be able to get a livelihood when his time is out; has written four times to his uncles and brothers (mother and father dead), but never heard from anyone in reply; is decently clothed and fed, and sleeps with the other boys; gets his pocket-money when he wants it; rest paid into the savings' bank; general conduct good; no complaint on either side; when he was with Mr Proctor he wrote bad accounts home; they were true, but since he came to Mr Bourhill he has had no cause of complaint whatever.

STEWARD William
Aged about 16; born at Witham in Essex; bound to Mr Bourhill in November 1837; employed as a shepherd; has partly learnt the other branches of agricultural pursuits; health good; personal appearance good; regular, industrious and obedient; good moral conduct; cannot read or write; does not go to church, but will be able to do so when divine services is held by the missionaries; can get a good livelihood when out of his time; has never heard from his friends since he has been in the colony, but got some person to write for him once; fairly clothed and plenty to eat and drink; sleeps with the other boys; receives his pocket-money when he asks for it, rest paid into the savings' bank; general conduct good; no complaints on either side.

BROWN John
Aged 16; born in Holborn, London; bound about two years ago to Mr Bourhill; employed as a shepherd; health good; industrious and obedient; morals good; can read and write a little but very seldom reads; says his prayers daily; repeated the Lord's Prayer, the only prayer he knows; does not go to church; promises to attend divine service at Mayesdiept when the missionary performs it; will be able to procure a livelihood when out of his time; has never written home, or heard from his friends; he assigns as a reason for not writing home that he cannot write well enough; thinks one of his comrades would write for him if he asked; is decently clothed and well fed; sleeps with the other boys; has his pocket-money when he wants it, the rest paid into the savings' bank; a trifle still due to him; conduct good; no complaints on either side.

BRADE Joseph
Aged 13; born in London; has been about 2½ years in the employ of Mr A P Keyter of Diepe River, near Caledon, as a house-boy; healthy and appearance generally respectable; clothing decent; regular, industrious and obedient in general, but occasionally thoughtless; moral habits good; reads the Bible to his mistress half an hour every day; goes to church with the family every other Sunday, but he does not understand the clergyman as he preaches in Dutch; he understands a part; never says his prayers at home; is sometimes beaten by Mr Keyter but has always deserved it; he is beaten with a whip, generally pretty well; has written twice, and has heard from his mother; can write whenever he pleases; all his pocket-money paid into the savings' bank to the end of July last; he sleeps in a room with another juvenile emigrant, apart from black people; is well clothed and fed; no complaint on either side and can get a good livelihood when out of his time.

MASON Joseph
Aged 13; born in London; has been about 2½ years in the employ of Mr Keyter as a stable-boy, assisting Mr K's groom; healthy, personal appearance slovenly and dirty; is very saucy, but not idle; moral habits good; cannot read; has never been to church or heard prayers since he came to Mr Keyter; his parents are dead; has no relatives that he knows of to write to, or hear from; may, if attentive and obedient, learn to be a groom and thereby obtain a livelihood; money all paid into the savings' bank to the end of July last; he sleeps with Joseph Brade; has been beaten once by Mr Keyter for not giving the horses water; has sold his Bible; could read when he first came, but has now forgotten to read.

CAIN James
Aged 19; born in St Giles's, London, was bound in August 1853 to and employed by Mr Moodie, of Groot Vaders Bosch, district of Swellendam, as a shepherd; healthy, which his personal appearance bespeaks; is very regular, attentive and obedient; of good moral habits; attends family prayers every evening and on Sundays before he goes away with the sheep; has only attended church twice, distance too far; can read, and does read the Bible; could write when he first came but has now quite forgotten; has once heard from his sister, but has not communicated hom; having been told by Mr Moodie that some of the boys at the Cape had written home to England statements of ill-treatment, which had appeared in the newspapers, he would expect to see all letters he (Cain) might write, and consequently, none were written; has plenty of clothes; good food; sleeps on a sheep's skin in an outer room; receives his pocket-money 5d a week only; the rest is paid into the savings' bank of Swellendam; is well treated and no complaints on either side; will be able to obtain a livelihood when out of his time.

PALMER James
Aged 19; does not know where he was born; has been employed by the said Mr Moodie since 1833 as a shepherd, but generally as a house servant; healthy; of a slovenly appearance; is slow, but otherwise regular, industrious and obedient; can read, but not write; reads the Bible every Sunday, and about three times a week; has no friends in England to write to or hear from; receives 3d a week pocket-money; the rest is paid into the savings' bank; during the life of Mrs Moodie he was occasionally beaten with a switch by her, but has always done something to displease her; is now kindly treated; no complaint on either side; it is doubtful whether he will be able to obtain a livelihood when out of his time, as he is very slow and dull of comprehension.

MORRIS Caroline
Aged 18; born in Windsor; bound as a nursery and housemaid to Mr Arthur Nitch, of Zolendals Valley, district of Caledon, in August 1835; health good; morals bad; steals and is very depraved; performs her work tolerably well, but was in the habit of frequently running away when she first came; cannot read or write; can repeat the Lord's Prayer imperfectly; had a letter from her sister, who was married at the Cape, and returned home, but never answered it; sleeps in the room with her mistress; well fed and clothed; is sometimes beaten by her mistress, but generally well treated; receives part of her pocket-money, the rest put into the savings' bank; will be able to gain a livelihood when out of her time.

THOMAS Samuel
Aged 14; born in London; in the same person's employ as a shepherd; health generally good; cannot read or write; has never heard from or corresponded with only relative, a sister; repeats the Lord's Prayer every day and attends family prayer every Sunday; does not go to church; receives part of his pocket-money, remainder paid into the savings' bank; decently clothed and well fed; sleeps in the hall on a mat, covered with a blanket; moral habits good; sometimes disobedient and inattentive; occasionally absents himself two or three days at a time; is frequently beaten with a cane for various reasons, but never unmercifully; has no complaint, as Mrs Nitch says, like all other children; there are frequent causes of complaint but nothing serious; probably may gain a livelihood when out of his time.

REDDING James
Aged 15; born in London; in the same employ, as a horse-herd; healthy, reads and writes a little; no communication with or from England; reads the Bible; attends family prayers every Sunday; receives part of his pocket-money; the rest as above; decently clothed and well fed; sleeps as the other boy; no complaint on either side; will be able to gain a livelihood when out of his time.

WEBB John
Aged 13; came from London; has been about 2 years with Mr D C Odendaal now living at Visch Gat, Slange River, district of Swellendam; employed as house-boy; good health; personal appearance good; regular, attentive and obedient; sometimes tells lies but otherwise a good boy; very rarely reads his Bible; can say the Lord's Prayer and repeats it every morning; attends family prayer, but seldom goes to church (distance seven hours); can only write his name; has not heard of or written to his friends since he came to the Cape; pocket-money given when asked for and the rest put into the savings' bank; decently clothed; well fed; sleeps with his three fellow apprentices in the house apart from the coloured people; no complaints on either side; but like all children he is sometimes inattentive; he has been beaten twice only and is treated alike with his master's own children (so says the boy); will be able to gain a living when out of his time.

ISAACSON Ambrose
Aged 15; comes from Chelsea; has been 2¼ years in the same employ, as a farming servant; is healthy and looks well; a good boy, but like all other boys of his age sometimes inattentive and idle; occasionally given to lying, but otherwise good; says his prayers night and morning; reads the Bible occasionally and attends family prayers every Sunday evening; goes to church about once a year, too far off to go oftener; cannot write more than his name; has only heard once from his mother but has not yet got any one to reply; pocket-money partly in hand, and part paid into savings' bank; is comfortably clothed, well fed, and sleeps with the other boys; probably he may gain a livelihood when out of his time; no complaints on either side; he is sometimes beaten by his mistress with a switch, but not severely.

MAPHAM William
Aged 14; came from London; has been in the same person's service three years, as a shepherd; good health; looks well, except dirty in his person; behaves well; is regular, industrious and obedient; morals good; repeats the Lord's Prayer occasionally; comes to family prayers on Sunday evening but never goes to church, distance too far off; cannot read or write; has had a letter from his father, but has got no one to answer it for him; has part of his pocket-money, some still in the hands of his master, and not paid into the savings' bank; is well clothed for his occupation; well fed, and sleeps with the other boys; he seems very stupid and except some improvement takes place will be always dull, but may gain a living when out of his time; talks of learning the trade of blacksmith, as he is a stout boy; no complaints; his master sometimes beats him with a switch, but then he has always done something wrong.

DUGGAN Edward
Aged 15; came from Chelsea; has been in the same employ about 2 years, as cattle-herd and general farming servant; has good health in general; looks well; is a good boy at present, but at first was idle and inattentive; was once given to lying, but did not steal and now behaves better; can say the Lord's Prayer and does say it every night; attends family prayer every Sunday; can read and write a little; has heard once from his mother, and has written once in reply; receives pocket-money, part in the savings' bank; clothing good; well fed and sleeps with his fellow apprentices; in all probability will be able to earn his bread when out of his time; Mr O does not like to make any complaint against him; he is sometimes beaten with a stick for misconduct, but not severely.

BALES (or BATES) Ellen
Aged 16; born in London; has been nearly six years in the employ of N F Reitz, of Rhenoster Vontyn, district of Swellendam, as house and nursery maid; is very healthy and of good appearance; regular, obedient and industrious; morals good; attends daily family prayers; reads the Bible frequently; attends church whenever the family goes (six hours off) once in six weeks or thereabouts; would obtain a good livelihood when out of her time; all her pocket-money paid into the savings' bank; well clothed and fed; sleeps in the nursery with the children; can read, but not write much; has two sisters in England but is unacquainted with their address and has not wrote or heard from them; was three years in St Luke's workhouse before she came out here, but none of her friends could visit her there; Mrs Reitz says, she is a little careless sometimes; the girl has nothing to complain of, admitting that though sometimes moderately corrected, she deserves all she gets.

EDWARDS Joseph
Aged about 20; born in London; was bound about 6 years ago to Hon M Van Breda, but is employed by Mr N F Reitz as a farming servant at Rhenoster Vontyn, but at present at Wagonmaker's Drift, Durvenhoks River, Swellendam; has good health and looks well; is exceedingly orderly, industrious and obedient and has been so ever since he came to Mr Reitz; morals good; reads his Bible once a week; says his prayers daily, and attends family prayers every evening; never goes to church (too far off) receives pocket-money as he wants it, and the rest paid into savings' bank; is decently clothed, well fed and comfortably lodged, separate from the coloured people; can read and write, but has never heard from or written home; Mr Reitz has no complaint; this boy was never beaten.

SULLIVAN William
Aged about 20; came from London; bound as Joseph Edwards to Hon M Breda, and employed by Mr Reitz at the above-named place, as a general farming servant; good health; looks so; is regular, industrious and obedient now but was formerly troublesome and disobedient; of good moral habits; reads the Bible and says the Lord's Prayer daily, and attends the evening service of his family every Sunday; does not go to church (too far off); will, in all probability, be able to get his livelihood when out of his time; receives pocket-money regularly, the rest paid into savings' bank; is decently clothed; has enough to eat and sleeps in a room, in the same bed as Joseph Edwards; can read and write; has neither heard from or written to his friends since he came into the colony; no complaints; Mr Reitz says he behaves very satisfactorily.

ADAMSON Julia
Aged 17; came from Stroud, near Egham, Surrey; has been, since July 1837, in the employ of the Rev Mr Robertson of Swellendam, as housemaid; health generally good; can read and write and has frequently written home to Lady Johnson and Lady George Murray, sent through Mr. Christian, but has never received an answer; no reason to complain of her regularity or obedience; but she is rather slow; moral habits now correct; attends English church regularly, and family prayers night and morning; she is also specially instructed every Sunday evening, by Mr Robertson, in the Bible etc; well clothed and fed, and sleeps on a bed free from black people; receives her pocket-money, and the rest paid into the savings' bank at Swellendam; is kindly treated generally, but has been beaten twice by Mr Robertson with his hand slightly, for some misconduct; once was for being seen sitting with a boy, having her arm round his waist, and denying it; no complaints on either side; expresses a wish to be put out as a dressmaker, instead of remaining where she now is; will be able to obtain a comfortable livelihood as a housemaid when her time is out.

BENNETT Charles William
Aged 16; comes from London; was first bound to the Rev Mr Robertson of Swellendam as house-boy but was some time since transferred, with the consent of the commissioners in Cape Town and his own free-will, to Wm Kerr, a carpenter, of Swellendam, to learn the trade of a carpenter and joiner; his health good; personal appearance respectable; is regular, industrious and obedient; sometimes tells lies, and was once seen indulging in improper familiarities with a young girl; attends church every Sunday, reads the Bible most evenings, but the family have no prayers; pocket-money paid, rest put into savings' bank; Mr R beat him twice when with him but his present master has not done so yet; can read and write; has written several times to his friends and has heard from them; no complaints; will be able, from his trade, to gain a very good livelihood.

HORNE Elizabeth
Aged 18; comes from Drayton, Buckinghamshire; has been since April 1835, in the Service of Major William Shaw, who formerly lived in Cape Town but now resides at his farm, Truyntjes River, near Caledon; she is employed as a house and nursery maid; healthy, and personal appearance good; regular in her habits, tolerably industrious, rather sulky, but generally obedient; nothing objectionable in her moral habits; the family, living eight miles from Caledon, never attend the church, but have prayers every Sunday, when the girl regularly attends; can read, but seldom does; cannot write more than her name and consequently has not written to any of her friends since she came from England, but has often heard from her mother; a Miss Keon, who lives at Drayton, sometimes writes to her; will be able to obtain a livelihood as a house or nursery maid when her time is out; her treatment is good; well clothed except in stockings, and sleeps in the same room with the children. Major Shaw places all her pocket-money in the savings' bank and whatever she may want here he gives her, without reference to his contract; if there are any arrears up to September he will direct his agents in Cape Town to pay it up; no complaints on either side.

BURNESS Thomas L
Aged 14; born in London; bound in December 1838 to Dr Bickersteth and by him assigned about three months ago, with consent of commissioners in Cape Town, to Captain Robert Stanford of Kleine River Valley, district of Caledon; is employed as a house servant; healthy, and looks so; is idle, disobedient, a thief, a liar and a drunkard; he was also with Dr B; attends family prayer every Sunday, but never goes to church (too far off); can read and write; repeats his prayers every night; has written to and heard from his friends in England; well fed, clothed and lodged; had first better accommodation but is so dirty in his habits that he now sleeps in an apartment apart from the other servants; has had no pocket-money since he came; Captain S assigns as a reason that he has not had the indentures sent him and he declares he would gladly be rid of the boy, as he is so bad. No complaints. The boy seems sharp and active, and will probably soon improve, and be able to get a livelihood.

ALLEN John Henry
Aged 13; born at Paddington; bound to Mr Williams when he first came out, but now in the employ of Captain Stanford, as a shepherd; a good boy; healthy; morals good; does not attend family prayers or go to church; can read and write; reads the Bible every Sunday evening; says prayers every night; has once heard from, and has a letter now written to, his friends; receives his pocket-money, the rest paid into savings' bank; well clothed and fed, and sleeps with the other boys, apart from the coloured people. No complaint; never beaten and when out of his time may gain a livelihood.

BROWN John
Aged 18; born in London; bound first to Mr Dwyer, but transferred to Captain Stanford; is employed as a shepherd; a good boy; morals good; healthy; never attended prayers yet; never goes to church; can read, but not write; reads the Bible every Sunday evening; well fed and lodged; badly clothed, but clothes are making for him and Captain S allows him 9s a month to find himself in clothes; has never heard from, or written to, his friends. No complaints on either side; is a good shepherd, and may gain a living when out of his time.

BURGESS Jane
Aged 15; born in London; was first bound to Mr Kennedy of Cape Town in April 1835, and assigned, with the consent of the Commissioners etc, to Captain Stanford; health good, but looks slovenly; is good-natured and willing, but occasionally idle; morals good; attends family prayers, but does not go to church; can read, but not write; reads the Bible every Sunday, and says her prayers every night and morning; pocket-money same as the boys; well clothed and fed; sleeps in the nursery; never heard from home, but will get some one to write for her; is a maid of all work; good at the needle, and will gain her bread at the end of her apprenticeship.

GAREY Matilda Augusta
Aged 11 years; born in the parish of St Augustine, Bristol; has been since December 1838 last in the service of Hermanus Philip Steyn, of Swellendam, wagonmaker; is not very regular or industrious, but as much so as can be expected for her age; is obedient; tells lies but has no other bad habits; reads the Bible, and is learning to write; learns the English catechism; goes to church every Sunday; has had a letter written for her to her mother since she came, but has not heard from any one; has not received any pocket-money, it having been expended, at her consent, in the purchase of a hymn-book and a Bible (she says, Mrs Bourhill kept the Bible she bought from England); the other part paid into savings' bank of Swellendam; has plenty of clothes; well fed, and sleeps in a room with her mistress's children, on a bedstead; no idea can yet be formed of the probability of her being able to obtain a living when her term is out, as she is so young at present; is sometimes beaten by her mistress because she does not work, and tells lies, but says she is generally well treated. No complaints on either side.

HOCKING Charles
Aged 16; comes from the parish of St Mary-le-bone, London; was originally bound to Major Barnes, but assigned, with consent of the commissioners in Cape Town, to Mr Charles Taylor, of Swellendam, his present employer, in October 1835; is employed in all manner of farming occupation; healthy, and personal appearance decent; has been absent six weeks and only returned a few days ago, when he was brought back, having deserted; he promises to behave better for the future; has hitherto behaved very indifferently; tells lies; receives but little religious instruction; has been to church about twice, though he has frequent opportunities of going; prayers were read some time ago by a member of the family, but of late they have been given up from the trouble of getting him to attend; has written to his friends about three times, and has had letters of reply; doubtful as to the probability of his obtaining a livelihood when out of employ, unless he improves very much in his conduct; no complaints on either side, though it is evident both parties had had disputes; clothing not very good, but he has another better suit; not particularly clean; sleeps in a room by himself, adjoining to one of the family, on a bedstead. Mr Taylor has not paid any money into the savings' bank since the boy has been with him; all before is the sum paid in by Major Barnes; has received but little pocket-money, but had a filly given to him, which Mr Taylor considers of more value than the weekly allowance would amount to; the boy says he should like to go to another master to learn a trade; Mr Taylor says he has offered him to numerous tradesmen, who refused him.

ARCHER Robert
Aged about 13; born in Peckham; was bound in November 1838 to Hon C N Vermaas of Swellendam, as a house-boy; health good; personal appearance cleanly; is as regular, industrious and obedient as children of his age usually are; was addicted to lying and pilfering when he first came, but of late has behaved well; goes to church every Sunday; reads his Bible sometimes, and says his prayers to himself; no family prayers; can read and write a little; has no father or mother living, and therefore has not written to or heard from anyone in England; is decently clothed (now in his best suit); well fed; sleeps on the ground, in a room apart from the coloured people, on a skin blanket, covered with a blanket and rug; gets his pocket-money regularly; 1 pound has been paid into the savings' bank for him; it is probable that he may, when out of his time, be able to get a livelihood; was formerly often beaten by his master with a stick, but latterly not at all; his mistress also beats him sometimes with a stick, but he says he has always done something wrong when beaten; no complaints; Mr Vermaas says he considers him too young as yet to know well what his duty requires, and therefore he does not complain.

SOUTH William
Aged 13; comes from London; was bound about 12 months ago to the said Mr Vermaas; is employed as a shepherd, sometimes at Swellendam, and sometimes (as now) at a distant farm called Kluytie's Kraal; good, healthy, personal appearance; stout and good looking; is tolerably regular, obedient and industrious; tells lies, but otherwise well-behaved; when at Swellendam he goes to church regularly, but now he cannot as he is too far off; reads his Bible, and says he prays every night, but there is no family prayers; can read, but cannot write; has had no communication with any of his friends in England since he came; is well clothed and fed, and sleeps in a bedroom on the ground, on a blanket; receives his pocket-money regularly and has 1 pound paid into the savings' bank; is a very intelligent boy, and will be able to get a decent livelihood when out of his time; has not been beaten lately, but at first was corrected by his master with a switch, because he would not go out with the sheep early enough; no complaints on either side.

BROMLEY Sophia
Aged 17; foundling; bound in July 1837 to Mr White of Swellendam, but the commissioners in Cape Town have signified their approbation of her removal to Rev Mr Robertson of Swellendam; is employed as a housemaid; her health now good but was ailing; personal appearance healthy but is a little deformed, and makes water in her bed almost every night; is rather idle and inattentive, but obedient; has once been detected in an act of dishonesty, and frequently tells falsehoods; attends church regularly, and prayers morning and evening every day, and on Sundays receives special instructions on points in the Bible; can read well and write tolerably so; has no one in England to write to or hear from her; her clothing is good; well fed and is as well lodged as her unfortunate dirty habit will admit of; every means has been tried to cure her of it but without effect; Mr R considers it a bodily infirmity; money paid into savings' bank; will be able to obtain a livelihood when her term is out; was frequently beaten by Mr Robertson with his hand, chiefly, if not entirely, as a punishment for dirtying the bed; does not complain of her master or mistress, and they have nothing to say against her.

BOWYER Samuel
McDONALD Henry
GUARRING James
POOL William Everett
These 4 all bound to Geit de Wet, Goedvertrouw, near Caledon, were removed by their master's orders to one of his other farms in the district of Stellenbosch, about the end of October (1839) and consequently not seen by the magistrate (James Brooks).

Caledon wheatfields

Other children named in the 1840 report:

RILEY Mary
WALKER William
PERRY Thomas
ISAACS Eliza
BELL John
CAIRNES James
COOK Ann
FROST Beriah
STOCKBRIDGE Joseph
KENTON William
PITCHER William
GROVES William
PITCHER Henry
CROWTHER Robert
DIVINE John
STEVENS Henry
CARROLL George
WADDILOVE George
SHEPHERD Thomas
BARTRAM William
CARROLL John
GREEN William
SKILLERN Isaac
BURGESS William
GREEN James
CARPENTER Thomas
MAPHAM William
KENNEY Benjamin
ROBERTS Hezekiah
LITTLE Samuel
CHAPMAN James
GORDON James
COLEMAN William
CLUETT John
TIPPING Thomas
HERNE Sarah Ann
BUTLER Elizabeth
EADES James
GEEHAR James
PINNER Thomas
WILSON William
HOWARD Joseph
FOX George
SMITH John Alfred
CLOTHER Robert Thomas
BROWN George
BERRY Michel
PEARCE William
WAITES George
KEITH Sarah
BUSHNER George
BURKE John
BODKIN Michael
LEES Thomas
LELAND Alfred
TAYLOR John
MATFIELD George
SANDERSON John

To be continued 

Child Emigrants to the Cape Colony Part 4

VOICES

From the family historian’s or descendant's viewpoint, it’s fortunate that the Trubshaw debacle led to an official investigation, because the resulting report produced in 1840 gives intimate glimpses of the children during interviews conducted by magistrates at the Cape. Across a divide of over 150 years, the young emigrants speak to us in their own voices and emerge as real people, with hopes and dreams and failings, and in most cases an underlying stoicism. 

The report lists the children’s names, approximate ages, occupation and treatment by their masters. In some cases there are clues as to their origins and whether there they had relatives still living in England. Magistrates also made comments as to the apprentices’ health, appearance and general behaviour. 

CHILDREN NAMED IN THE 1840 REPORT

Paarl District:

EVETT William Henry
18½ years old; master originally a baker in Cape Town; Evett remained with him 11 months; master then became a hawker travelling through interior of the colony; Evett accompanied him on 3 journeys, found this extremely fatiguing; coloured servants of the same master ill-treated him; when master went on a similar journey Evett requested to be left behind, this was agreed if Evett provided for himself during his absence and pay master 6 rix dollars per month, which he duly did except for 2 months when Evett was ill; master was still absent at time of writing; had always been kind to Evett; has no complaint to make, but wishes to learn a trade or go back to England where he has a brother with whom he corresponds; learned to read and write before leaving England; parents dead; no religious or other education since arriving in the colony; never goes to church because no decent clothes; works in and about the village, earning a shilling per diem as a labourer. Master's name: William Henry Wernich, Paarl; absent on trading journey in interior; date of return not known.
Magistrate's comments: Youth appears to be in perfect health, strong and well grown, but very badly clothed; has no shoes or stockings, nor any means of procuring any, and .. seems most unfortunately circumstanced, associating with the coloured people of this place, and exposed to every temptation and danger of falling into their vicious, drunken habits. .. no time should be lost in removing and placing him under a master who can understand the nature and obligation of the indenture. His master bears an excellent character in this place for humanity and propriety of conduct.

PLETT George
16 years old; parents dead; learned to read and write; corresponds regularly with elder brother in England; attends church every Sunday, but receives no school instruction; sufficiently supplied with food and clothes; employed as farm servant, digging in the vineyard or herding cattle, sheep etc; wishes to get back to England as learning nothing in the colony that would enable him to get a living except as a farm-labourer; in good health. Master: Rev G W A Vander Lingen, Paarl; no complaints to make, the boy conducting himself better than previously.
Magistrate's comments: Appears healthy and well-grown and is well-treated.

TRUMBLE Frederick
15 years old; parents dead; forgotten how to read and write; receives no religious or school instruction in the colony; employed chiefly in the house, sometimes in the garden; enough to eat and good clothes to wear; no complaint to make; never goes to church.
Master: J A Beyers jnr, Paardeberg; no complaints.
Magistrate's comments: Boy appears healthy, but diminutive for his age, clean and well-clothed, seems happy.

TAPNER Thomas
13 years old; parents dead; receives no religious or school instruction; unable to read or write, forgotten what previously learned; employed watching horses grazing etc; enough to eat and no complaints to make; never goes to church.
Master: J A Beyers jnr, Paardeberg had no complaints.
Magistrate's comments: Boy appears healthy and well-grown, but ill-clothed, dirty and very much sun-burned.

STARKIE Walter
15 years old; parents living in London; cannot read or write; never goes to church or receives any religious or school instruction; has not heard from parents since leaving them a year ago; employed at farm work, digging in vineyard etc; he and fellow apprentices sleep in an apartment by ourselves; do not get enough to eat on Sundays, only breakfast and supper, but no dinner; do not like situation, work is too hard; we are kept at it from daylight till dark; has only got one sixpence pocket money since coming here.
Master: D J Vander [sic] Wagonmaker's Valley, formerly of Great Drakenstein. Four boys (see others below); no complaints to make; reason boys do not get dinner on Sundays is that we do not take dinner ourselves on that day.
Magistrate's comments: Boy appears healthy and well-clothed but diminutive for his age and not happy, I fear.

STEPHENSON George
16 years old; parents living in London; cannot read or write; never goes to church; does farm work, digging, herding cattle, cutting corn etc; has enough to eat; good clothes and bed; does not like situation, would rather learn a trade; will endeavour to get back to England when out of his time.
Master: D J Vander Merwe
Magistrate's comments: Boy appears healthy, clean and decently clothed, but small for his age.

VICKERS Benjamin
13 years old; mother living; can read and write a little; never goes to church; employed in same work as the other boys (above), digging etc; would rather learn a trade; does not like situation; gets enough to eat.
Master: D J Vander Merwe
Magistrate's comments: Boy seems in good health and decently clothed, but very diminutive, and not happy.

FARREL John
Absent. Absconded some short time previously for fear of chastisement for bad conduct.
Magistrate's comment: not seen.

GRIMES Thomas
15-16 years old; can read and write, corresponds with friends in England; learning trade of shoemaking; very kindly treated; likes situation; good clothes and enough to eat; does not go to church.
Master: B G Heydenreich, Wagonmaker's Valley. No complaints to make; he is a very good boy.
No comment from Magistrate.

TRUE Edgar
15½ years old; can read and write; learning trade of shoemaking; hasn't written to friends yet; very happy and contented with situation; never goes to church.
Master: B G Heydenreich, Wagonmaker's Valley. No complaints to make; he is a very good boy.
No comment from Magistrate.

GIBBENS Michael
16 years old; parents dead; cannot read or write; receives no religious or school instruction; works on farm as a labourer; gets enough to eat; has no complaints; should like to go back to England; I do not like the black people here.
Master: S F du Roit, Wagonmaker's Valley. 2 boys. No complaints to make; they are both good boys. (see below)
Magistrate's comments: Boys seem in perfect health and well clothed, but small for their age, evidently unhappy and anxious to change their condition.

KEEFE Michael
15 years old; can read and write a little, corresponds with mother in England; employed herding cattle, sheep and goats and all kinds of farm work; does not like being here; no complaints against master; get enough to eat; learning to spell.
Master: S F du Roit, Wagonmaker's Valley.
Magistrate's comments above.

PIPER Sarah
15 years old; parents living in England; cannot read or write; general health is good but much troubled with sores on neck; never goes to church, but hears family prayers at home; cannot speak English now; employed in nursing and house work; sleep in the same apartment with my mistress; no complaints to make.
Master: D Retief, Wagonmaker's Valley. No complaints to make; she is extremely well conducted.
Magistrate's comments: a stout, well-grown girls, but severely afflicted with scrofula in her neck; has nearly lost all knowledge of English language; appears quite happy and contented with situation.

VINE Henry
Nearly 16 years old; mother living in England; can read and write, wrote one letter to mother since leaving England; employed as house servant; goes to church every Sunday and to school every Wednesday evening; subject to fits, but in other respects in good health; gets enough to eat; ' do not like my mistress; she is constantly boxing my ears'.
Master: P F R de Villiers, Paarl. Boy is much addicted to telling lies, negligent and careless in his work, constantly breaking glasses, plates etc. Ran away twice and on one occasion he was absent two months; subject to fits.
Magistrate's comments: Boy appears unhealthy and is small for his age; well clothed and in other respects well treated.

BALLOT Sarah
15 years old; parents dead; can read and write; corresponds with married sister in London; employed as house servant; good clothes and enough to eat; never goes to church; was in the parish school of St Martin's and sent out to the colony without my sister's knowledge or my own consent; wishes to go back to sister; no complaints to make against master or mistress. Master: Doctor Muntingle, Paarl. Girl is rather idle and disobedient and does not take good care of her clothes; I believe what she says about being sent to this country without her sister's knowledge, from the contents of one of her letters which the girl has lately received.
Magistrate's comments: Girl seems in good health, though diminutive for her age; well clothed, and I believe well treated also; I think some further inquiry should be made as to the truth of her statement regarding her being sent out against her will.

ALCHIN William
15 years old; learning wagonmaking trade; parents living in England; can read and write; has written to parents; in good health and quite happy; get enough to eat, have good clothes; does not associate with the coloured people; goes to church every Sunday.
Master: .. Waldpot, wagonmaker, Paarl. He is a good boy and fast acquiring knowledge of my trade.
Magistrate's comments: Boy appears to be in perfect health, but small for his age; well clothed and I believe well treated in every respect.

MULLIGAN William
15 years old; parents dead; can read and write a little; never goes to church; employed herding cattle, sheep and goats; in good health; enough to eat and good clothes; no complaints to make.
Master: S P Gilkins, Klein Drakenstein. Four boys (see below) No complaints.
Magistrate's comments: Boy in good health but extremely diminutive for his age and has nearly forgotten his language; is well treated.

ROBINSON George
15 years old; parents dead; can read and write; never goes to church; in good health but troubled with sore eyes; employed herding cattle, and at all farm work; no complaints to make.
Master: S P Gilkins, Klein Drakenstein.
Magistrate's comments: A well-grown healthy boy but troubled with sore eyes; he is well treated.

DOGGAN Benjamin
16 years old; father living, is a soldier; can read and write, corresponds with aunt in England; employed herding cattle; good clothes and enough to eat; never goes to church; no complaints to make.
Master: S P Gilkins, Klein Drakenstein
Magistrate's comments: Boy seems very healthy, but very diminutive; well clothed and treated.

BOYCE Charles
15 years old; mother living in England; cannot read or write; never goes to church; employed as farm labourer and herding cattle; had letter from mother some time back and master answered it for him; wishes to get back to his mother.
Master: S P Gilkins, Klein Drakenstein.
Magistrate's comments: Boy appears healthy, well clothed and well treated, but very small for his age, and not contented with his condition.

GUNN John
17 years old; mother living in England; did read and write a little before coming to the colony but cannot now from want of practice; never goes to church; employed taking care of horses grazing; sleeps in one bed with two other apprentices, in an outhouse; in good health, enough to eat, but no clothes other than those he has on, and has to wash his shirt every Sunday; never goes to church.
Master: W J Louw, Gt. Drakenstein. Three apprentices (see below) No complaints of any of the boys; they are very good boys. Never gives them more than one suit of clothes at a time because they do not take good care of them.
Magistrate's comments: These three boys appear in good health, but ill grown for their ages; very badly clothed, having but one ragged suit each and but one shirt also each, which they are obliged to wash every Sunday .. or continue in their filth; they are also obliged to sleep in one bed and altogether their condition seems deplorable.

BROWN Albert
About 13 years old; parents dead; can read and write a little; am employed as a shepherd; never go to church; have no clothes but these on me; have to wash my shirt every Sunday.
Master: W J Louw, Gt. Drakenstein
Magistrate's comments: (see above)

DISORMEUX Abraham
About 14½ years old; father living in England; can read and write a little; employed as a farm labourer; never go to church; have no clothes but those on me; have to wash my shirt every Sunday.
Master: W J Louw
Magistrate's comments : (see above)

NUTTI James
About 16&rac12; years old; parents dead; can read a little and write my name; employed herding cattle and working as a farm labourer; get enough to eat and good clothes to wear; never go to church; am in good health.
Master: A J Marais, Gt Drakenstein. Two apprentices. I have no complaints to make against either of these boys, except that they do not keep their clothes clean.
Magistrate's comments: This boy seems in good health, and well clothed, and also .. generally well treated, but is very small for his age.

FOSTER Frederick
About 14 years old; parents dead; cannot read or write; do all sorts of farm work, herd cattle etc; not in good health, often have had headache; get enough to eat, and good clothes to wear.
Master: A J Marais, Gt Drakenstein.
Magistrate's comments: This boy is well clothed, and also well treated, but seems unhealthy, and very diminutive.

KELLY David
About 15 years old; mother living in England; can read and write; receive no religious or school instruction; employed as a farm labourer; have sufficient to eat, and good clothes to wear and am in good health; I have no complaints.
Master: Paul Retief, Gt Drakenstein. Two apprentices. I have no complaints to make.
Magistrate's comments: This boy seems healthy, happy and well treated.

FLYNN Jerry
15 years old; mother living in England, father dead; can read and write; receive no religious or school instruction; employed as a farm labourer; get enough to eat and have good clothes; have no complaints.
Master: Paul Retief, Gt Drakenstein
Magistrate's comments: This boy also seems healthy, happy and well treated, but very diminutive.

PAYNE Emma
About 15 years old; parents dead; can read and write; never go to church; employed in housework and nursing my master's children; sleep in my mistress's room; get good food and clothes; am in good health and have no complaint to make.
Master: P J de Villers, Gt Drakenstein. One apprentice. She is very much addicted to telling lies.
Magistrate's comments: This girl seems unhealthy and is very diminutive; I believe she is well treated.

BUCK Charles
About 18 years old; can read and write and correspond with my uncle in England; employed as a farm labourer; am well treated in every way; I go to church sometimes; am in good health, but subject to sore eyes.
Master: S J Marais, Gt Drakenstein. Six apprentices (see below) This boy's conduct is excellent.
Magistrate's comments: This is a fine, intelligent, well-grown youth, and appears in good health, well clothed and doubtless well treated.

WHITEHEAD Robert
About 18 years old; can read and write; mother living in England; I correspond with her; employed in looking after the horses and other farm labour; I go to church sometimes; get enough to eat and good clothes to wear; but my master beats me frequently with his walking-stick unjustly.
Master: S J Marais, Gt Drakenstein. This boy is very obstinate and disobedient.
Magistrate's comments: This boy appears healthy and well grown, and is well clothed, and shows no appearance of ill treatment.

FOX William
About 14 years old; can read and write; parents living in England; I correspond with them; I go to church sometimes; am employed as a farm labourer, and in good health.
Master: S J Marais, Gt Drakenstein.
Magistrate's comments: This boy is very diminutive, but apparently in good health, and well treated.

GRIFFIN Francis
About 17 years old; father living in England; can read and write, and correspond with my father; employed as a shepherd; have no complaints to make.
Master: S J Marais, Gt Drakenstein. This boy is very obstinate and disobedient.
Magistrate's comments: This boy appears healthy but small for his age.

MASON John
About 16½ years old; can read and write; my parents are living and I correspond with them; am employed as a cattle herd; have no complaints to make.
Master: S J Marais, Gt Drakenstein.
Magistrate's comments: as above

POOLE Charles
No details given
Master: S J Marais, Gt Drakenstein
Magistrate's comments: I have not seen this boy, he being absent from home on his master's business.

COOPER Thomas
About 15 years old; can read and write, and correspond with my mother who lives in England; am employed at all kinds of farm work; get enough to eat and good clothes to wear; never go to church; have no complaints to make.
Master: Pieter Marais, Gt Drakenstein. Six apprentices (see below). I have no complaints to make, he is a good boy.
Magistrate's comments: This is a fine, healthy, well-grown youth, and seems well treated.

DOUGLAS John
About 15 years old; parents dead; can read and write and I correspond with my uncle in England; am employed as a farm labourer; have no complaints to make; never go to church.
Master: Pieter Marais, Gt Drakenstein.
Magistrate's comments: This boy seems healthy, but very diminutive.

MACK Henry
About 14 years old; can read and write and correspond with my father in England; never go to church; have no complaints to make.
Master: Pieter Marais, Gt Drakenstein.
Magistrate's comments: as above.

JONES George
About 16 years of age; can read and write, and correspond with my mother who lives in England; am employed as a farm labouer; have no complaints to make.
Master: Pieter Marais, Gt Drakenstein
Magistrate's comments: as above.

STUBBS Edward
About 16½ years old; can read and write, and correspond with my mother who lives in England; employed as a farm labourer; never go to church; have no complaints to make.
Master: Pieter Marais, Gt Drakenstein.
Magistrate's comments: This boy is well grown and seems healthy.

CASEY Thomas
About 14 years old; can read a little, but cannot write; parents are living in England; employed as a farm labourer and herding cattle; never go to church; have no complaints to make.
Master: Pieter Marais, Gt Drakenstein.
Magistrate's comments: Diminutive but healthy.

ENDLY William
About 18 years old; parents are dead; cannot read or write; employed as a farm labourer; never go to church; get enough to eat, and good clothes to wear.
Master: L. Waldpot, Paardeberg. One apprentice. He is idle and disobedient.
Magistrate's comments: Well grown and healthy.

Caledon and Swellendam districts:

Following 3 children in employ of Hon. Michael Breda of Zoetendaal's Valley, Caledon:

BALDWIN Thomas
Aged 19; has been employed since he came to Mr Breda as a general farming servant at above farm; is healthy; is obedient, regular and industrious; of good moral habits; occasionally attends family prayer in the evening, but seldom goes to church; can read and write a little; reads in the spelling-book; repeats the Lord's Prayer; has never written to or heard from his father since he came out; his mother is dead; may communicate if he will; part of his pocket-money is paid him, and part put into the savings' bank; well clothed and fed, and sleeps in the kitchen on a mat; is sometimes beaten, but generally deserves it; neither party has any wish to complain; will certainly be able to obtain a livelihood when out of his apprenticeship, as Mr Breda speaks very highly of him.

ARPIN Thomas
Aged 19; born in Guildford-street, London; is employed as a shepherd by Mr Breda on the same farm; healthy but dirty and slovenly; is very idle and inattentive, tells lies and is a thief; can read and write a little; reads in the Bible every night, and attends family prayers occasionally, but never goes to church; has never heard from or communicated with his friends; may do so if he wishes; receives his pocket-money and part paid into the savings' bank; well clothed and fed and sleeps with the other boys; is corrected frequently for misconduct; Mr Breda speaks very indifferently of him; the boy confesses his conduct to be bad; is also a tailor, and may, perhaps, if he reforms; be able to obtain a good situation when out of his time.

TOBIN William
Aged 20; born in London; employed by Mr Breda as a groom on the same farm; his health is good, and he looks clean and wholesome; is very good, regular and obedient; moral habits good; can red but only writes a little; reads in the Bible most days; attends family prayers occasionally, and sometimes goes to church; has once written home, but never had an answer; can write when he pleases; receives his pocket-money and the rest paid into the savings' bank; well clothed and fed; sleeps with the other boys; is seldom beaten; does not complain of ill treatment; Mr Breda speaks very highly of him and means, when he is out of his time .. to give him wages, if he chooses to stay.

LAMBERT William
Originally apprenticed to Mr John Barry of Swellendam but placed, with the consent of the commissioners in Cape Town, with Mr Smallerge of Valsche River; he deserted from thence about seven months ago, and has not been heard of; while in the service of Mr Barry he was idle and disobedient and was sometimes corrected by Mr and Mrs Barry; on one occasion he came to me, and I brought his case before the board of local commissioners in Swellendam, who investigated the matter; and it was in consequence of this investigation that he was sent to Mr Smallerge.

BURTON Apeline
Aged 16; came from Tottenham High Cross, London; has been near four years in the employ of Mr John Barry of Swellendam as housemaid; her health is good, personal appearance respectable; is generally regular, attentive and obedient; moral habits are now good; did lie a little when first she came; reads the Bible often; attends family prayer in English and Dutch every night and morning, and goes to church regularly; well and respectably clothed; sleeps on a bed in her mistress's room; all her money is deposited in the savings' bank; will be able to get a livelihood when her time is out; works well at the needle; has written home frequently and often hears from thence; sometimes beaten by Mrs Barry, by having a box on the ear; thinks she deserves it; general treatment good and kind; no complaints to make.

BURTON Mary Ann
Aged 15; comes from Tottenham High Cross, London; has been upwards of two years in the service of Mr Thomas Barry of Swellendam as housemaid; health indifferent but when indisposed has proper medical attendance and advice; personal appearance clean; is generally regular, industrious and obedient; morals good; the family have prayer in English night and morning, and goes to church most Sundays; could read and write before she came to Mr Barry; has written several times home and has received answers; can write whenever she pleases; has 2 pounds in the savings' bank, which includes her pocket-money; is well clothed and fed, and sleeps with Margaret Watts in the nursery; has been corrected several times by Mr and Mrs Barry, by receiving a slap with the open hand on her face for disobedience and inattention; general treatment good and kind; Mr Barry complains of frequent inattention and incivility to his wife, by not saying 'Good morning and evening' etc.

 

Swellendam, Cape

Child Emigrants to the Cape Colony Part 3 cont

CFS ANNUAL REPORTS

The Cape committee submitted annual reports to the CFS in London, and in 1836 and 1837 the feedback was good: the scheme appeared to be working satisfactorily. During the period 1833-1839, about 800 children were sent to the Colony. However, a combination of the factors mentioned above was undermining the scheme and would eventually threaten the very existence of the Society. The catalyst was as unexpected as it was disastrous.

TRUBSHAW INCIDENT

On 2 April 1839, The Times reported an incident in London concerning ‘a shabbily dressed boy, about twelve years of age’ who was brought before the Marylebone magistrate ‘on a charge of having stolen a purse containing some halfpence belonging to a poor woman who keeps an apple-stall in the New Road’. The boy gave a false name: his real name was discovered to be Edward Trubshaw. He proceeded to tell the court that he had been sent out to the Cape of Good Hope, by the ‘Juvenile Society’ (the CFS). He stated: ‘I was half-starved and knocked about shameful. They sold me, and a good many more’. The magistrate exclaimed, ‘Sold you! What do you mean? Apprenticed you, I suppose?’ ‘No Sir’ said the boy, not apprenticed, they sold me … to a Dutchman who came and looked at a lot of us … he bought me for 10 guineas.’ Trubshaw had later run away from his master and had worked his way back to England by ship.

The press pounced on the suggestion that children ‘were being disposed of like so many sheep at Smithfield’. Reports of the case created a major sensation, and complaints against the CFS with accusations of slave-dealing and cruelty, flooded in. The Society tried valiantly to defend itself, but the power of the press was all too apparent. People known to be patrons of the CFS were attacked in the street and stones were thrown at members of the London committee.

Captain Brenton, aghast, saw the impending ruin of all his efforts. As the storm raged around him, he became seriously ill and died on 6 April 1839. It was rumoured that he’d taken poison, but an inquest returned a verdict of death by natural causes related to a heart condition. On the day of his funeral, a woman among the crowd shouted that ‘under the pretence of benevolence he had been dealing in slaves’: the unkindest cut of all.

INQUIRY

                 

The CFS South African scheme was doomed. A Government inquiry was set up to investigate the condition and treatment of the children sent to the Cape Colony. Though largely vindicated by the report which followed the Society lost public support in England and there was a reluctance in the Cape to receive further indentured children.

Sir George Napier, Governor of the Cape

The Governor of the Cape, Sir George Napier, remarked in February 1840, that ‘although deeply regretting that an institution which promised well has been overthrown, as regards the Cape of Good Hope, by the evident disposition … on the part of many persons in England to pay implicit belief to every foolish report or misrepresentation to its discredit, I cannot but hope that the colony will be spared the pain of encountering any further inquiry through the continued operation of the Children’s Friend Society’.

The motives of the CFS in sending the child emigrants to the Cape were sincere, but the Society lacked awareness of colonial conditions. Moreover, they assumed that employers in the Colony would share the CFS ideal of moral upliftment of the children. Most employers regarded their apprentices simply as useful labour in a time of shortage of that commodity.

The 1840 Report revealed few genuine cases of corporal punishment by masters, and the majority of the children interviewed made no complaint of ill-treatment. Most of those who stated their wish to return to England felt that they weren’t learning a proper trade in the Colony. The artisan apprentices working for carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, wagonmakers etc had better prospects than the indentured farm labourers.

FUTURE SCHEMES

Although the Cape scheme ground to a halt, largely due to prejudice and the emotive topic of slavery, the child emigrants were given an opportunity to change their circumstances, and some chose to remain in the Colony after their apprenticeship was over. Among 69 apprentices whose indentures had expired by 1840, 41 boys and 12 girls were still living in the Colony and were self-supporting; some of the girls had married. 

Despite the failure of the CFS at the Cape of Good Hope, the concept was later adapted for other successful child emigrant schemes. In 1858 about 50 children were sent to Algoa Bay from Rotterdam. By that time, influenced by the CFS experience, the laws governing indentured labour at the Cape had been modified.

As for the boy Edward Trubshaw, whose allegations had precipitated the crisis which brought the CFS to its knees in 1839, he continued his inglorious career and was later sentenced to transportation from England for theft.

To be continued 

Child Emigrants to the Cape Colony Part 3

Heerengracht, Cape Town, early 19th c

When the Children’s Friend Society (CFS) started sending child emigrants to the Cape in 1833, the Colony had been under British rule for almost thirty years. However, Cape Town retained many characteristics of the preceding era when the Dutch had held sway.

A major port visited by ships from all over the world, the streets thronged with a mix of nationalities, including indigenous races. Large-scale British immigration hadn’t begun until 1820 and there was some tension between the Dutch and the new influx of British settlers. The 1830s were turbulent years for the Colony. The emancipation of slaves resulted in an economic down-turn. Early in the decade, Dutch farmers (trekboers), resistant to the British administration, began moving away into the interior (the Great Trek). There was also a perpetual state of war between native tribes and colonists on the eastern frontier. Into this melting pot the young CFS emigrants were thrown, willy-nilly.

Pump at the top of the Heerengracht, 8 May 1833

PROBLEMS

Some of the children were apprenticed to masters who were merchants, hotel-keepers or tradesmen in Cape Town. Most apprentices went to the rural districts. A large proportion ended up working for Dutch families and had to learn to speak Dutch, a factor which the CFS hadn’t considered. Many indentured children lost their ability to speak English. 

The apprentices were from an urban environment and weren’t suited to farming life, though there were advantages in placing them far from the temptations of Cape Town. Boys taken on by farmers were given the task of herding animals or other duties previously performed by slaves or coloured servants, rather than learning a specific trade which would enable them to support themselves after their period of indenture.

Such menial tasks gave rise to the perception that the children were ‘replacements’ for slaves. This erroneous impression was accentuated by the fee which masters were required to pay to cover costs of the emigrant’s passage to the Cape: it appeared as if the children were being ‘sold’ rather than apprenticed. In a colony where ownership of slaves had previously been the norm, masters did not readily understand the nature and obligation of the indenture contract. One boy’s employer, who gave up the baking trade and became a travelling hawker in the interior, left the apprentice behind at Paarl to fend for himself for months.

RELIGION

Another difficulty was that the children were generally unable to practise their own religion, frequently because farms were at some distance from an English church. The emigrants therefore either didn’t go to church at all, or attended services held in the Dutch denomination. To the CFS, that the children should have religious instruction in English as well as access to places of worship ‘of their choice’, was fundamental – though the children had probably had a basinful of Bible thumping. With the financial aid of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, a powerful missionary arm of the Anglican Church, a minister, Rev J W Saunders, was sent out to the Cape in 1838 in an attempt to amend the situation.

COMMUNICATION

How isolated the child emigrant must have felt, thousands of miles from home, adjusting to a strange environment, with letters – few and far-between - the only means of contact with family and friends. Some of the children were surprisingly literate, others had either never learned to read and write or had forgotten these skills while in the Colony. Often they had to rely on finding someone who could write their letters for them, but in a Dutch household there may have been nobody able to write in English. 

For apprentices on outlying farms, a letter would have to be carried by ox-wagon or by someone making the journey on horseback to Cape Town, several days or more distant, and then await the next ship departing for England on a voyage which would take three months. In the interim there was a good chance that the relative to whom the letter was addressed had moved, or died. Similarly, a family member in England might wait months or even years for news of the indentured emigrant. Inevitably this impacted on family ties and increased the emigrant's feeling of isolation. 

To be continued

Child Emigrants to the Cape Colony Part 1 cont

Naval battle

After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815 and throughout the Regency and early Victorian eras there was a spectacular increase in Britain’s population, especially in the cities. The urban crime rate rose to new heights; gaols were full. A wide chasm existed between rich and poor. The spectre of the workhouse hovered over the poorer echelons.

Conditions in the metropolis of London (with an estimated 1.1 million inhabitants in 1797) led to thousands of vagrant children living on the streets and turning to theft or other criminal activities for survival. There were also juveniles who, as paupers, were under the guardianship of the Parish. Many of them were put out to work, ostensibly as apprentices but actually as unskilled child labourers. The system was open to abuse. 

Much is heard of the wickedness of the Regency years but there were individuals who had a social conscience and made efforts to improve the lot of the underprivileged. Influenced by the missionary and evangelical movements, they believed that ‘philanthropy was an expression of piety, benevolence a moral obligation’. One such philanthropist was Edward Pelham Brenton, the founder of the Children’s Friend Society.

Captain Brenton

Brenton, a Captain in the Royal Navy, retired on half-pay at the end of the War. Though offered another command, he had no wish to serve during the Peace, and dedicated his life  to improving the situation of the working classes, particularly the children of the poor. 

In 1829 the notorious Hibner trial made a sensation in the British press. The story had a profound effect on Brenton. In the Memoir written by his brother, Sir Jahleel Brenton, Captain Brenton’s own words are quoted:   

A woman named Hibner, a tambour worker … had murdered two of her little female apprentices. These unhappy children were poor orphan parish girls of St Pancras. She had six of them bound to her and the testimony of the survivors, corroborated by indisputable evidence, exposed to the public a scene of tyranny and cruelty … I immediately made myself acquainted with the process of binding parish apprentices, the motives of the guardians of the poor in getting rid of them, as well as those of the generality of tradesmen who apply for them.

 [The trial proceedings can be accessed at www.oldbaileyonline.org under the keyword Hibner] 

Brenton, with the support of like-minded patrons, began his crusade by founding the Society for the Suppression of Juvenile Vagrancy in 1830, and establishing an ‘asylum’ at West Ham Abbey near Bow in Essex, where twenty boys of ‘a forlorn and neglected condition’ were received. In 1833, this institution was relocated to Hackney Wick and named the Brenton Juvenile Asylum. The Society for the Suppression of Juvenile Vagrancy was given a more positive title - The Children’s Friend Society (CFS).

WORKHOUSES AND PRISONS

Brenton was a man of strong religious beliefs who expressed his views forthrightly Describing himself as ‘the uncompromising enemy’ of the workhouse system, he pointed out its many flaws. Workhouses were ‘receptacles of misery …fraught with the very germ and essence of all moral depravity …’ Those who, though not ‘vicious’, were driven by circumstances to take refuge in the workhouse, were crowded together with the most depraved and were inevitably influenced for the worse. The workhouses too often relieved the poor with money, irresponsible parents spending this on gin and leaving their children to beg.

Equally critical of prisons, Brenton wrote: 

Coldbath Fields Prison

'The House of Correction in Coldbath Fields has within its walls some hundreds of children and young people, whose offences are mostly trivial, and grew out of want and idleness.

Many poor little boys are shut up among thieves for robbing orchards and fruit gardens’. Conversely, ‘at our little Asylum at West Ham our boys are reclaimed and happy, without police, or iron bar, or flogging'.

However, it was clear that vagrant children were frequently enticed into organized crime: 

... in the neighbourhood of St Giles … a very large house was let out at 4d per night to pickpockets and thieves, chiefly from 10-16 years of age, who were seen every morning sallying forth in groups of three and four, having previously arranged their routes for the day. 

Oliver Twist asks for More

Is this scenario sounding familiar? Of course it is: shades of the Artful Dodger, Fagin, Bill Sykes and company. Charles Dickens began writing his novel Oliver Twist seven years after the founding of the CFS.

To be continued

Child Emigrants to the Cape Colony Part 1

On 11 May 1833 the ship Charles Kerr cast anchor in Table Bay after a three-month voyage from Cowes, England. It wasn’t the vessel’s first visit to the Cape of Good Hope, but on this occasion she was carrying human cargo. No, not slaves in the usual sense of the word, but twenty boys sent out by the Children’s Friend Society and destined for employment in the Colony.

Table Bay

We can imagine the excitement mingled with trepidation among the young emigrants at their first view of the beautiful Bay and its shipping, with Cape Town nestling at the foot of the majestic table-topped mountain. Most of the children had never been farther afield than London and its immediate environs. Their lives had begun in narrow streets and mostly in dingy, crowded tenements. Until a short while previously there’d been little likelihood of a change in these circumstances. Now they’d embarked on an adventure, leaving behind familiar faces and places, and crossing the ocean to a distant land.

Between 1833 and 1840, over thirty ships would follow in the wake of the Charles Kerr, bringing further groups of children, girls as well as boys, to the Cape Colony.

How and why did this come about? What destiny awaited them in the Cape and how did they cope with being uprooted and subsequently transplanted in foreign soil? Could your ancestor have been among them?

17th c London

There was actually nothing new in the idea of sending vagrant or pauper children to Britain’s colonies. As early as 1618, 100 juveniles were despatched from England to Virginia, and a second batch soon followed. The children had no say in the matter. Homeless, unprotected by parents or any charitable authorities, they were rounded up in the streets of London and herded into gaols before being shipped off to enforced exile in the American colony. There they would be bound to unknown masters whose treatment of the young apprentices was not subject to official regulation. Few of these child migrants would ever return to the country of their birth. 

This practice, whether sanctioned by government or carried out illegally, continued for two centuries. It was a means of ridding England of an unwanted surplus population, as well as providing much-needed labour in her colonies.

To be continued