Mining ancestors in South Africa

Even if your ancestor wasn't a miner per se he may have been involved in one of the many peripheral activities of a mining town like Barberton - running a refreshment or mining equipment store, taking photographs in, perhaps, a travelling studio. Sooner or later every type of person descended on the mining areas, women as well as men. Some famous characters emerged: Cockney Liz, French Bob, Tom McLachlan. 

Natal settler Sydney Turner wrote from Ladysmith to his mother in England:
Everyone here is either on the move or has shares in some Gold Company or other, every man, woman and child seems to me to have gone crazy …I could mention fifty that went up next to penniless twelve months ago and are now millionaires …Of all the motley crews one ever saw or heard of … All the scoundrels of Africa, as well as professional men, soldiers, sailors, tinkers, tailors, poor men, rich men, beggars and thieves are on the march up, and I hear from friends …that Barberton is a Hell-upon-earth …*

After the first rush to Barberton around 1884, richer deposits of gold were found on the Witwatersrand in 1885; Johannesburg was founded.

www.mpumalangahappenings.co.za/barberton_personalities.htm 

Gold Mining ancestors in South Africa

De Kaap Gold Mining Company: diggers at work.

The discovery of diamonds and gold stepped up the pace of immigration in the 1870s and 1880s. People from all over the world flocked to the diggings and mining towns like Barberton sprang up overnight, some to disappear almost as quickly and become ghost towns. But while it lasted, gold and diamond fever caused an electric shiver of excitement that was hard to resist. 

Barberton, Crown Street with the Royal Albert Hall in right foreground 1887

It wasn’t necessary to be a prospector in South Africa ‘pegging a claim’ to be part of the boom. British investors clamoured for shares; hundreds of mining companies – many of them entirely bogus - came into being offering share certificates and there was some heavy plunging on stock markets; fortunes were made and lost.

There was nothing in the way of health and safety regulations in the mining industry at this period, whether gold or coal. If a miner died in an accident while working there was no compensation. Hence records are scarce.  If you know the name of the mine your ancestor worked on check NAAIRS for any reference. It is likely he would have had a deceased estate lodged in the area in which the death occurred so search for a relevant estate file. 

A gold mining ancestor photographed
 at De Kaap Gold Fields, Barberton.

Port Elizabeth: the lighthouse

Souvenir Saturday: Gibson

Finlay Gibson, 1841-1924, married Annie Bell 1881 Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland. Finlay was born in St George's, in the London district called Borough. He lies buried at New Street Cemetery, Stevenston.

He and Annie had the following children:
Annie, Catherine, Mary, Margaret and William Finlay who died in 1911 aged 22.

His military service record reveals:
448 Pte Finlay Gibson  Discharged 22 June 1880.  In Service Corps (15th Hussars).  Chelsea Pension Number 81207a.  Served India, Afghanistan.  Born St Georges; East London. Age at discharge 39.  Height 5'6".  Hair Grey. Eyes Brown.  Intended place of residence: Stevenston  Ayrshire. Civilian occupation: Parasol Maker.


Medal Entitlement: Afghan Medal  (below)

Bell Memorial Plaque

Bell Plaque: West St Cemetery. Inscription: 

 In Memory of Capt. William Douglas Bell  25 years Port Captain of This Port

 Died 10 April 1869 Aged 62 Years

At the Taking of Port Natal from the Insurgent Boers he rendered valuable Service by towing into Port under fire of the Enemy the Boats of the Southampton Frigate, and through his after Career in life was held in Esteem as a Faithful Servant of Government, a Good Husband, and Affectionate Father.

An exciting find: Bell and Cato

Capt William Bell and his good friend, George Cato. A previously unknown
portrait which probably pre-dates the well-known photo of Bell in solitary pose with the same anchor and with his telescope tucked under his arm. Cato and Bell became friends while they were both trading in Cape waters in the 1830s and remained close during their time in Natal. Note that Bell wears no epaulettes on his coat here.

Finding ancestors online

Subscribing to Ancestry or Findmypast may well provide you with hours of genealogy fun as you attempt to track down ancestors using a huge range of facilities. 

However, often the ancestor remains completely invisible, which can be frustrating. The fact is that he may well be there but lurking under an incorrectly-spelled surname, or his birth and other major events were simply never recorded.

Try every imaginable spelling of his/her surname: that's a basic rule. With a name like GADSDEN, for example,  there are many variant spellings, all equally feasible. Sometimes the name may appear with one spelling on one record and another spelling on a different record.

In the South African context, you may be searching for a reference to the ancestor on NAAIRS, 
www.national.archives.gov.za hoping for a deceased estate file. Remember that if the individual died comparatively recently, about the mid 1970s, any estate file would be held by the Master's Office in the province of death and would not be referenced on the NAAIRS index. It is more complicated to trace an estate file under these circumstances: they are filed by year of death and may be in one of several off-site storage locations. 

If you are not certain precisely where the ancestor died, search NAAIRS under the database RSA, for all South Africa.

Not everyone who died in South Africa had an estate file lodged with the Master's Office. Reasons for this vary, e.g. the individual may have had no assets at date of death, literally no 'estate'. Despite your belief that the ancestor died in South Africa, he may turn out to have died elsewhere e.g. in the UK, in a different colony or on board ship. Search further afield.

Miss Bell

Your ancestors ...

Gadsden family group

Adverts for ancestors' professions 6

Concluding our browse through the advertisements in the Natal Almanac is this
large advert for Pepworth's stores. There was almost nothing you couldn't buy there in the way of 'Manchester' items: lace, gloves, ribbons, frillings, undies, stockings, corsets, hats - Pepworth could clothe you from top to toe. His shop was the forerunner of Greenacres, Stuttafords and other large department stores of a later era.

Henry Pepworth rose to prominence as a Town Councillor
 for Pietermaritzburg during the 1850s.

Adverts for ancestors' professions 5

From that valuable source again, the Natal Almanac: it is interesting to see J Coney listed as an undertaker - he was also a photographer. Most photographers at the time had various skills to provide extra income.