Caithness mystery photo

This wonderful photo, as well as several others connected to the Caithness family history, was sent to me some time ago.

Unfortunately, the vital explanatory captions to these images, as well as the name and email address of the sender, have been lost. If anyone recognises the photo - premises of C Caithness, Baker and Pastrycook - please let me know. The sender's name may have been Peter Hay, possibly in Australia. I would be most appreciative.

Update: The photo shows premises of Charles Caithness who settled in Australia after some years as a ship's baker. He was the brother of Mary Anne Caithness, wife of Captain William Bell. Thanks to Steve Steere for clarification on this. I'm now in contact with Peter Hay, thanks to the power of internet.

New Gelderland, Natal

NEW GELDERLAND SUGAR ESTATE

In 1870, the New Gelderland sugar estate, including the mill, was bought by the Glasgow and Natal Sugar Co., but by 1880 the estate was insolvent. The New Gelderland mill was 'out of use' in 1881 though David Brown reportedly had it running again for at least one season.

By 1882 the proprietors of the estate were George Stewart, mill engineer, and William Mathews Ash. Ash had married TC Colenbrander's daughter, Nancy (Antonia Nancy). When Ash died in December 1887, Stewart bought his share in the mill, which continued to operate as the New Gelderland Sugar Factory, remaining in the Stewart family until the 1940s. The mill was dismantled and partially re-erected on the Chirundu Sugar Estate on the Zambesi, Rhodesia. The New Gelderland Estate eventually became part of Natal Estates Ltd.

Some of the Dutch settlers turned to other crops and occupations. In 1872 Messrs J and A Colenbrander were cultivating coffee on their plantation, Hummelo, on the Nonoti (this property, named after Hummelo in Gelderland, Netherlands, is marked on a Natal map of 1904). The Natal Almanac of 1894 lists three members of the Gielink family: Albert, farming at Dalton, Noodsberg, another Albert, mason and farmer at Honey Grove, Noodsberg, and John W., mechanic, at Bozamo (near Stanger), New Gelderland.

BURIALS


Many of the names on the passenger lists mentioned in foregoing posts on this blog appear on gravestones in New Gelderland cemetery. Among them are Colenbrander, Gielink, Freriksen, Ledeboer, Hoetink, Theunissen, Albers, Hoogvorst, Wassink, Weber and Reuterink.

The memorial inscriptions show that the Dutch immigrants had their fair share of tragedy. Alida Sophia Colenbrander died in 1874 at the age of 15½; Adolph Colenbrander died in infancy in 1864. Both these children lie buried in the New Gelderland Cemetery.

On 14 December 1872 the Natal Mercury reported: 'An accident, proving fatal, to a boy of four years old, took place on Hummelo coffee plantation of Messrs J and A Colenbrander, in the River Nonoti, by the upsetting of a cart while crossing the full river. The body of the poor child (named Andries Gielink) has not been recovered.' Presumably the remains were never found: there is no memorial to little Andries at New Gelderland cemetery.


Not all the graves in the New Gelderland cemetery are those of Dutch settlers or their descendants: other names include David Brown, associated with the New Gelderland mill in 1881, George Stewart and several of his relatives, also some members of the Lyle family such as William Bray Lyle and Leonard Vacy Lyle.


NOTE


New Gelderland frequently occurs as New Guelderland: since 'Gelderland' was used by the Dutch settlers, I have chosen that spelling.

Passenger lists - always to be approached with caution - offer a variety of spellings of the Dutch settlers' names. The number of passengers reported to be on board may not tally with the numbers given on the vessel's passenger list. Dates of departure and arrival are equally suspect: in the case of the Natal Mercury shipping columns, an arrival date may indicate the day on which the ship anchored outside in the roadstead, rather than the day of the actual landing of the passengers.

Information also differs among genealogical sources, e.g. Heese lists 9 children of TC Colenbrander; elsewhere 11 and 13 children are mentioned.

Several of the New Gelderland settler families were linked by marriage e.g. Colenbrander and Ledeboer, Albers and Hoetink, Gielink and Wantink, Wassink and Velthuizen.


FURTHER READING:
JA Heese: South African Genealogies
WK Ente: Natal en Nieuw-Gelderland en de vooruitzigten der kolonisatie aldaar
RF Osborn: Valiant Harvest
R Stewart: The Stewarts of New Gelderland
J Ploeger: Colenbrander family papers (MS; Killie Campbell Africana Library)
TC Colenbrander: Brieven uit en over Natal (Killie Campbell Africana Library)

Dutch immigrants on the Jan van Brakel

Appearing in the same column of the Natal Mercury as the passenger list of the Hermanus Izaak (1st voyage)  there is the first mention, under 'Vessels Expected', of the 'Jan Van Brakel, barque, from Amsterdam, to sail in December' (1858). However, there was evidently some delay as this 327 ton ship, commanded by Captain De Reever (Der Oever in some sources), only left Amsterdam on 15 March 1859. The Natal Mercury of 23 June 1859 announced that the Jan Van Brakel had arrived at Simon's Bay on 2 June 'with 74 immigrants'. The vessel sailed from Simon's Bay on 25 June and was eventually reported to be 'standing off' Natal by 14 July:

The Jan Van Brakel: a barque, supposed to be this vessel, has been off the port since Tuesday morning, standing off and on, though from some cause or other she had not last night come to the anchorage. A barque, with a large number of passengers on board, probably the same vessel, stood in for the mouth of the Umlazi on Tuesday, and anchored just outside the breakers, about 300 yards from shore. Mr Stafford, with others, went down and telegraphed to her that the port was 12 miles off and she must go to sea, which she did yesterday morning. Had there been any swell, or had the wind set in from the east, her danger would have been imminent. Several residents remained on the beach all night, fearing the possibility of a catastrophe. 

The Jan Van Brakel reached Port Natal safely, but having lost both her anchors, others were supplied from shore. The Natal Mercury of 21 July 1859 reported: 'This vessel brings nearly fifty Dutch immigrants, who seem likely to turn out hardworking industrious settlers' and listed the passengers as follows:

Mr G Freislich
Mr & Mrs Freriks [sic; Freriksen] & child
Mr & Mrs Gielink & 5 children
Mr & Mrs Warsink [sic; Wassink] & 4 children
Mr & Mrs Weber & 4 children
Mr & Mrs Reuterink & 4 children
Mr & Mrs Bouwmeister
Mr & Mrs Kusteroff
Messrs. Velthuizen, ... (illegible), Bank(?), Wantink, Hanning, Bendink, Bakking (Makkink?), Van Hasteroff & Theunissen.

Goods carried included 100 boxes of pipes, a case of cigars, 36 cases of cheese, 1 anvil, 2 vices, 4 iron rasps, 1 grindstone, a wagon, a cart and 10 pieces of 'machinery'.

By 1860 about ninety Dutch emigrants had settled at New Gelderland. A large area of land had been put under sugar cane, a mill was in operation and sugar was being produced for export.

Colenbrander homestead New Gelderland

Dutch settlers: New Gelderland Natal 1858-60

Passengers per Schooner Hermanus Izaak
 (2nd visit): the Port Captain's list signed by William Bell.

Following in the wake of the Estafette came the three-masted brigantine (elsewhere described as a schooner) Hermanus Isaak (or Izaak), 169 tons, under Captain AH Braunstahl, which left Holland on 9 December 1858, and departed Table Bay on 28 March 1859, arriving at Natal 17 April 1859 (according to the local press, 15 April).

Not unusually, there are discrepancies between the names of the passengers as listed in the Port Captain's register and those shown in the shipping column of the Natal Mercury 21 April 1859. According to the latter, there were 19 passengers in all: 5 members of the Scheuer family, 4 of the Rasch family, 6 of the Fischer family, as well as Messrs Scheffer, Ananarius, Hartinck, and Hut. How many of these were destined for the settlement at New Gelderland is uncertain.
The ship also carried 185 boxes of cheese, 23 cases of herrings, 5 boxes of anchovies, 8 boxes of liqueurs, 76 boxes of cigars and a case of tobacco - a few home comforts for the Dutch immigrants.


The Hermanus Isaak made a second voyage from Amsterdam to Natal in 1860, arriving on 8 July with 43 passengers. It was reported that 'the continued shoal state of the Bar' had resulted in the Hermanus Isaak touching on the Bar as she entered the inner anchorage, 'though drawing only eight feet of water'. The Natal Mercury's report of 9 August 1860 describes this difficulty and gives us a clear picture of the problems posed by the sandbank (i.e. the notorious 'Bar') at the entrance to the port:

On this voyage the passengers aboard Hermanus Isaak included:

Cabin:
Mr & Mrs Canisius (?), 3 children & servant (latter travelled steerage)
5 children of the Rev M Postma
Steerage:
Mr & Mrs Schoon & 8 children
Mr & Mrs Hoogvorst & 7 children (JJ Hoogvorst)
Mr & Mrs L. Kroep & 3 children, & Mrs Kroep snr.
Mr H Bussenraker
Mr Karel van Vollenhoven
Mr Jan de Waal
Mr J Hagenins
Mr H Meerdonk
Mr BH Albers
Mr A Bier

Natal's Dutch immigrants 1858-1860

ARRIVALS IN NATAL

The Dutch barque Estafette, 424 tons, commanded by Captain Reitveld, lay at Oosterdok (Eastern Dock) Amsterdam from 26 March-19 April 1858, where she took on board crew, passengers and cargo. From 20-22 April she was lying at het Nieuwediep (New Deep) off Den Helder at the tip of north Holland. She sailed for South Africa on 22 April and was at anchor at Simon's Bay between 9 July and 1 August, when she departed for the Cape of Good Hope.

On 20 August 1858 the vessel reached Port Natal.1 The landing of her passengers was announced in the Natal Mercury 26 August 1858.

Passengers on the Estafette included -
Cabin:
Rev D Postma
Rev PAC Van Heyningen & Mrs B Van Heyningen
Mr Adriaan (Benjamin) Colenbrander
Miss Sophia Alida Colenbrander
Second cabin (or steerage):
Miss G Loopwijk
Miss MC Meyer
Mr & Mrs AJ Van der Veen & 3 children
Mr & Mrs JH Gielink & 4 children
Mr & Mrs JV Van Wyhe (elsewhere spelled Wijhe) & 4 children
Mr & Mrs GIC Sein (?) & 2 children
Mr JM Gielink
Mr AJ Reevoort
Messrs Haetinck [sic; HW Hoetink] Haenert, Arnoldt, Friecke, Vogel, Zevenhuysen2

The Mercury reported that among the 'goods entered inwards' per Estafette from Amsterdam were 200 cases gin (for JF Kahts, the shipping agent in Natal); 5 packages, 1 case furniture, 2 boxes, 1 chest, 1 waggon, 1 plough, 1 harrow, 9 casks (for T Colenbrander); 2 chests boots, 73 packages, 442 iron pots (for JC Van der Wyhe) and 3 cases wine (for AB Colenbrander).

Dutch immigrants to Natal 1858-1860

By 1860 approximately ninety Dutch emigrants had settled in Natal at New Gelderland between the Nonoti and Sinkwazi Rivers.  TC Colenbrander had already put a large area of land under sugar, and a 20 horse-power steam mill was in operation, manufacturing sugar for export. George Stewart, a Scottish engineer, was employed at the mill from 1862.

In the same year, William Karel Ente, who arrived in Natal on the Prins Frederick der Nederlanden in 1857⁷, published a 40-page booklet (written in Dutch) describing New Gelderland in glowing terms. He mentions its crystal clear rivers, rich soil and its suitability for the cultivation of sugar cane.

This immigration scheme was largely the brain-child of Theodorus Christiaan Colenbrander, who had been resident in Natal since 1854. In November 1858 the Nederlandsche Landbouw-emigratie Maatschappij (Netherlands Agricultural and Immigration Company) was founded with the aim of sending settlers from the Netherlands to Natal. 

T C Colenbrander

Colenbrander was born at Doesburg in the Netherlands, on 18 September 1811, the 6th son and 7th child of Adrianus and Tonia (née Heydeman). He later settled near Djakarta, Java in the Dutch East Indies where he married Geraldina Nicolina van Groll. In Java, Colenbrander became interested in the production and manufacture of jute and indigo. It may be that he decided to emigrate to Natal having heard that indigo grew wild in the Colony, though the plant had not been cultivated commercially. Colenbrander set sail for Natal (possibly on the Kaap-de-Goede-Hoop), accompanied by his wife and their first five children, another Dutch planter Wilhelm van Prehn, and a group of Javanese plantation labourers. They landed at Natal in September 1854 and Colenbrander settled on land near Pinetown, cultivating indigo with van Prehn and Archibald Keir Murray. A steam mill was built to process the indigo, and storage vats were also constructed.

The venture was beset by various difficulties: a legal wrangle between van Prehn and Murray, as well as labour problems which threatened to close down the indigo operation. Colenbrander approached the Natal Government on the matter of bringing out settlers from the Netherlands, and it was agreed that land would be granted between the Nonoti and Sinkwazi Rivers on the North Coast, to be farmed by 20 Dutch families if these emigrants could arrive in Natal prior to 26 July 1857. Meanwhile, Colenbrander's brother, Rev Herman Colenbrander, and two of Theodorus Christiaan's nephews, Johannes Arnoldus and Adriaan Benjamin Colenbrander, began to take an active role in finding suitable emigrants in Holland.

To obtain first-hand knowledge of conditions in the Colony, the two nephews sailed for Natal in August 1856 on the Zaltbommel. Johannes Colenbrander returned to Holland where in March 1858 he published a brochure publicising the scheme. The founding of the Nederlandsche Landbouw-emigratie Maatschappij in Doesburg followed in November 1858. Johannes continued to recruit settlers and organize matters in Holland, his uncle Theodorus Christiaan took charge of the Natal end of the scheme, and MC Lapidoth, a shipowner of Amsterdam, would look after the emigrants while on board ship.

More on the arrival at Natal of these Dutch settler ships in another post.

Genomes for tracing geographical origins

Ancestry testing goes for pinpoint accuracy:

Companies use whole genomes to trace geographical origins, reports Ewen Callaway in 'Nature', International weekly journal of science, 6 June 2012..


Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State and national security adviser, ought to be a tough woman to surprise. Yet when Henry Louis Gates Jr, host of a US television series called Finding Your Roots, revealed that nearly half of her genetic ancestry could be traced to Europe, Rice, an African American, told Gates, “I’m stunned.”

Although it is no secret that many African Americans have some European ancestry — a legacy of the transatlantic slave trade — advances in DNA analysis are beginning to provide more detailed insight for individuals. Commercial ancestry testing, once the province of limited information of dubious accuracy, is taking advantage of whole-genome scans, sophisticated analyses and ever-deeper databases of human genetic diversity to help people to answer a simple question: where am I from?

Read more at http://www.nature.com:80/news/ancestry-testing-goes-for-pinpoint-accuracy-1.10785

There are further interesting links on that site.

Wreck of the Earl of Hardwicke at Natal, 1863

The dangers of a long sea voyage to Natal culminated in the risks of arrival. From 1845 to 1885 approximately 66 large vessels were lost on the beaches of Durban. Many were driven ashore from the outer anchorage in strong gales. This was the case with the Earl of Hardwicke, a British ship of about 900 tons wrecked on 26 September 1863 on what was then known as the Back Beach, during a north-easterly gale. A Court of Enquiry was held at the Resident Magistrate’s Office to determine the cause of the wreck and to take evidence from the Master, John Maddison, officers and crew members. William Bell, Port Captain, and his friend George Cato, Lloyd’s Agent, both of the Harbour Board, were present.

On her arrival, the Earl of Hardwicke was positioned in the roadstead according to the instructions of the Port Captain. A north-easterly sprang up on the morning of Saturday, 26 September, though not sufficiently strongly so as to necessitate her taking to the open sea. She remained riding by her starboard anchor, with 90 fathoms of chain out. However, in the afternoon she began to drag and the boatswain’s mate, Samuel Hunt, gave it as his opinion that the chain had parted, but he had not voiced this at the time. Able Seaman Goodwin disagreed, and had maintained the chain had not parted. The chief officer, Edward Benjamin Bullen, was considered to have acted correctly in letting go the port anchor and paying out a full cable, while the starboard anchor dragged. During the night the cable had parted and the broken link was brought into court.

It was apparent that the gale had come on suddenly, ‘with more than the usual sea’, and the Earl of Hardwicke was not the only vessel whose cable had parted.  [The barque Sebastian was wrecked on the Back Beach during the same gale.] The Board acquitted the Captain, officers and crew of any blame. There was a great deal of discussion on the point that the scale of chains laid down in Lloyd’s rules were of insufficient size to resist the winds and seas that set in at times on the Natal coast.

The Board respectfully begged to offer a few suggestions arising out of the investigation as well as from the experience of the past: ‘something should be done to save the good name of this port, as it is known to be the best holding ground in Africa. At other places larger size chain cables are used. The same scale should be adopted at this port and duly tested with certificate attached to the ship’s register. Port instructions for Outside should be framed after the Government have first set at rest the vexed question whether the outside anchorage is, or is not, the Port of Natal … These instructions should fully set forth the Port Captain’s duties, and what assistance vessels have a right to expect, not leaving the matter as it now stands, one of opinion of, perhaps, a master of a day, month or year’s experience, or perhaps an interested merchant, against the Port Captain’s experience of twenty-three years of the same place.’  [It’s almost possible to hear William Bell making this statement.]

The Board also recommended, in view of the inevitable increase in volume of vessels, the acquisition of some apparatus for getting a line to ships in difficulty off the port. [This was duly followed up and the rocket apparatus became a vital addition to the harbour facilities, saving both ships and lives.] Finally, the Board suggested ‘the propriety of having a light-house erected, with as little delay as possible, on the Bluff.’ [This too, was acted upon, but it took a year to get the foundation stone of the lighthouse set in place, and another two years to finish building the structure; 23 January 1867 was the date of the official opening.] 


No lives were lost during the wrecks of either the Earl of Hardwicke or the Sebastian.

[Source: Natal Mercury 4 December 1863]

Passengers to Natal by Nipisiquit 1862

Looking at the Natal Witness report on the arrival 2 June 1862, of the 394 ton barque Nipisiquit from London, the list of passengers appears lengthy and detailed - forenames are given, even for the children.

However, it would be a mistake to assume that this is the full story. Checking the Port Captain's (i.e. William Bell's) register, there is a list of 'steerage passengers not under contract to the government' - 22 ancestors who might easily have been missed yet who were definitely on board the Nipisiquit.

Their names:


James Angus
Elsie Angus
Thomas Bond
Eliza Bond
Richard Brown
Isaac Craggs
Richard Douglas
Arthur Ellis
Benjamin Francie
Jane Francie
Maria Francie
Anne Mary Francie
Harry Francie
Benjamin Francie
Elizabeth Francie
James T Hauxwell
Charlotte Hauxwell
Charles Larkin
Richard Mattison
George Mullaine
Edward Shackleford
James Walker

In the Natal Witness column, passengers (some well-known names) shown on other smaller coastal vessels shouldn't be ignored: the Evangeline arriving from London and the Waldensian departing for Cape Town.

Among the 'Vessels Expected' are the Shakspeare, to bring a hundred emigrants, and the Euphrates, also promising further additions to the Colony.

We tend to think of the ships that arrived at Natal being mainly British, but they were international in origin: here two American vessels are in port, the schooner Enchantress from Boston and the Star King from New York (with George Cato as agent).

Around the World in 40 Blogs

http://familytreemagazine.com:80/article/around-the-world-in-40-blogs

Article by Sunny Jane Morton in the US Family Tree Magazine May/June 2012 edition 'highlights top blogs for tracing roots round the globe'.