On Saturday, 22 January 2011, the Roodepoort Museum in partnership with the West-Gauteng Branch of the Genealogical Society of South Africa is hosting an open day to promote and facilitate interest and research in genealogy and family history.
Time and venue
The function starts at 09:00. The Genealogical Society will have their displays in the Jo'burg Promusica Foyer and the Roodepoort Museum will be open until 15:00 for free guided tours of the museum.
Database of 586 000 names
Visitors will also have the opportunity to ask Lucas Rinken, Chairperson of the branch to look for their family name on his database which numbers about 586 000 names.
Lucas Rinken, has already done some “home work” on the gold discoverers. He has a genealogy lined up for the Struben Brothers, a family tree.
He also has one for Willem Boshoff, the first Afrikaans Mine millionaire. This he’ll have on his computer and will project it on a screen for people to see.
Family Bibles
Neels Coetzee, a members of the meber of the branch, is compiling a photographic database of old family Bibles. Visitors are requested to bring their old family bibles to be photographed free of charge. These family Bible photographs will form part of an International Database on the internet.
Look for our next week's article in the Roodepoort Record to find out more about this exciting event and the other organisations and researchers that will be available to assist you with your family history.
Guided tours
On the 22 January you can get a free guided tour of the museum without making a prior booking. Remember that the museum is only open by appointment if you want to come on another day. Tours are tailored to your needs and interests and on average last about one hour. For more information contact the museum on 011/761-0225/6/8.
Where to find us:
The museum is situated in the Civic Centre, 100 Christiaan de Wet Road, Florida Park. Entrance to the museum is right next to the Joburg Promusica Theatre.
