Jaarprogram, 2011

DATUM	TYD	PLEK	ONDERWERP/GELEENTHEID
2 – 6 Maart	10.00 – 18.00	Hobby-X in die Dome, Randburg	Ons hanteer 'n stalletjie namens die GGSA.
19 Maart	14:00	Ned. Geref. Kerk Ontdekkerskruin	Ds. Kobus van Tonder: "Die Dorslandtrek"
16 April:	14:00	Ned. Geref. Kerk Ontdekkerskruin	Dirk Bloem: "Die Nuwe Webwerf van die GGSA".
14 Mei:	09.00 - 14.30	LDS-kerk, Parktown	Eie navorsing onder leiding van gesoute navorsingslede.
18 Junie:	14:00	Ned. Geref. Kerk Ontdekkerskruin	Richard Ford: "Die Nuwe Hersiene Grondwet van die GGSA" en hoe dit ons raak.
16 Julie:	14:00	Ned. Geref. Kerk Ontdekkerskruin	Marius Smit: 'n Drukker vertel hoe om jou publikasie mooi te maak en wat die pryse is.
20 Augustus:	14:00	Ned. Geref. Kerk Ontdekkerskruin	Besonderhede sal mettertyd bekend gemaak word.
3 September:	Van 09.00	Pretoria	Ons beman 'n stalletjie by die Genealogie- en Familie-erfenisfees gereëk deur Isabel Groesbeek.
17 September:	Van 09.00	Panorama-begraafplaas	Giel Nel en taklede: optekening van die grafte
15 Oktober:	14:00	Ned. Geref. Kerk Ontdekkerskruin	Ons wag voorstelle in van lede vir hierdie byeenkoms.
19 November:	14:00	Ned. Geref. Kerk Ontdekkerskruin	Afsluitingsgeleentheid.

Branch Committee, 2011

By Penny Evans

The branch held their AGM on 19 February 2011. The new committee is as follows:

Designation	Name
Chairman	Lucas Rinken
Vice-Chairman	Bob Saunders
Recording Secretary	John Stephens
Membership Secretary	Gerard Marloth
Treasurer	Dennis Pretorius
Assistant Treasurer	Barbara Bouwer
Events Secretary	Margaret Humphries
Librarian	Graham Southey
Librarian Assistant	Louise Dick
Editor, Newsletter	Neels Coertse
Publicity and Blog Liaison	Penny Evans
Cemetery Recording	Giel Nel
Product Sales	Kriek Fourie

Lucas Rinken thanked the committee for their hard work and commitment. He welcomed Bob Saunders and thanked him for being prepared to serve on the committee.

After the AGM Jack Holloway (right), son of Dr JE Holloway, and a long standing friend of Graham Southey spoke about the Anti-convict Movement of 1849. During that year the British intended to establish a penal colony at the Cape as was the case in Australia and Tasmania.

The colonists of the Cape stood together when they heard about this. Jack Holloway’s great grandfather, George Holloway signed the anti convict petition. In this petition they declared that they would have nothing to do with the government and would not sell produce to the ship, The Neptune, on which the convicts were held.

The ship lay at anchor for months and the convicts might have perished had it not been for a few who were loyal to the British government. One of them was Captain Robert Stanford. He owned a large farm, Kleine Rivers, and he was able to send produce to the convict ship.

His actions were regarded as treason by the colonists and he was ostracized.

Captain Stanford’s child became ill and died on the way to Cape Town. Stanford approached George Holloway, who owned the Coaching Inn in Kuilsrivier for a room where the child could be laid out. George Holloway agreed but knew that this would cause trouble if he assisted Stanford.

He was boycotted, became bankrupt and lost everything. In 1854 George Holloway sent a petition to the British government asking for compensation. This petition is now in Stanford House.

Edward Robert Stanford, a grandson of Captain Robert Stanford, married Daisy Wayland who was a distant relative of Graham Southey.

Cemetery Recording Outing on 5 February 2011

Report and photographs by Penny Evans

Members of the West Gauteng branch met at the Danie Theron Church which is situated in a semi-rural area to the south of Johannesburg. By 09:30 am we were ready to go to the Eye of Africa, a golfing estate in the Alewynspoort area.

This estate is situated in an area that was previously a farm which had belonged to Mr and Mrs Tanning. Situated within the estate is an old family cemetery which is enclosed by a stone wall.

Many of the graves did not have a headstone. Some of the headstones had been so badly weathered that the inscription had been completely eroded. Other headstones were in good condition and the group readily set to work taking photographs and recording the information.

Members of the following families have been buried here: Mulder, White, Van der Merwe, Van Zyl, Smit, Meyer, Van derWalt, Snijman, Smith, Labuschagne, Booysen, Roos and Reyneke.

It is difficult to know when the first family members were buried here. From an existing headstone one sees that a Mr Viljoen passed away in 1898. Most family members were buried from the 1920's to the 1960's, although a few were buried in the 1980's. There is a recent grave dating to November 2010. Fresh flowers had been placed on this grave.

The weather was ideal, the surroundings beautiful and peaceful. By late morning we were ready to enjoy our picnic at a nearby spot under shady pine trees. Lush green grass grew under these trees.

In the vicinity were two buildings from a previous era — a dilapidated farm silo and a small farm school which was being renovated. At 12:30 pm we reluctantly left.

The following members attended: John and Iris Stephens, Lucas Rinken, Barbara Bouwer, Pieter Oosthuizen, Gerard Marloth, Robyn Templeton, Bob Saunders, Christa Roberts, Margaret Humphries, Penny Evans, Irene Strydom of Tedderfield and Di Kruger of the Dumblade Conservancy.

A big thank you to John and Iris Stephens for the arrangements and refreshments. We look forward to the next outing in this area.

Successful genealogy day at the Roodepoort Museum

By Penny Evans

On 22 January 2011 the West Gauteng Branch, in conjunction with the Roodepoort Museum, held a successful Genealogy Day in the foyer of the Promusica Theatre.

Guides took small groups of visitors on a tour of the museum which had exhibits and photographs of the early days of gold mining in the vicinity of Roodepoort. The museum has a section converted into an mid 1800's Highveld farmhouse, the kitchen, lounge and bedrooms furnished according to the style of the day. In addition various rooms depict the decor of the Victorian era and even that of the 1920's and 1930's. A wonderful worthwhile visit.

Above:  Ann Smart, curator: Roodepoort Museum

Exhibitors arrived early to set up their tables. Although the day got off to a slow start, by mid morning many visitors had arrived. The exhibitors were kept busy answering questions, giving advice and handing out information sheets. Visitors eagerly waited while the databases were checked for any infomation on their ancestors. Some delighted visitors were inspired to join our branch. Members had the chance to socialize over a cup of coffee.

We would like to thank the following branches for their support:
Johannesburg branch;
Northern Transvaal branch representing the Barkhuizen and Diedericks families;
Isabel Groesbeek (right above), a knowledgeable and experienced researcher;
Anne Smart, curator of the Roodepoort Museum and her staff;
Neels Coertse (left) for being available to take photographs of the family history information in Bibles;
Lucas Rinken for spending many exhausting hours searching his database;
Barbara Bouwer for sellind the CD's and enrolling members;
The members who helped set up tables and
The staff of the Civic Theatre.

Right:  Members paging through some of the genealogy books.

The planning and hard work of the committee made this a successful day. A very special thanks to John Stephens for his input and for supporting us on the day, despite his illness.

Newsletter: January 2011

The latest newsletter of the branch is published below. 

Please be patient while it is loading. 

Click on "Full Screen" below to enlarge it.

Wes-Gauteng-nuusbrief 2011-01

Newsletter: December 2010

The latest newsletter of the branch is published below. 

Please be patient while it is loading. 

Click on "Full Screen" below to enlarge it. Wes-Gauteng-nuusbrief 2010-12

Genealogy day on 22 January 2011 in Roodepoort

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.

Genealogiedag vervang maandvergadering: 22 Januarie 2011

Vandeesmaand se maandvergadering word vervang met ‘n genealogiedag saam met die Roodepoortse Museum.

Dit vind plaas op 22 Januarie 2011. Dit begin om 09:00 en eindig om 15:00 .

Alle lede is welkom.

Toegang tot die uitstallings is gratis.

Ander uitstallers sluit  Isabel Groesbeek; die LDS onder leiding van Isebelle Krauss; die Heidelbergse Erfenisstigting en moontlik ook Linda Lombard van die Noord-Transvaalse Tak van die GGSA.

Voorts is Neels Coertse oorgehaal om familiebybels te fotografeer. Die publiek en ons lede gevra word om hul familiebybels saam te bring.

• Intussen het Lucas Rinken en Graham Southey gesorg dat die takbiblioteek nou na die kelder van die NG Kerk verskuif is, terwyl Kriek en sy aanstaande skoonseun met die deur wat installeer moes word, gehelp het.

Last gathering of 2010

On 20 November 2010 twenty members of the West Gauteng branch met at our usual venue to enjoy the last gathering of the year.

Tables were set up under the large shady Tipuana tree, coals were lit and members happily chatted to each other.

After a wet week on the West Rand we were fortunate to have good weather.

Margaret Humphries (in middle of the photograph) and her catering team saw to it that there were ample salads and sufficient pudding.

Kriek Fourie (left) did an excellent job of making and looking after the fires. It was a relaxing afternoon and we were able to get to know each other better. -- Penny Evans.

Newsletter: November 2010

The latest newsletter of the branch is published below. 

Please be patient while it is loading. 

Click on "Full Screen" below to enlarge it. Wes-Gauteng-nuusbrief 2010-11

Is massagrafte aan die kom?

Godsdiensleiers, kultuurkenners en akademici kom vanmiddag (19 November 2010) by die Durbanse stadsaal byeen om die omstrede voorstel oor die herbenutting van grafte te bespreek, berig Radio Sonder Grense.

Die eThekwini-munisipaliteit het onlangs aangekondig dat hy gaan begin om ou grafte weer te benut, omdat daar nie plek is vir nuwe grafte nie.

Die oorskot sal opgegrawe en in 'n massagraf herbegrawe word.

Sowat 20 000 mense word elke jaar in eThekwini begrawe en die stad het nog net plek beskikbaar vir twee-en-'n-halfjaar.

Onlangse berigte in Durban het gelui dat 59 van die stad se 60 begraafplase vol is. Kundiges het nege jaar gelede gewaarsku dat Durban nog net tot 2010 plek sou hê om mense te begrawe en het toe herbenutting van grafte voorgestel, óf om mense regop te begrawe.

Cherised items

Report and Photographs by Penny Evans

(Click on any photograph to enlarge it.)

Thirty three members of the West Gauteng branch supported the “Bring and Brag” day on 16 October 2010. The hall was filled with cherished items of historical and genealogical interest. 

Some fascinating stories were told about the brag items.

• Graham Southey brought trophies won by three generations of the Southey family at various agricultural shows. His great grandfather was the “merino king” for seventeen years. On the eighteenth year his middle son was the winner of the trophy. His father did not speak to him for three months!

• Frans Viljoen’s old and valuable family Bible was on display.

• Neels Coertse brought a stone carving done by someone during the Anglo Boer War while in the Greenpoint Concentration Camp.

• Giel Nel brought a 1957 telephone directory which he had found useful for his family history research

.• Robin Templeton had inherited a very old pictorial book of Johannesburg as well as a beautiful old silver shoe horn and button hook.

• Louise Dick had antique items of needlework including a crochet rug, patchwork cushion cover and a Voortrekker kappie which her grandmother had made for her own mother.

• Ds Hennie Le Roux also brought items of handwork done by his grandmother, mother and mother in law.

• Kriek Fourie’s inheritance included jukskei clubs carved from the wood of the knobthorn tree, an antique cutlery set and a shotgun which had belonged to his grandfather.

• Bob Saunders brought a photo showing four generations of the Saunders family. He told the story of the Kruger quarterpound left to the family by his grandfather.

• John and Iris Stephens brought their granddaughter, Talita, who wore her great great grandmother’s wedding dress. In addition they had brought a child’s dress which was about 100 years old and was first worn by Iris Stephens’s mother.

• Many other interesting items were on display. There were old coins including a 1879 threepenny piece, a fighting sword, a miniature set of the complete works of Shakespeare, an old diary with beautiful handwriting, old preserving jars, an antique peeler, medals won in various wars, old photos, locks of hair preserved in miniature containers and much more.

• Chairman Lucas Rinken brought the marbles his father had played with while in the Bethulie Concentration Camp and the fork which was all that remained after the family home was burnt down during the Anglo Boer War. In addition he brought many items of historical interest.

The enthusiastic participation by the members made this day a great success.