Hi All,
William Bensted Nash, my Gf was born in Cape Town in 1881 to Joseph and Ester (nee Smith).Joseph had previously made his fortune on the Kimberly diamond mines. Havent traced Birth certs etc. Brother Ryder was also born in Cape Town . They returned to Co. Cork when William was 2 weeks old. Their father, also a Joseph bought a small "estate" near the other family farms. The family farm, originally owned by a Joseph (Lake Lodge in Glanmire?) was run by Ryder and Sam who didnt marry. I dont know where the "SA" Joseph bought had his estate, or names. The estate had a double story house. It must have been fairly large as they had a number of servants, horses and a coachman. Alfred Claud (1882 and two sisters were born during this time. William remembered (I have a 1954 letter he wrote to my mother) that he had two aunts, both of whom married army officers. One husband was Col Bennett who became a general in WW1. He couldn't remember the other aunt.
The family returned to South Africa in about 1888/9 on the SS Trojan, landing in Port Elizabeth. Alfred Claud must have been left behind and was adopted out to his uncle James who was an unmarried doctor living in London.
The Joseph bought the farm Broxley outside Grahamstown (north east of Port Elizabeth). They farmed cattle, horses and goats. I know the region and its fairly dry. A local farmer recently told me that it is thought that a young girl drowned on the farm, maybe a sister of William's (?).
Alfred Claud visited the farm in about 1904 and then went off to South America to visit an uncle (John?) who hadmarried into a cattle ranching family "of high status". Alfred Claud might have spent as long as 2 years in South America before going back to Ireland or England (?). He joined the army and was posted to France in 1916. In October 1917 he was commissioned as a Captain. He was awarded the Military Cross and was gassed. His Unit was the RH. Artillery, at some stage.
I think he married (dont know who?) and had a few children. He must have deserted his wife because he later had another lady with whom he had at least one son. During this second relationship he might have spent time in Cork as he wrote to William in about April 1954. he might have been hiding and maybe not divorced. Sadly his issue from the second relationship doesnt know anything about his parents.
I dont know what happened to Broxley except they battled finncially to the extent that they could not afford to send William to school.
My daughter will be visiting Broxley farm in early January 2013 so hope to get more info.
William married a Kate Grimshaw (date ?), who was English born and only had one daughter, my mother, in 1924. William and Kate divorced (date?) and he remarried Louis (?). He spent most of his working life in what is now Maputo, Mozambique in the timber import / export business. Not sure when he retired. When I knew him in the mid to late 1960s he lived in a small village, Parys, on the Vaal River. Both William and Louis died in Durban in the late 1970s within 6 weeks of eachother. I lived close by and was not informed by the old age home where they lived. Apparently some "local" relatives collected their belonggings. I have no idea who they could be
Am having troubles navigating the South African archives but have a historian friend helping.
Any help with the Nash stay in Cork from early 1880s to 1904 would be helpful. Partivularly about the girls. I want to find the passenger list for the SS Trojan that they traveled on to Port Elizabeth in about 1888/9.
Cheers, Hugh.
