RootsChat.Com
Research in Other Countries => South Africa => Topic started by: John Bell on Tuesday 29 November 11 02:44 GMT (UK)
-
I am looking for any information on Louis Valentine de Villiers who was born in South Africa 1870/80s, possibly in Paarl or Wynberg and then moved to New Zealand prior to WW1 when he enlisted in the NZ Army 1914, married 1916 and died 1918.
(Parents possibly John Henry de Villiers & Maria Haveland.)
His Next of Kin in 1914 was listed as a : Miss Evelyn de Villiers of Daarl (Paarl?), Cape Colony, South Africa.
(Possibly a sister?)
Any leads would be appreciated.
Regards,
John
......................................................................................................................................................
1914.
Roll of New Zealand expeditionary Force 1914. (Ancestry.com).
Reg No: 6/827. Private Louis Valentine De Villiers. Main body of draft in the Canterbury Unit of the Infantry Battalion. Single. Address: Southbrook. Military district: Canterbury.
Next is a kin: Miss Evelyn de Villiers of Daarl, Cape Colony, South Africa.
(Daarl may in fact be Paarl, Cape Colony, S.Africa as I cannot locate a Daarl in S Africa)
1915.
New Zealander casualty list WW 1.
Reg No: 6/827. Private de Villiers. L. V. Date: 7.5.1915. Casualty List Number : 9.
Force: Main Body.
1916. Marriage Record , New Zealand
Marriage Reg No: 1916/6766. Louis Valentine De Villiers & Evelyn May Jeffery.
1918.
New Zealand Roll of Honour World War I. Died after discharge list.
6/827. De Villiers, Louis. V. Corporal. Canterbury Regiment. Died: 16th of November 1918.
-
hi,,have you seen this before?
http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/th/read/SOUTH-AFRICA/1998-01/0883651438
-
Hi gordonboy,
Yes, I have seen the entry and have sent off an email to her a couple of days ago.
Hoping for a reply!
Thanking you,
Regards,
John
-
Hi John,
Someone has just pointed out this thread to me. I never got your email as the one in that 1998 post is an account that I no longer use, it makes me me think that I should see if it is still useable in case people have been trying to get in touch about Louis.
I don't have anything beyond what I had in 1998 but would be happy to colaborate on solving the mystery that is Louis Valentine De Villiers.
Kind regards
Tasha
-
Hi Tasha,
Thank you for your reply and as I mentioned earlier I am interested in Monty de Villiers (son of Louis de Villiers) who married Ada Jones (my Grand aunt) on my mothers side.
I have copied your original email below and I have not gone any further than Louis de Villiers in NZ as I have been concentrating on his son Montmorency and am not finding a lot of info on him.
There are some articles from the NZ papers relating to Louis de Villiers that I presume you have that give some info on him.
Any info that I have you are most welcome to and if you post at least 3 messages on Rootschat I can contact you via a PM (Personal Message) and pass on my email address to you in order to for us to share further.
So if you send another 2 messages to me I can then then send you a PM.
Regards,
John in Western Australia.
I'm relatively new to genealogy and very new to doing genealogy in South
Africa. I am looking for information on Louis Valentine De Villiers, who
was born on 14 June 1883 in Wynberg, Cape Province at the time called Cape
Colony. His parents were John Henry De Villiers and Marie Haveland. He
died on 22 Nov 1918 here in New Zealand. The information I have is from
his death certificate and I would like to get confirmation of the details
as there is doubt over it's accuracy. Family legend has it that he left
South Africa in disgrace, something possibly to do with the Boer war.
Can anyone out there help me find more info, what resources there are etc?
Thanks in advance
- Tasha Derrett
-
Hi John,
Talking to one of my sisters, she says we have some photos of Monty somewhere.
Tasha
-
Here is the another message to hopefully enable to PM.
-
Hi Tasha,
I have sent you my email address via PM so you should be able to find it if you click in Messages at the top of the page.
Regards,
John
-
Hi - I am continuing LV discussions on this thread...
As you say, things dont add up..... John Henry married Aletta Jordaan in 1871 and she died in 1922. On a Geni tree she has an alternate name ( Maria) in brackets. JH died in 1914. There is only one Haveland in Naairs and that was a 1975 reference to a divorce and only a few references on Ancestry24. However there are a few more with Haviland. I cannot find any reference to an Evelyn anywhere either. Have you read JH biography - there may be clues in there. The other option is to contact a de Villiers reseacher as the Books are well documented.
Ruth
-
Ruth,
Thank you for the further information.
One of the New Zealand connections is drafting a letter to an address for the 4th Baron de Villiers (J H de Villiers being the first) whom I presume still resides in NZ so we wait in anticipation.
John
-
I have looked for books about JH in New Zealand but there are none available and the only bio I can find on line is Wikipedia and that's not much help. I spoke to Louis' widow in the 1970's (she died in 1975) but she said it was all too long ago and refused to give any information. Thinking about this recently I wondered about the possiblity of Louis being illegitimate. Here is the full advertisement C.W. de Villiers placed in the Press (Christchurch, New Zealand. 14 July 1913) Wanted- Should this meet the eye of LOUIS VALENTINE DE VILLIERS (Hon. Val) of Wynberg, South Africa, or anyone knowing his whereabouts. Left London about seven years ago for Australia. Information as to his whereabouts will be gratefully received. About 30 years of age, height 5ft 11in, dark complexion, speaks several languages fluently. C.W. DE VILLIERS.813 Attorney-General, Pretoria, South Africa.
-
Hi Annette,
I have not been able to find any record so far of Louis de Villiers leaving the UK or arriving in Australia or NZ in the time frame mentioned in the advert for him.
One of the wrinkles to resolve is that Louis is described as being 5'11" tall in the advert, whereas his NZ Army records him as 5' 7 1/2" on his discharge in 1916.
John
-
The mistake in Louis' height could just be human error. I'm not reading too much into it. Because South Africa was a British colony at the time he arrived in New Zealand the only way to track his arrival would be via shipping records. Tasha and I are going to Christchurch in a couple of weeks so will look into this.
-
Hi John,
There is a book in the Victoria State Library called "Geneologies of old South African Families" written by C. C. De Villiers. It has been completely revised by C. Pama 1966. It's in 3 volumes. I could not get it interloaned because it is a geneology resource. Do you have access to that library. Otherwise I could ask them to look in it for me to see if there is information about Louis.
Regards
Annette
-
Hi Annette,
I have sent a PM (Personal Message) to you that you shoud find at the top of the page.
Regards,
John
-
After careful research there is no birth record for Louis De Villiers either Pretoria, Wnyberg or the Paarl. He married Evelyn Jeffrey in 1916. I note on one record he claims his next of kin is Envelyn De Villiers, Daarl. Absolute nonsense
Grand mother stated to me in her own words that Louis was not a good man, that he was a womaniser, but would not elaborate further.
I put is to you that the name Louis Valentine De Villiers is a assumed or fake name to impress the women me met, after all he is described in his join up record that he was a bushman. My father told me that Louis was a farm labourer.
I see on another comment he claims he was an Army General, caught up as rebel but the records for that time do not list him as a prisoner of the Boer War.
His son Monty claimed that his father Louis was related to the Attorney General of South Africa which also turned out to be nonsense.
So again it is suggested that the name of Louis Valentine De Villiers is a fake name, I suggest the name is just a carefully assumed name with a lot of fanciful story telling, conjured up to impress the many women, after all be did have a woman in the Chathan Islands sharing the name of De Villiers.This information was obtain form letters written between the two women that is Evelyn De Villiers and has counterpart in the Chatham Islands.
-
Dear mei1901,
Thank you very much for your reply.
Since your reply I have been going back through all the information I have on Louis Valentine DeVilliers.
Like yourself, I have not been able to find any record of him in South Africa or elsewhere for that matter.
His first appearance in New Zealand as Louis DeVilliers is in the 1911 Electoral Roll although it is possible the Charles DeVilliers mentioned in the 1909 accidental gunshot wound to himself could also be him.
You mention the Chatham Island letters, I have only seen a typed copy of one of the letters to DeV, dated 1911 and signed by Leila DeVilliers. This is of course several years before his marriage to Evelyn Jeffery.
You mention letters “between the two women”. Are there other letters?
Would it be possible to contact you further via the Personal Message facility on Rootschat and go in to a little more detail.
In order for this to happen I think you have to send at least another two posts in this Forum.
If you just send another two short messages that will make up the three posts required and then I can send you a Personal Message containing my email address.
I would like to find a little more about the “Missing Friends” advert placed in the New Zealand paper in 1913 from South Africa seeking information on Louis Valentine De Villiers from C W DeVilliers.
I am happy to provide you with all the information that I have although it sounds like you may have compiled as much of and more than I have. Particularly on the personal side.
Best regards and hoping you will reply,
John.