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Hi all,

I've got a bit of a mystery - trying to get a proper story down about quite an interesting part of my family (current other post here ... https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=828925.msg6935156#msg6935156)

Anyway, I've been trying to track down a bit more of what happened with the other children of this couple (other than my g-grandmother, Ethel Maud) and found the attached on a death cert for their youngest son, Cecil John Rhodes Seller in 1921, his mother Eliza is listed as Armstrong.

Verbal family history has it that her husband Thomas T left for Australia sometime after 1910 - not 100% sure when, and it seems she might have divorced and remarried (or just remarried) sometime between 1901 when I have her as Eliza Seller on her mother's death notice and 1921 when I have her on her son's.

I've had a look around Legacy for most of today and cannot find a 2nd marriage for her, or any record of her death as Eliza Bennett (maiden name), Seller (first marriage) or Armstrong - possible second marriage anytime, never mind 1923 when she is meant to have died

Any more ideas where to look?

Regards,

Patricia

Hi all,

So a member of my family kindly shared quite an interesting document with me recently, much of it lists the military activities of the above Thomas Theophilus Seller b abt 1855, Australia, written by one of his daughters (spelling errors in "" hers not mine, all others, mine!)

I find it interesting for a few reasons, one of which being that, thanks to others researching this family I have quite a lot of background information about him, which puts the military activity into more context; another being of course that it fleshes out the dry list of names and dates that family history can become and puts a bit of flesh on the bones so to speak.

However, I'm battling to find evidence of some of the military stuff, and was wondering if anyone could point me in a direction of verifying it ...

Here are the excerpts to do with military history, there is a bunch of other stuff there which is quite interesting, but the gist of the stuff I'm trying to verify is here:

"... Thomas Theophilus Seller came out to South Africa as a member of the Australian Expeditionary Force and landed at East London in 1879 to take part in the Native War of that period, he obtained his discharge from the A.E.F. at the termination of hostilities ... Dad was a member of the Australian Brigade formed in Johannesburg to go to the relief of Sir Star Jamieson at the time of the ill fated Jamieson Raid in 1896/7.  He was also a member of the Trade Council Relief Committee to negotiate with President Kruger for the release of the Raiders & Sir Star Jamieson (a photograph of the committee taken on the stoep of President Krugers residence in Church Street Pretoria is still in the [bottom line of scanned document cut off therefore illegible]…arose after the Jamieson Raid, the Family moved down to East London and Dad joined up with the Kaffrarian Rifles and saw much service in the Eastern Cape and was present at the Siege of Wepner in the Free State.  After Wepener Dad joined Govinge’s Flying Column and saw much service in the Cape, Free State and Transvall until hostilities ceased in 1902 ... On the outbreak of the First World War in September 1914, Dad was again in the Forces, he served throughout the German West Africa Campaign, after which he applied for further service overseas but on account of age could not enlist ..."

A few questions:

1) "Thomas Theophilus Seller came out to South Africa as a member of the Australian Expeditionary Force and landed at East London in 1879"

I cannot find any information abut the Australian Expeditionary Force prior to 1900 - did it actually exist, and would I be able to find any information about who served in it and what they did?

2) "Dad was a member of the Australian Brigade formed in Johannesburg to go to the relief of Sir Star Jamieson at the time of the ill fated Jamieson Raid in 1896/7."

I cannot find a reference to an Australian Brigade in relation to the Jamieson Raid - does anyone know anything about this?

3) "Trade Council Relief Committee to negotiate with President Kruger"

Another thing I can't find anything about - little is said in the articles I've read about the negotiations for Jamieson's release, and nothing about a body called the Trade Council Relief Committee...?

4) "Dad joined up with the Kaffrarian Rifles and saw much service in the Eastern Cape and was present at the Siege of Wepner in the Free State.  After Wepener Dad joined Govinge’s Flying Column and saw much service in the Cape, Free State and Transvall until hostilities ceased in 1902."

I've been able to find records of T Seller and TT Seller in both the Kaffrarian Rifles and Govinge's Flying Column, so that I have been able to verify.

Kaffrarian Rifles (Service # 962)
Gorringe's Flying Column, LOL, not Govinge's (Service # 35193)

5) "On the outbreak of the First World War in September 1914, Dad was again in the Forces, he served throughout the German West Africa Campaign, after which he applied for further service overseas but on account of age could not enlist"

I've searched for any records of a T or TT, Thomas or Theophilus Seller in WW1, but not found anything.  He would have been over 60 at the time though, which makes me wonder if he wasn't doing something a bit more colourful (from what I know of him, this is quite possible) than serving in the war between 1914 and 1916 when he left his South African family and decamped back to Australia.

Can anyone point me in the direction of service records for the German West Africa Campaign

Thanks in advance!

Patricia

Hi there,

This isn't a directly military related question - except insofar as I'm trying to figure out what the possibility would be of a widow marrying another person from the same regiment as her deceased husband.

Here are my links to other topics for this family:

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=802585.msg6606673#msg6606673

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=802478.msg6605278#msg6605278

My ancestor, Margaret RYAN married John BLEACH in 1851 after which she went with him to South Africa, where he died in 1862.  Thereafter she married Jonathan BENNETT before 1865, when their first child was born, in Queenstown in 1865 according to family history.

There was not much success looking for the emigration of any of the 3 to South Africa (previous threads).

But, while looking for John BLEACH in the 1851 Census I also found a Jonathan BENNETT in the same regiment, same year (image excerpts attached).

Now my question is; what is the possibility of the Jonathan BENNETT being the same one as the Jonathan BENNETT who married Margaret BLEACH (formerly RYAN) in South Africa?

The third image is taken from the Death notice of Jonathan BENNETT, where his birthplace seems to be Sussex or Suffolk, which does not match with the birthplace of the one in the 1851 Census (Somerset).

Regards,

Patricia

Hi all,

Trying to help a friend who is looking for dates that his mother's family came to and from South Africa from the UK in the early 1900's (about 1910-1930).

Not sure how much passenger shipping was going on in the WWI years, but he says that his mom is adamant that the family went from the UK to South Africa for 6 months every year or so; which seems a bit strange considering that the voyage was not exactly a short one!

I've done some checks and can find a couple of mentions of MURGATROYD with Arthur and / or James as names, and some with mention of Florence MURGATROYD; but I'm currently not subscribed to any of the paid research sites (taking a work induced break from family history ) to really check the information properly.

Apparently their children were Arthur James and Thomas Harold.

If someone would be willing to help with shipping list info and links to where I can point him in the right direction for images which may have more info that would be fantastic

Regards,

Patricia