A different kind of police force

A force of slaves called ‘Caffers’ acted as the executive arm of the Fiscal, or state prosecutor. In his work on Cape slavery, Children of Bondage, Robert Shell explains the word’s curious etymology. Originally it was an Arabic noun meaning ‘ungrateful’; by association, those who did not believe in Allah were ungrateful. All non-Jews, non-Christians, and non-Muslims – people ‘not of the book’ – were thus considered ‘Caffers’.

Die Jeffreysbaaise Genealogiese Geselsgroep sluit jaar af

Naas Olivier

 

Die Jeffreysbaaise Genealogiese Geselsgroep het Woensdag, 28 November, sy aktiwiteite vir die jaar met ‘n vleisbraaiery op Meeding en Barendine Ferreira se plaas, Akkerboom, afgesluit.

Altesaam 26 persone het die gesellige byeenkoms op ‘n heerlike Oos-Kaapse somersaand bygewoon.

Always test your backups!

Dick Eastman, Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Pierre Clouthier of Progeny Genealogy has written an excellent article that I suggest should be required reading for all genealogists as well as many other computer users.

Genealogiese vraagstukke

Barend J Venter, genealogiese navorser van die Venter-familie van Suid-Afrika

Die afgelope tyd word daar heelwat stellings gemaak oor sulke sake soos:

• Watter genealogiese program die sogenaamde beste program is.
• Jy word aangemoedig om Gedcom-leers van jou data beskikbaar te stel sodat dit i'n poel gegooi kan word en deur ander programme gemanipuleer kan word sodat die protokol van datavaslegging wat jy oor jare gebruik het deur 'n rekenaarprogram verander kan word sodat jou plekname, persoonsname en vanne en die taal waarin jy dit vasgelê het verander word.
• Die protokol wat gevolg moet word met die invoer van data in jou genealogiese program sodat dit aan iemand anders as jyself se vereistes voldoen.

Daar is nog 'n paar ander sake wat ook hiermee in verband staan wat geopper is.

Het jy voortydig grys geword?

Oud-joernalis, Joe van Buuren, skryf in die webjoernaal, K’rant: “Ek het in my twintigerjare erg grys begin word, en ek is gou laat verstaan dat dit aan 'n genetiese afwyking te wyte is. Hmm?”

Die Eva-geen

Vroeër vanjaar het Jaarringe Kowie Swiegers se storie geplaas oor hulle “besoek aan die graf van Eva, ons almoeder.” Klik HIER om dit te lees.

"Eva" deur Lynn Fellman

Die vraag of ons almal een voorsaat gemeen het duik nogal dikwels in genealogiese gesprekke op – veral tussen amateur-genealoë.

‘n Verteerbare antwoord hierop verskyn in Nuwe geskiedenis van Suid-Afrika saamgestel deur Hermann Giliomee en Bernard Mbenga, in 2007 uitgegee deur Tafelberg Uitgewers, Kaapstad.

KLIK HIER om meer daaroor te lees

Die verband tussen die geskiedenis en genealogie

Van Greenwood sê in The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy, dat "if you can understand the forces which shaped men's lives then you can better understand those men." Thomas Carlyle het raakgevat toe hy gesê het: “History is the essence of innumerable biographies.”

Oral Histories

Kimberly Powell

 

Oral histories are stories told by living people about the past. Generally, these are stories of their own life and the lives of the people around them. Often an oral history includes details and stories that exist nowhere other than in the individual's mind. Therefore, preserving oral history and family stories should be a top priority for any family historian.

 

The judgement of an imam

As early as 1725 the imams made their moral presence felt at the Cape in the following case outside the Slave Lodge, the notorious Company brothel.

Lobola vir ouma Baby

Japie Bosch

Ouma Baby Vermaak

Ouma Baby Vermaak (my pa se ma) was ‘n duur meisie in haar jong dae.  Haar pa, Manny Vermaak, het geweet van geld en geldmaak.  Gevolglik het hy toegesien dat sy dogter nie haar huwelik sonder ‘n ietsie van haar eie betree nie.

Van kleintyd af was Hester Maria Vermaak (1891 – 1970) gewoond aan die goeie dinge in die lewe.  Sy en haar vyf susters en een broer is deur ‘n goewernante op hul plaas in die Molteno-distrik onderrig.  “In English only.” Dít en byvoorbeeld die silwer eetgerei en opskepborde wat met elke ete op die tafel was, vertel die verhaal van haar ouerhuis se lewenstyl.  Welaf mense.

Hoogmoed kom voor die val

Af en toe stuur iemand ‘n storie aan Jaarringe wat min met die genealogie te doen het. Sulke stories is dikwels egter só tipies van die ouer geslag se grootworddae dat hulle vertel móét word.

Die volgende kostelike vertelling deur Egbert Prinsloo, is een hiervan. Myra Bosch het dit ingestuur.

Scottish wills and testaments from 1902 to 1925 go online

Reprinted from Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, 6 November 2012

The following announcement was written by ScotlandsPeople:

“From inmates of poorhouses to owners of mansions - a fascinating portrait of Scottish life during the early 20th Century and a major new family history resource.

A colourful picture of life in Scotland in the early 20th Century is revealed today with the release of the Wills and Testaments from 1902 to 1925 by the National Records of Scotland on the ScotlandsPeople website.

How to discourage newcomers to Genealogy

Reprinted from Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter, 12 November 2012

I received the following email message today. It's sad that anyone would be treated in such a manner. I felt so bad about this person's experience that I decided to republish the email message here although I have edited it slightly and also removed the sender's name and email address in order to protect privacy.

Tracing the biological mother of an adopted child

Penny Evans recently reported on a genealogical tour to Cape Town in the blog of the West Gauteng branch of the Genealogical Society of South Africa. She made special mention of a talk by Dennis Pretorius ( member of the National Council of the GSSA) about adoptions and how to go about tracing the biological mother of an individual who had been adopted. 

Click HERE to read more

Tales from a winding river

Bartle Logie

The Sundays River winds its way from the Lootsberg, via Graaff-Reinet and Addo to the sea. Beside its banks have lived the famous, but also the unknown.

Terugvoer

Naas Olivier

Vergun my die geleentheid om terugvoer te gee oor ons byeenkoms op 31 Oktober 2012 ten einde afwesige lede oor die verloop van die vergadering in te lig.   Ek beoog om aanstaande jaar na elke byeenkoms dieselfde te doen:

President Obama an Irishman?

Barry Vosloo

On 17 October Jaarringe reported that few nations are as passionate about their country as the Irish. Their devotion is often revealed by an almost feverish search for the Irish roots of important people elsewhere in the world.