South African Ancestry

This site contains some of the research conducted by Richard WHEELER on some South African families.

If any of these listed are maybe relatives of yours, you are invited to view our my research by following the hyperlink on the side bar, indicating the surname.

The research focused mainly on the WHEELER family in South Africa. James WHEELER and his wife, Harriott Elizabeth PEPPER arrived in South Africa as part of the 1820 British Settlers.

Lord Somerset, the British governor in South Africa, encouraged the immigrants to settle in the frontier area of what is now the Eastern Cape. This was in order to consolidate and defend the eastern frontier against the neighbouring Xhosa people, and to provide a boost to the English-speaking population.

This period saw one of the largest stages of British settlement in Africa, and approximately 4,000 Settlers arrived in the Cape, in around 60 different parties, between April and June 1820. The settlers were granted farms near the village of Bathurst, and supplied equipment and food against their deposits. A combination of factors caused many of the settlers to leave these farms for the surrounding towns.

The drawing at the top of this page indicates the leaving of the families from England. The following drawing indicates the life and conditions on the ships the passengers had to endure on the long voyage. I added pages for each of the families researched, where I would like to include stories and photos of these settlers and their descendants in South Africa.

I have also added the stories surrounding this settlement. This was deemed necessary as one of the issues was the fact that the Wilson Party onboard of the La Belle Alliance, the largest group, was found to have been a mistake by the British authorities and should never have occurred – meaning that those families (including the WHEELER family) would never have settled in the Cape Colony. If these persons have not settled in the Cape Colony, South Africa would have been very different due to the important role of these families in the shaping of the country’s history.

Contact us and comment, or contribute to ensure that their stories are told and remembered.

Some South African Family Trees

WHEELER 1820 British Settler Family to the Cape Colony

The purpose of this website is to present the genealogical research and stories associated with the WHEELER family from 1820 onwards. This website the families and stories surrounding the immigration of the Wheeler family as part of the 1820 British Settlers to the Cape Colony and is part of the ongoing research started more than 20 years ago.

La Belle Alliance and the Willson Party of 1820 British Settlers

The links below leads you to links describing:

A party of 307 from London led by Thomas WILLSON sailed in “La Belle Alliance”, They were located on the Bush River, tributary to the Torrens River. Thomas WILLSON left the party upon its arrival there and the Rev. William BOARDMAN took charge. The location was known as Beaufort Vale, a name still applied to one of its former allotments.

1. this specific Party as well as information on the families and the content extracted from “The Settler Handbook” by M.D. Nash; and
2. The 1820 Settler Party which should not have left for the Cape Colony and the man who was mistakenly allowed to take and lead the Party; and
3. 1820 Settler Party: Willson. https://www.1820settlers.com/genealogy/settlershowparty.php?party=Willson
4. Browse all 1820 Settler Parties: https://www.1820settlers.com/genealogy/settlerbrowseparties.php

It would be appreciated if you could comment and/or participate by providing more information.

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DAUTH/DAUGHT

DESCENDANTS OF COENRAAD JOHAN DAUGHT/DAUTH 1795 TO 1880 IN SOUTH AFRICA

This German family later married into the WHEELER family – the author Richard Thomas WHEELER’s mother is Anna Susanna DAUTH.

It is extremely difficult to research this family as my mother cannot remember much (Altzheimer). 

Any contribution towards completing this research would be appreciated.

60th Regiment of Foot 1st Battalion at the Cape 1810-1819

The following link will take you to mthe document on the role of the 60th Reiment of Foot 1st Battalion at the Cape 1810-1819. The relevance is that Coenraad Johan DAUGH (DAUTH), the progenitor (Stamvader) of the DAUTH family was part of this Regiment. It seems that after receiving permission to remain in the Cape Colony and marrying Elsje Magdalena FRITZ, he also partook in the War of the Ax where James WHEELER received injuries which later cost him his life.

 

60th-regiment-of-foot-1st-battalion-at-the-cape-1810Download

descendants-of-coenraad-johan-daught-or-dauth-1880-to-1895-dec-2023

 

The 1820 Settler Party which should not have left for the Cape Colony and the man who was mistakenly allowed to lead the Party

the-1820-settler-party-which-should-not-have-left-for-the-cape-colony-and-the-man-who-was-mistakenly-allowed-to-lead-the-party-1Download

Smithfield Orange Free State and its history

CALVERLEY 1820 BRITISH SETTLERS

William CALVERLEY (1785-1843)

1820 Settlers William CALVERLEY, aged 35 (Labourer) and Jane aged 28, arrived on 13 January 1820 on board “The John” as part of the Stanley’s party.

They were accompanied by their children William (14), Richard (9), James (5) and Eliza (2). On the same ship a Thomas CALVERLEY (18) also arrived.

Descendants of William CALVERLEY and Jane STUART

WHEELER 1820 BRITISH SETTLERS

James WHEELER (1781-1831)

1820 British Settler. Arrived with his wife, Harriott Elizabeth (35) and four children, Martha (13), Ann (11) Harriet (8) and Richard James (2),  in Port Elizabeth on 3 April 1820 on board La Belle Alliance from Gravesend (Downs) England on 12 February 1820.

Part of Willson’s Party. According to “The Journals of Sophia Pigot”, the ship sailed on 14th. Master of the ship was Rolfe.

Occupation: Farmer.
Drew up will while resident on Beaufort Vale, Districk Albany, Cape on 2 December 1829.

Died due to wounds obtained in one of the Wars with the Xhosas. The date of his demise as well as the place of burial is unknown.

Allotments in Beaufort Vale, one which he acquired from Benjamin Hall, transferred to his sons Richard, Peter and James 29/07/1847.

Harriott Elizabeth PEPPER (1784-1851)

Harriott had three more children with James, namely Elizabeth (1822), Peter (1825) and James (1828).

Second marriage to William Jessamine on Monday 26 March 1832 in the United Church of England, Bathurst, by Rev. George Porter. From this marriage one more child, Isabella Jessamine, christened June 1833, at St George’s Cathedral, Grahamstown, by Rev J Heavyside from Allensrow, Grahamstown, was born.

Aged 70 yrs at death

Grahamstown Journal, Saturday 2 August 1851: Died at the residence of her daughter at Graham’s Town on 24th July, Harriet JESSEMAN, aged 70 years. Burial source St Georges Anglican Church Grahamstown 25 Jul 1851 by Rev John Heavyside.

Descendants of James WHEELER and Harriott PEPPER

WHEELER (Middelburg Transvaal) family

Thomas WHEELER (1818-1889)

Thomas WHEELER and his wife, Sarah BAYLIS and their two children, William and James from Farrendon, Berkshire, England. Left England by ship 8 Nov 1845 for South Africa. Arrived on the SUSAN, Permit R542 on 27 Jan 1846.

We could not find any relationship between this family and the 1820 Settlers as no DNA test has as yet been done. We are, however in contact with descendants of Thomas and hope to verify this soon.

This family settled in the Middelburg district , Transvaal (now Mpumulanga). They were mostly farmers and were quite successful. We have now established that the last of the family farms have now been sold.

A lot more needs to be done on this family tree and we hope that one or more of the descendants will be inspired to assist.

Descendants of Thomas WHEELER and Sarah BAYLIS

INGRAM 1820 British Settlers

 

William Jonathan INGRAM (1801-1849)

Joiner by trade, brought to SA by Miles Bowker.
Address:Portsmouth on the Weymouth
Died between 1848-1849 during skirmishes with Kaffirs (Source Hockley HE Story of the British Settlers in SA)

This lineage is far from complete and more information is required.

Descendants of William Jonathan INGRAM and Ann WHEELER

HOMAN/DOMAN

Nicolaas Jacob DOMAN

Arrived in 1778 from Hamburg Germany. Was a Transport operator and from 1800 a farmer. This Dutch family married into the WHEELER family through Gertruida (Geertruyda) Jacoba (1830-?) who married Peter WHEELER 3 Dec 1848.

 

Descendants of Nicolaas Jacob DOMANN and Maria Susanna DU PLESSIS

GOWAR/GOWER 1820 British Settlers

 

Richard GOWER (1789-1824)

Richard GOWER (30), of Welsh descent, and his wife, Mary (28) arrived on the ship Nautilus with Mandy’s party from Sussex, accompanied by their three children, Edwin (7), Frederick (2) and Mary (1). Tradition says that Richard was the son of an Earl and that Mary was the daughter of a Duke. Although there are several titles in the GOWER family, Richard GOWER has left no evidence of his ancestry.

A rift between the brothers Edwin and Frederick caused the latter to spell his name GOWAR not GOWER. This spelling is to this day. For this reason all of the family is spelled as GOWAR in our research.

Frederick fought as a lad in Hintza’s War (SixthFrontier War)
After death of parents, Frederick who had just started school, left to work for a living. He married Elizabeth Wheeler and bought a farm in the Somerset Easr district “Klipfontein” on which he did quite well.

Descendants of Richard GOWAR and Mary Mathilda Harriet DIPLOCK

CURRY

Cpl. George CURRY (1825-1914)

Curry’s Post in KwaZulu-Natal is named after him.
Buried in churchyard cemetary, of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Curry’s Post. George Curry was an Anglican and offered the Diocese of Maritzburg a portion of “Thomasville”(viz. Sub A of Lot 65)for the site of a church. This gift was accepted by the Diocese’s Special Trust Board in Dec. 1882. Both Curry and his wife are buried in the churchyard at Curry’s Post.

He must not be confused with CURRIE.

Descendants of George CURRY and Mary LUND