MILLERS IN SOUTH AFRICA
I have two hand drawn family trees that show Millers in our ancestry. My father drew up the more comprehensive tree and I refer to it frequently. The other focuses on the Miller family from the 18th until the 20th centuries. I pick out key points.
William 1780 - 1856 / John 1790 - 1839 / Jonathan were sons of a Miller family thought to be of Wanbourough near Swindon. William was accompanied by his wife Eliabeth. William and John emmigrated to South Africa arriving in Algoa Bay on the S.S.Brilliant on the 15th May 1820. William is noted as "Rev" on my family tree, but not on the 1820 Settler website list. (See https://www.1820settlers.com/).
They were part of the "1820 Settlers" contingents.
There were 28 ships. (One of which was wrecked, but with several survivors).
To learn more about the reasons for this you need to understand the situation in this area at the time. A link is provided under WEB LINKS SOUTH AFRICA, but below is an extract.
Lord Charles Somerset is appointed Governor of the Cape Colony in 1814. Somerset begins to write letters home to Lord Bathurst especially with regards to the Eastern Cape predicament. However, the British Government was not prepared at this stage to give more finance to increase the army presence in the area and the army on the other hand could not cope with the hostilities which were occurring almost daily. Somerset begins to lobby for more people to be sent out to the Cape and to be settled in the Eastern Cape in particular. He puts forward an idea of an immigration scheme and others in the meantime are also writing letters to influential men in England. With the onset of the Fifth Frontier War in 1818, the British Government eventually decides to take some action and appoints a Committee to investigate the feasibility of Somerset’s proposal. ... the British Government decides to go ahead with the scheme and on the 12th July 1819 £50,000 was voted for the Cape Emigration Scheme.
Motivations by the government were (again from that source) : to settle the disputed eastern frontier of the Cape of Good Hope with an agrarian farming community whose presence would discourage Xhosa pastoralists and cattle raiders from crossing the colonial boundary; to increase the English-speaking community in their new Colony; ease political tensions in Britain that had been stretched to breaking point with post-war unemployment, industrialisation and poor trade.
While the opportunity to set up afresh in a new land must have appeared attractive at the time, this was only the beginning of very long trips by sailing ships. When they reached the bleak coastline of Algoa Bay they then had to be rowed ashore through the breakers to the beach. And then make do with tented accomodation. Then it was a long journey in ox wagons provided by Boers already in the area or on horseback or even on foot to Albany. This simply meant a district in what was still a very wild part of Africa with dangerous wildlife. None of them had experience of anything like this before.
This illustration from a book shows rowing boats ferrying settlers from the sailing ships to the shore. The terrain beyond is a bit fanciful, but I think that is meant to be Baakens Valley and what later to be known as Port Elizabeth. At the time most occupants were Boers.
And yet this was still only the begining. Cattled were bought from the Boers and farms started in virgin bushveld. Crops failed and had to be tried again. Homes had to be built. And towns started. Bathurst was to give way to Grahamstown in prominence.
John Miller
While it was his brother William who is recorded as being a minister at the time of settling there, it is John that is known to have assisted in establishing the Baptist Church at Grahamstown. My family tree notes him as being in the Gask party on the Brilliant, but the website does not mention that name, noting instead the names of Moodie or Sephton (TBC)
It is John too that is our ancestor. To cut a long story short, a descendent of his, Ida (1881 - 1930), married A.W.Newman and they had they had Angus, Fred, George, Maud, Thomas and Nellie. Maud was to marry Alexander Watson. They were my paternal grandparents.
Why did they leave Britain for such a harsh environment?
There would have been many factors. One is the discrepencies in social classes which limited advancement. Another is industrialisation. For many this meant dire working conditions IF you could get a job. And the resultant poor urban environments. And in the countryside "Improvements" to farms meant a more industrial approach to farmland and sqeezing off of much of the population - who then headed for the towns. "The Clearances" are better known from the Highlands of Scotland, but similar events were felt across Britain. Some headed for the Americas or British colonies. This part of South Africa was sponsored by the Government's poltical motives, but must have appeared as comparatively attractive of thousands, some of which were our ancestors.
The 1820 Settlers
Much more about the 1820 Settlers can be found on their website. This link takes you to details of the ship and party relevant to our Miller family in the Sephton party (TBC) on SS Brilliant. https://www.1820settlers.com/genealogy/settlershowparty.php?party=Sephton
SS Brilliant About 400 tons
Departed from London on the 15th February 1820
Made landfall at Simon's Bay on the 30th April 1820 and then Algoa Bay, on the 15th May 1820.
There were 144 passengers in parties were designated as Erith, Moodie, Pringle and Sephton.
The region at this time.
It is well worth considering the region at the time of the 1820 Settlers and through the ensuing years. Where these settlers set up home was barren bushveld which they had to tame. It was essentially in the Grahamstown and Bathurst districts although some other districts were also settled.
Over a few years the territory was extended. in the 1850s British German Leggionaires were settled inland from East London, in essence as a buffer between the British settlers and the indigenous tribes migrating from the north east.
The Province of Queen Adelaide was short lived and gave way to a larger district called British Kaffaria. For more on this see https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/british-kaffraria
By the time our immediate ancestors were settled the area was fairly stable, East London more established and the coastal cluster of Kwelegha looking more like a village.
A family bible
I have a large family bible dated 1861. Unfortunately there is no indication of quite which family it belonged to, but it does have a few of the front pages inscribed by hand with family births, marriages and deaths. These are predominantly those of the Millers, but Dennisons and Jenkinsons to which they are in turn related are also allocated space. Where unclear I have tried to confirm names using Norma van As's book, A Small World – pages 116 to 125. There are some brief, but fascinating descriptions of their lives. What looks like “Graham's Louw” is taken to be Graham's Town which is now Grahamstown. What appears to read as “Lkareigha” seems to be Kwelegha, up the coast from East London. The script so often forms letters in two separate parts. I have interpreted King Williams Town in a similar way. This is marginally clearer later on the page and is what I have transcribed. Note that these records are by an ancestor doing genealogy. They are of great value being from a family member, but details need to be verified.
Joseph Miller married to Emily Frances Miller at Baviaan's River, January 19th 1859 –
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Alice Mary Miller, born Novr 23rd 1859 at Graham's Town
Ida Emily Miller, born March 15th 1861 at “Kwelegha”
Donald John, at Graham's Town, August 17th 1862. Died at “Kwelegha” British Kaffraria Nov. 19th. 1863.
Lilian Elizabeth at “Kwelegha” Oct 31st. 1863.
Ella Evelyn, at Graham's Town, July28th 1865
Clifford George Miller, at “Kwelegha”, Aug 19th 1867.
Roland Henry, at “Kwelegha”, Novr 2nd 1868.
Colin at “Kwelegha”Aug 25th 1870. Died Septr. 10Th 1870 at “Kwelegha”.
Jessie Sarah at King Wm's Town, Aug 15th 1871. Died Novr 21st 1871.
. Amy Florence, King Wm's Town, July 23rd 1873.
Harry William, King Wm's Town, January 23rd 1875.
Alec Hugh, King Wm's Town, February 17th 1878. Alec Hugh Miller died of Enteric Fever at Sterkstroom Cape Colony, while on Active Service on January 17th 1900 -
Lilian Elizabeth Married to J(ames) Mason Jones of Kimberley. Died there on the 23rd of August 1900 of Bronchial Asthma causing heart failure.
Joseph Miller died at East London 25th Aug. 1905.
Emily Frances Miller died at Kimberley 15th Nov. 1906 (buried at East London)
Dennison Family
Sergt George Dennison of the 35th Regt. Married to Hannah E. Purcel (born Limerick Ireland, dec 23rd 1792) on the 27th April 1812.
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Children of the above
Ann, born May 9th 1813
George Dec 16th 1814
Henry Jan 29th 1817
Charlotte Sept 30th 1819
Elizabeth Dec 14th 1825
William Jan 29th 1827
Sarah Sept 1st 1828
Richard Aug 28th 1830
Died
George Dennison (?) 1850
Ann – {also Hannah Dennison at Morokos Town, Thaba 'Nchu
Charles “
George at G Town Sept 15th 1861
Henry at Beaconsfield July 21st 1885
Charlotte at Salem, Albany, April 14th 1894
Elizabeth at Queens Town 1893
Richard at Grahamstown 1911
Jenkinson Family
George Jenkinson born Sept 2nd 1788
Sarah Jenkinson, wife of above born Dec 11th 1787
Children of above
Hannah, born in England Octo 31st 1808 -
John “ birth place not known Augst 28th 1818
George “ June 3rd 1821
Matilda “ April 15th 1825
Joseph “ “ Feb 15th 1828
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Miller Family
John Miller, born Wiltshire England Augst 1st 1790, Came out with the Settlers, 1820. Married Hannah Jenkinson at Grahams Town Sept 1st 1825.
Children of above
John born Novr 1st 1926
Hannah March 21st 1828
Sarah Sept 5th 1829
William Sept 18th 1832
Joseph April 19th 1834
Eliza Feb 12th 1837
To these has been added vertically :
Eliza died at G. T. 13.9.10
Died at Grahams Town
John Miller Senr Aug 1839 aged 48 Years
John Miller Junr May 7th 1872 at Tarkastad
Hannah May 18th – 1878 at East London
Hannah Miller Senr, Dec 24th 1895 at Grahams married to Town
Joseph Miller August 25th 1905 at East London
William Miller at Burgersdorp
Sarah Kidwell died at Benoni T. V. 1. 11.09.
Alice Mary Miller Wm Jones of P Elizabeth at King Williams Town on Feb 28th – 1878 -
William Jones died at Kimberley on 5th Novbr 1909
Ida Emily Miller Married at Woodlands E London to Angus W Newman on 15th May 1882
Angus W. Newman died at EastLondon on th June 1912.
Lilian Elizabeth Miller Married in East London to J M Jones of Kimberley on the 14th of August 1888.
Harry Wm Miller Married in East London to Amanda L Hains on the 14th of Feb 1898
Clifford George Miller Married in East London to Alice Jackson on the 20th of June 1899
Ella Evelyn Miller Married in East London to J. M. Jones of Kimberley on the 31st July 1902
Roland Henry Miller married in Durban Hickman on 17th March 1905.
I have highlighted those significant to my family tree in bold.
This is also covered in some detail under MILLER GENEALOGY.
