Have you ever been a little curious about your family history?
To celebrate Genealogy Day in March, we asked readers if they had ever researched their family. Ex-Dundee resident, Neil Bloy answered the call and provided this fascinating insight into his family which has deep roots within the Dundee area and NKZN District.
“My mother, Agnes Elizabeth Douglas (1913 – 2004), was born in Dundee. Her parents were Arthur Douglas (1880 – 1947) and Agnes Susan Douglas, b Cunningham (1882 – 1948).”
Arthur Douglas
Arthur was born in Pietermaritzburg, and came to Dundee as a young man. He was a builder (bricklayer) and before coming to Dundee had worked on the building of the Pietermaritzburg City Hall (reputed to be the largest all-brick building in the Southern Hemisphere). He came to Dundee to join his brother, Chris, who was already based here. Chris Douglas (1879 – 1917) was a plumber. He married Agnes’ younger sister, Georgina Mary (Dolly) Cunningham (1884 – 1971). While Agnes was born at Hlungwane (near Vant’s Drift), Dolly was the first white baby born in Dundee. Arthur and Agnes had two children. Richard Arthur (‘Dick’ – 1911 – 1963) and Neil’s mother. Arthur worked as a builder for Johnston & Keith in Dundee and there are still a number of buildings in Dundee that he built. One of them is his own home at 51 Union Street. Another of his buildings is what is now known as ‘The Mews’ – originally this was F W Williams’ Bakery. Further afield, Arthur built what is reputed to be the smallest church in the Southern Hemisphere at Van Reenen.
This church was built for Mr Maynard Mathew in memory of his son, Llandaff, who was killed in a mining accident at Burnside. Maynard Mathew had previously been the Resident Magistrate in Dundee and had admired the work done by Arthur Douglas immensely, so that when he wanted the church built, he engaged Johnston & Keith, on condition that the builder they used was to be Arthur Douglas.
Agnes Susan
Agnes Susan was the daughter of Tom Cunningham (1856 – 1938) and his wife, Elizabeth Sarah Robson (1851 – 1939). Tom Cunningham came from Kent, in England and had come out to Natal to his brother James, who was then in Newcastle. James had come to Natal in 1863 to join the newly-formed Natal Mounted Police, but was a hotel-keeper in Newcastle when Tom came out in 1873. Tom was the second person to sign up with the Newcastle Mounted Rifles in 1878, and was with Lord Chelmsford’s forces when they crossed the Buffalo River on January 9, 1879. His memoirs on the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 are recorded at the Killie Campbell Museum. He was out reconnoitering at the time of the Battle at Isandlwana, but was one of the first people to get back to the camp after the massacre. They spent the night in the camp, amongst the dead and dying, and some of his memoirs do not make pretty reading.
The following morning, he was with the party that relieved Rorke’s Drift, where they were again met by sights far from pretty. Thereafter he was in engaged in duties along the Buffalo River, guarding the border between Natal and Zululand. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Elizabeth Sarah Robson. Elizabeth’s father was Captain John Sutcliffe Robson (1821 – 1896) who was then in charge of Fort Pine (not very far from Dundee) with the Buffalo Border Guard, of which he was the Officer Commanding. Tom Cunningham later farmed at Springfield, just outside Dundee and then was a wagon maker at the blacksmith shop on the corner of Beaconsfield Street and Karel Landman Street (which was then Station Road).
Tom and Elizabeth Cunningham married in October 1880 at Robson’s farm, Hlungwane, on the Buffalo River, just upstream of Vant’s Drift. Their first two children (Elizabeth Frances (Cissie) and Agnes Susan) were born at Hlungwane, but all their other children were born in Dundee, with their third daughter, Dolly, being the first white child born in Dundee.
GALLERY:
John Sutcliffe Robson
John Sutcliffe Robson came from London, where he was apparently a medical student. He married Elizabeth Nicholas on Boxing Day, 1849. He and Elizabeth left for Natal on January 9, 1850 on board the ‘Edward’. Their eldest son, John William, was born on board the Edward on March 26, 1850. John William was killed while serving with the Buffalo Border Guard on August 6, 1879. He was married with two young children at the time. John Sutcliffe Robson was also quite a prominent member of the Northern Natal community. He was a Justice of the Peace (JP) and was involved in the building of the first English-language church in the area, the Coalburn United Church at Coalfields (Talana). Although not a qualified doctor, he was often consulted by the community on matters medical, and was sometimes referred to as ‘Dr Robson’.
Neil’s great grandmother, Elizabeth Sarah was born at Bloukrans (near Weenen) where her parents were for a few years before JS Robson bought the farm Hlungwane on the Buffalo River. “My father, Leslie Bloy, used to say that when he first came to Dundee in the 1930s, one had to be very careful about what one said about the Douglas / Cunningham / Robson family, as half the town was related to them! But I think there are very few, if any, left in the 2020s,” Neil said.
Do you have any family history tales you’d like to share? Send us an email at byronp@dbn.caxton.co.za. We’d love to hear from you.
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