Looking for family of Johan Lewis Coetzee

Question

Ancestors are possibly immigrants who settled in the Cape. My father-in-law relocated from Queenstown to Vryheid (Natal) approximately in the 1970's where he worked for the then South African Railways. My mother-in-law was Anna Dawn (born Coetzer). My husband, Johan Lewis was born in Vryheid. His siblings are Francois (born approximately 1953 - Queenstown?) and Philippa (born approximately 1958 -deceased 2012).

Answer 1

If we are to find this Johan Lewis Coetzee then we will need a date of birth or death. And was he black or white?  Is Anna Dawn Coetzer still alive? Census records only goes to 1940. In order to find the right one we will need a date of birth  or a date of death.  And if you know the name of Johan Lewis Coetzee's father would be better. I am not sure if we can find any information about him working for the South African Railways, cause sometimes they may keep names of former workers and then again they may not.  In doing genealogy we can always most of the time locate dead people, not living, so I am assuming your husband is still alive but there is no birth date on him.  Do you know when Anna Dawn died or is she still alive? I would love to help but I am not sure if I can locate the right one with just a name. If you have other information then please I would love to help. Nancy

Comments

Hi Nancy, thank you for your response.

My father-in-law; Johan Lewis Coetzee; is still alive and residing in Newcastle, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. He was a carpenter on the railway, but I also know that he was involved with some of the bridges built in the former Natal and Transvaal. My mother-in-law; Anna Dawn (born Coetzer); died approximately October 2015 in Newcastle. They both came from Queenstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa, but resided in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga and Vryheid, Kwazulu-Natal as well. Their eldest son, Francois and daughter Philippa, was born in the Cape. I don't know what my in-law's parents names were, and where they originated from, only that their ancestors came from France to the Cape. My husband, also named Johan Lewis, died on 21 January 2016 in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga, South Africa. We were seperated for quite some time.

Regards,
Corne