Ian McArthur
Honor Code SignatorySigned 26 Feb 2015 | 164,183 contributions | 3,472 thank-yous | 4,159 connections
Ian McArthur was born at the Durban Mothers' Home on 30 Oct 1933. (I only found this out many years later when my Dad happened to mention it as we came away from the horse races at Greyville Race Course, which is nearby.) At the time the family were living at Ranch's Hotel in Greyville, of which my grandfather (James) was the lessee. The hotel had no grounds, so I led a mainly indoor existence, until (aged 4) I went to my first school, Miss Macalpine's Kindergarten . My sister Sheila (b.1932) was already a pupil there. We used to catch a tram outside the hotel and go a little way up the line towards Mitchell Park. After I think two years there, I went to Clifton, further up the same road, but was taken out soon afterwards to go to Kloof Primary School. Grandpa had bought a house at Field's Hill, and I used to walk to school with the gardener and our dog Tiger. During this period our mother's health deteriorated. After a year there, I went to Highbury Preparatory School as a boarder (aged 7) (1940-5). In 1944 our mother died, and this was a great blow to us. From 1946-9 I was at Hilton College as a boarder (there was only 1 day pupil, the son of the farm manager and 309 boarders). From 1950-3 I studied Science at the University of Natal in Durban, ending with a BSc Hons. This was followed by a less successful year in Pietermaritzburg. My first job was with African Explosives at Umbogintwini, as a Statistician. I came up against some abrasive people there, and left. As a result of a chance meeting with John Saunders, I went back to Highbury as a teacher, living at the school. After some years there I moved to Hilton College, but didn't settle there. In 1957 I went to the Rhokana Corporation in what was then Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) as an industrial chemist. I worked mainly at the Cobalt Plant, doing shift work. (Freudian slip - I typed 'shit work' originally). Next (and last) job was at the University of Cape Town, starting in Mathematics and ending in Applied Mathematics, lecturing mainly to Engineering students. I retired in 1993. From 1964 to 1988 I was married to Maureen Sugden. We started our life together in London, then bought a house in an unfashionable suburb of Cape Town, Ottery. Later we were able to move to Mowbray, where we bought a large house in need of a considerable amount of restoration. During this period I had qualified for my Private Pilot's licence, and we did several trips to Durban and Rhodesia in a hired light aircraft. Morgan (Maureen) did a lot of riding, latterly with her own Anglo-Arab. After my divorce I had a relationship with Etain Clarke, a widow with two small children, Liam and Bryony. When this came to an end in 1995, I moved to Hillcrest, where i bought a house with a large garden. After many break-ins I moved to a town-house in a complex in Gillitts. I was doing volunteeer work for the SPCA at their bookshop in Kloof. I took up stamp-collecting. In 2007 I formed a relationship with Sallie James, whom I had known for many years at our book club. We went on a trip to Italy and the UK. We were married in July 2008, and spent three months in Poitou-Charente in France. After returning to South Africa we decided to move to France. We bought a town house in Gourdon in the Lot Department, where we are now living.
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I have sent you a private message regarding Elizabeth Johnna Constance Durand.
Kind regards
Junita Priscilla van Rensburg (born Montgomery)
Once again Ian, thank you for yet another addition to the tree...you created the profile for Thomas Horn...much appreciated!. Kind Regards. Graham Smith.
I am Beryl Smith, my grandfather, Leonard William Bates built and owned the Greenbushes Hotel in Port Elizabeth. My mother, Joan Yvonne Maud Bates was raised in PE. I was interested to see that you had edited my great-grandmother's profile. She was Kate Violet Browne (born Shingler). She had a daughter, Shelagh Alice Perks who was my grandmother. Shelagh married Leonard Bates in PE. Do you perhaps have any info on my great-grandmother, Kate Violet Browne as her trail has run cold. I have no information on who her parents were.
Thanks for the message. All I have been able to find out (from myheritage - of which I am not a paying member) is that her parents are thought to be James Browne and Anne Rushton. The records in Ireland are not easy to trace: I have tried but with no success. She died in Durban in 1960, so her Death Notice should be on file, but I have been unable to find it. Best wishes Ian McArthur
Enjoy your weekend
How about this for John Horsley brother of Robert, who we previously checked together? Family in 1841 In 1841 John and Ann Horsley have three children in South St Kilham <ref> 1841 Census John Horsley 30+, wife Ann 25+, Mary 5, Ann 3, William 0 all born Yorkshire @@ Kilham South St: HO 107 1214 /19/36 </ref> Research Emigration? Not one of this family of five people can be found in a careful search of the English censuses of 1851 and 1861. The most likely cause is their emigration and we know (Thanks toIan McArthur) that John's brother Robert later emigrated to South Africa surely making this the most likely destination.
How do I merge Foxcroft-218 and Foxcroft - 417. When I was adding in my grandfathers mother’s name, wikitree did not pick up that it already existed. May have been because of the different surnames as she was married three times. If it is possible to assist with this?
Regards Sally
Someone has already done the merge. The procedure is: I f you think that two profiles refer to the same person, get the ID nos. of both and go to the profile of the higher number. Scroll down until you get to 'initiate a merge'. Click. The system will then prompt you to enter the ID no. of the lower number. Enter, then click on 'compare'. Check the relevant facts. If they do refer to the same person, click on 'merge'. The managers of the two profiles will then be notified, and one of them will do the merge. If you are doing a merge, the system will prompt you to enter which of the data items you prefer to be entered into the merged profile. The Notes section often needs to be edited - either during the merge or afterwards. Best wishes, Ian
Donald Spyron Maclachlan (born 21-12-1914 in Stutterheim) (married to Mary Hope (Tarr) Maclachlan) is my Grandfather. Please add me to your trusted list so I can add him to my tree. Thank you. Regards Sally Maclachlan
A word of thanks for your effort in creating the John Nicholls profile and information, this is one part of solving a 105 year old mystery... we really appreciate it!!. Our family connection to Nicholls-3106 is confirmed by FTDNA with a 37/37 match...now to locate the other South African connections!!. Regards, Graham Smith.
I sent you a private message a couple of days ago. Can you let me know if you've received it? Thanks!
Looking forward to working with you on those profiles,
Vicky Majewski ~ WikiTree Mentor
An online family tree is not considered to be a reliable source for pre-1700 profiles. These are some pages that might be helpful in explaining it further, could you please check them out?
I came across your profile for Elizabeth Gurling:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gurling-6
You provided just a link to a FamilySearch profile as a source. This is just a reminder that pre-1700 profiles should never be created with only a link to an unsourced tree as the source (in this case, Elizabeth's profile on FamilySearch has no attached sources, nor does her husband James). Is there a more reliable source for this couple?
Barry Smith
It took me a long time to finally get Anna Catharina Botha sorted. There are in fact three of them. I managed to find supporting documents to prove my discovery. I am putting my findings in table form for you, hoping it will make it understandable. I hope you now will also have peace, because it kept nagging me until I had finally solved the problem. There are of course a lot more Anna Catharina Bothas, but these three were the ones who bothered us.
Please send me your email address, as I have put the info in a table and this post does not cater for tables.
Kind regards Rosalie
Also - you and I have a connection - I was also born at Mother's Hospital in Durban, but you were already 15 years old, so we didn't meet!
Thanks for the messages. I have added to Algernon's profile and created profiles for some of your antecedents. I think that, seeing John Edward White was b. in Ireland it is unlikely that he has any connection to Gilbert White's family. I think that it is unlikely that anyone would have made a six-month round trip from England to Australia to sort out Algernon's affairs, seeing that he had only been there a few weeks. The Courts would have appointed an Executor. I haven't been able to trace your mother. What was your father's surname? Best wishes Ian
Have also noted that you have contributed a great deal to WikiTree and wondered if you have an association with the Morgan family from the Eastern Cape as you've entered information of them . Kind Regards, Ron Morgan (Monty M at Hilton)
Sorry I haven't got back to you - I haven't been reading the comments on my profile. There are few people around now who remember Percy Bould at Hilton, but I often think of him. In particular: One day, during the many practices for the forthcoming Gym Show, Bould stopped the band: "Sorry Mr Pester (the Drum-major at the time) - but there's someone messing up this show! I'm not going to mention any names... but it's that John over there!" The late Johnny Ablett-Morgan's wife Carol is my wife's sister, Sallie. Send me an e-mail if you wish to correspond further Best wishes Ian
Regarding the merge of David William Cawood, (Cawood-218 and Cawood-313),I think that it may have been a mistake. According to 1820settlers.com there was a David William Cawood b. 30 Dec 1836 d. 9 Jan 1837, ie died in infancy, and his brother David William Cawood b. 17 Dec 1837 d. 29 Jul 1884, who was named after him. Same father, same mother, Roland Morgan