Ignatius Philip Ferreira

Colonel Ignatius Phillip Ferreira (1840-1921) (see Wikipedia) was a speculator in the diamond rush in Kimberley, the gold rush at Pilgrim's Rest and finally the Witwatersrand. In October 1896 he struck gold and formed the Ferreira Gold Mining Company as well as the miner's camp known as Ferreira's Camp which later became Ferreirasdorp. He eventually lost his share, the mine was abandoned and then forgotten.

One of the abandoned mines of the Ferreira Gold Mining Company was discovered in the mid-1980s. The old stope can still be seen at the Standard Bank corporate head offices in nearby Marshalltown.

Who was Ignatius Philip Ferreira and why was the old tented town called “Ferreira’s Camp”? The founding father of the Ferreira clan was literally washed up in Table Bay in June 1722 when his ship the “Chandos” was wrecked in a gale. A hundred and eighteen years later a descendant of his was born in the frontier region of the Eastern Cape. Ignatius Philip Ferreira spent his formative years in Grahamstown where he was educated at the Weslyan Grammar School. As a young married farmer in the Adelaide district Ignatius Philip Ferreira served in the Frontier Armed and Mounted Police under the command of Sir Walter Currie, but when diamonds were discovered he began a new career as a prospector and staked several claims. The lure of gold drew him to Pilgrims Rest and Barberton and together with Henry Nourse he established the first postal service in the area. In 1875 he moved to Middelburg and was elected Veld Kornet in 1876 to command the Middelburg Volunteers during the Pedi Wars against Chief Sekhukhune. He also commanded “Ferreira’s Horse” against the British when they annexed the Transvaal Republic. However in 1879 he joined the British forces against Cetshwayo’s Zulu Army and was awarded the C.M.G. and promoted to the rank of Lieut. Colonel. The following year he was promoted to full Colonel after the Basuto War. In the Transvaal Republic he was the first OC of the Transvaal Mounted Police. Although the rich lode of the Witwatersrand lured the Colonel back to fossicking for riches, his ability to maintain law and order ensured that peace and stability was maintained within the mining camp on the farm Turffontein. This area soon became known as “Ferreira’s Camp”. Unfortunately a Boksburg mining magnate, Carl Hanau (possibly Karl Hanan), ousted Colonel Ignatius Philip Ferreira from co-ownership of the Ferreira Mining Company. The Colonel returned to his farming roots and moved to a farm near Louis Trichardt (Makhado). He died in 1921, a relatively poor man. It is tempting to wonder whether the early 1880’s popular ditty, “Vat jou goed en trek Ferreira”, was inspired by the Colonel, or by some other member of the Ferreira family.

• Updated from MyHeritage Match by SmartCopy: Oct 12 2014, 15:50:58 UTC

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Baptism https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-65QS-H3K?i=43&cc=1...

CDR https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C91P-HQ8?cc=299810...

b7c1d7 Ignatius Christiaan Stephanus Johannes FERREIRA = 19.11.1809 x Hendrika Isabella Johanna POHL * 30.9.1822 = Uitenhage 8.10.1822 e1 Ignatius Philip * Grahamstad 5.7.1840, soldaat en gouddelwer d. Kranspoort, Zoutpansberg 13.5.1921 x 14.12.1862 Baltrina ERASMUS (sien SABW III)

Amazing find: WB
https://johannesburg1912.com/2020/09/24/history-of-ferreiras-dorp-o...