Catherine Townsend (Smith) - Where did she die?

Started by Mr David Alan Townsend on Wednesday, March 3, 2021
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In an old bible the Bayman family let me see a Catherine Connor (O'Çonnor?) is listed. She may have immigrated to South Africa with William Richard Townsend and Caroline Townsend.She must have remarried in UK.

This is an interesting one. The death notice of a Catherine Townshend
is recorded in 1887, given the miss spelling one would assume it is our Catherine. However, looking at the magistrates list of probates, Catherine TownsHend appears in a list of other TownsHends, none of which appear to apply to this branch of Townsend? Were families recorded together?

Looking again at birth records I came across the following:
Catharine Elizabeth Smith
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975

Name:
Catharine Elizabeth Smith
Event Type:
Christening
Event Date:
2 Jul 1826
Event Place:
Patrington, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Event Place (Original):
Patrington, York, England
Sex:
Female
Father's Name:
Christopher Smith
Mother's Name:
Catharine

We know her father was Christopher Smith as it appears on the marriage certificate. Their first child was called Elizabeth.
We know the Smart family hails from Ashton under Lyne but this is not necessarily the case for our Catherine.
At present I have not been able to locate any marriage records of a Catherine Townsend in South Africa to an O'Connor or Connor>
Would they have been wealthy enough to employ a nanny or maid?

It is a mystery. A friend surname O'Çonnor who I know through Orchids and is a member of the Genealogy Society here picked her name up and asked me if I was related. Given the Irish background maybe she is recorded as just Connor. As far as I know she died in Kimberley.I dont think she married in South Africa. Richard Smart may have had some money from diamonds he dug up. He used the money from the sale of diamonds to bring William Richard Townsend and Caroline Townsend and their family to Kimberley. Whether he still had more I cannot say. I have not seen where Richard Smart died. His will and estate (if there was anything in it) will be in the National Archives in Cape Town. I do have the feeling that Catherine Connor (OÇonnor) is Richard Smarts mother.

Richard Smart was buried at Niekerksvlei Northern Cape in 1897, according to fellow researcher. I couldn't find it on the map but I did find Niekerkshoop?! His parents were Samuel and Mary Smart.
I'll keep digging!

@ William Richard Townsend Thanks. I have a photo of a painting that was given to me that came from Eleanor Bayman. She told my dad it was William Richard Townsend. I would say he was probably about 60 in the painting. May I email you to put it up. It came out sideways and I dont have the software to correct it. Also pictures that I am sure you have of our grandparents and their offspring.

Richard Smart was probably still trying to find diamonds. Was Niekerkshoop near the Orange River? They needed water for alluvial diamonds. I feel sorry for him as Caroline would have passed on by 1897.

Niekerkshoop is close to the Orange River. No doubt Smart was looking for the stones. It is not far from Upington where our grandad Robert Harry was stationed for a short while when going to fight the Germans in German West Afrika in WW1. He always felt swindled because he told they would be mounted and then they told him after enlisting that due to the water shortage, no horses and only 1 water bottle a day. He survived but did not like the army as they could not keep their word!.

HI Alan
Yes please email photo and I will post online. My home email is mhgorae@gmail.com.
Yes I have kind of got the picture of a lonely older man.
I have been told that Caroline his wife returned to England and had a 'partner' the result was James Palin Smart. Whether Palin was the surname of his biological father I am not sure. another avenue to explore.

Marian.

Marian she was quite the looker. A picture I have of her is in Gorton which is part of Manchester. Richard Smart must have had a tough life as a soldier. They spent many years in Pietermaritzburg at the well known Fort that is now a mental institution. The Anglican records in PMBG show a number of children. I have no idea of where they went or what they did. Soldiers do have a bad record of hitting the bottle so I hope that did not happen.

I have not seen that photo but I believe she had red hair? There are quite a few Census records, I;ll post them, we'll get a clearer picture of their life. They certainly had it tough those days.

In kimberley the "Diamond Barons" had magnificent homes. I have seen two of these. One is John Orr House. Just like the houses the Southern USA had in slave times. I have also seen the home where my one boss lived as a child. Harry Oppenheimer. It was his fathers who became Sir Ernest Oppenheimer. Kimberley was besieged by the Boers and there were artillery attacks on it. The women and children often spent time in the mine. Cecil Rhodes headed the column that entered Kimberley to free it. One reason I do not believe he was Gay. Its a rather dingy town these days, dusty and run down (we cannot expect anything different). What they did have to attract tourist - an refurbished village - I cannot attest to as worth looking at now but was interesting when Beth and I were there in 1980's.Wooden and corrugated iron houses.Most miners hit the bottle when they found a diamond. It is like a disease - always trying to find the stone in the next swirl of the pan or the next pick .

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