Alfred Charles Howard

Alfred Howard became the Post Master General (aka Minister of Posts and Telegraphs) of the Orange Free State Republic (OFSR) in about 1890. My grandmother, Vera Marguerite Howard, had her baptism in the Church of England Cathedral in Bloemfontein signed by President Marthinus Theunis Steyn [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinus_Theunis_Steyn], the last head of state of the OFSR.

Some History (posted October 2018)

Under Johannes Brand [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Brand] (who was knighted and became 'Sir Johannes Brand - no relation to the 1820 Settler English Brand family), the Orange Free State Republic had adhered strictly to a policy of neutrality and was viewed by the British as a friendly state. He died in 1888 and was succeeded by F.W. Reitz. Over the next 11 years, the OFSR gradually abandoned its policy of neutrality and became ever more intertwined diplomatically with the Transvaal Republic, as the discovery of diamonds and gold (1886 in the Transvaal) in both republics lead them to fear potential meddling by the British. Foreign born immigrants poured into the region in search of their fortunes, and the British government, at the prompting of people like Cecil John Rhodes and Barney Barnato, saw a huge financial opportunity. Various demands were made by the British eg that the republics adopt English as the official language, that the franchise be granted to 'uitlanders', which would of course mean they would potentially outnumber the Boers. The two republics (who had shown some ambivalence toward each other over the previous 20 years or so) rapidly aligned against the British threat.

In 1899 at the outbreak of hostilities, all 'uitlanders' were expelled from the OFSR, and this is how Alfred Charles Howard came to leave his cabinet post in the OFSR government, and with his family, head to Natal. My grandmother, Vera Marguerite Howard (1893-1965), who was about 6 or 7 at the time, and her mother, Ada Amelia Theresa Howard (1863-1930) recounted the story of their expulsion, and the burning of the family farm near Bloemfontein, to Eunice, Vera Howard's daughter from her first marriage.

The great tragedy about the Boer war [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War] was that it was a complete waste of time for all the parties concerned. The British lost about 23 000 combatants, while the Boers, despite being outnumbered 10 to 1, lost about 6000 men with about 24000 imprisoned. However, about 50 000 women, children and elderly Afrikaners died in British concentration camps. At one stage, there were over half a million British troops, logistics and support personnel in South Africa - it was the largest long range conflict in history up until that point and cost the Crown £202 billion (2010 value, adjusted for inflation - actual cost at the time £211 million). The war ended with the 'Peace of Vereeniging' in May 1902. Within 15 years, all of South Africa was peacefully united as the 'Union of South Africa', run primarily by Afrikaners who held political power until 1994 and the end of minority white rule. In the final analysis, the war may have brought the republics under British rule, but it could be successfully argued, it was very short-lived and actually brought all of South Africa under Afrikaner leadership for the subsequent century.

You can read a bit more here about the OFSR [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Free_State]

Alfred Charles Howard settled in Durban (Stamford Hill Area I understand) and died in 1919 and is buried there.

Andrew C. Russell October 2018