Catharina Elizabeth Ross, a2b3

From 'A concise history of Port Beaufort & White Sands (also known as Witsand) including Family Trees White Sands & Port Beaufort' written by John McGregor

WA Lidderdale Bequest

• Family History
• Mrs Lidderdale's family ties with the Cape can be traced back to a romance between her great grandfather, a young officer in the Scotch Brigade named Hamilton Ross, and a local girl, Catharina Elizabeth van den Berg, during the First British Occupation in 1798.
• A portrait of this young man is to be seen on the eighteenth century bureau bookcase in the morning room at Bertram House. Imagine his state of mind on learning that not only was his suit rejected by Catharina's father, but that she was intended as bride for the son of her hated new stepmother.
• Subsequent events were dramatic. Early in September 1798 Ross sailed for Madras on HMS Sceptre and was followed about a fortnight later by Catharina. The elopement was noted by Lady Anne Barnard in one of her letters to Henry Dundas, Secretary of War, dated 24 September 1798 in which Ross is described as "a young man of very good character". The couple were married at Fort St. George, Madras, in the following year and returned to the Cape in 1803 where Ross became a successful merchant and prominent citizen in his adopted country.
• Hamilton Ross made a valuable contribution to the economic, political and cultural life of the Colony through his activities as Sponsor of the Cape of Good Hope Bank and membership of the Legislative Council. He lived at his country estate, Sans Souci, in Newlands, and in January 1843 bought the Mount Nelson estate for his daughter Maria Johanna and her family.
• There is a charming water-colour of the Mount Nelson house and front garden painted by Maria, who received lessons from Thomas Bowler, in the entrance hall of Bertram House. Maria's first husband, Joseph Hodgson, died leaving her with four young children.
• She then married her cousin, John Ross. Their eighth child, Ellen Hamilton, born on the Mount Nelson estate was Mrs Lidderdale's mother. A small water-colour of Maria wearing a dark blue dress painted during her honeymoon can be seen on the amboyna bureau in the drawing room of Bertram House.
• The Mount Nelson estate, registered in Maria's name, provided ample accommodation for the Ross family; beautiful grounds, including a deer park, were vividly recalled by Mrs Lidderdale who spent many happy hours playing there as a child.