Jane Watson Pritchard

Jane was born on 6 Feb 1863 at at York, New Hanover, Natal, and grew up at “Mount Elizabeth”, Frere, Natal. She was the first of nine children born to Matthew and Elizabeth (Lindsay) Porrill. She married John Pritchard who had a farm adjoining the Chievely Station between Frere and Colenso. It was a lovely fertile farm with a strong stone house, but after losing two children with typhoid Jayne refused to live in the house and they lived in a wooden and iron house over the national road nearer the railway line just a few yards from their beautiful home. She had three more children Jayne Watson (called Kitty) and a son Joseph Matthew. (I never knew him as I was told he had done something wrong and died in prison.)Kitty married James William Gatcliffe (Gattie). He was a deserter from the “Waratah”. He said he saw the rats leaving the ship and felt something bad was about to happen so decided to desert. The ship disappeared off the South African coast with no trace in 1909.They had no children. Mary Ann Elizabeth (Lizzie) married Albert Dann. They had three children: Patricia (Patsy) who married John Howe and they had a daughter Lynette who married Beian Hurt. Ivor Albert Dann who married Molly Pape and they had two children Gary Dann and Sharon Dann. Robert Edward Dann married Ann Fellowes they had three children Charles Dann, Robyn Dann and Beverley Dann.

We used to visit them quite often when we lived at Harwood with Granddad. He was very fond of his sister Jane. She was widowed and had a small shop at the station where she sold groceries to the locals. She had one eye as a cow poked her other eye out. She wore a black patch over the empty socket. She was very kind to us and always gave us a handful of sugar from the shop when we visited. I was about six in those days. The house was really run down and stank of wee. Kitty was an excitable giggly kind of person. When Jayne died we lost contact with them. Ivor and Robert were big boys at the Colenso Government School when we were in Class i and Std. 1. I have no idea what they did in life.