Matthew Porrill

Matthew was born in or near the village of Wass in the parish of Kilburn in the North Yorkshire Moors in 1826 and he was baptised at St Mary's Church, Kilburn. His mother was Ann Porrill and it is thought that his father may have been Joseph Porritt, but this is not certain and it is also not known whether he had any siblings. Famiiy legend spoke of a female sibling that who disappeared one night when she went out to buy milk and that it was commonplace for people to people to disappear mysteriously. It is quite possible that the person who disappeared was another relative and may even have been a story which was told to explain what brought Matthew to the decision to leave England..

We have no record of what happened to Matthew's mother, Ann and we presume that she may have died or remained in the care of relatives after Matthew's departure. The absence of any stories about what life was like in England before Africa suggests that he wanted to leave it behind. A man named Henry Boast was promoting a collaborative migration to the Colony of Natal, which had recently been acquired by Britain, and Matthew decided to join this group. WIlliam Lund, one of the leaders if the group had bought 3,606 acres near Greytown in the Natal midlands and, under the scheme, planned to transfer lots settlers as and when they were in a position to take them up. The land was the farm Mieliehoogte (trans. Maize / Corn Heights) and the settlement was named York (although it no longer exists).

Boast chartered a ship named the Pallas to transport the passengers from Hull, but shortly before the voyage was about to commence, the it was deemed unseaworthy and all the passengers to find accommodation in Hull until a new ship could be chartered. As all the passengers had paid Boast for their share of the charter, a legal dispute arose over who should be required to pay for the accommodation of the passengers. It is said that the issue went to court and the judge ruled that Boast should have to pay for the accommodation, which caused him great distress as it is possible that he was not intending to profit the other migrants and paying for this cost may have severely depleted his capital. Records suggest that he fell ill and died as a result of this event.

An alternative ship was then chartered called the Haidee and it left Hull on 7 July 1850 and arrived in Port Natal (now known as Durban) on 7 October 1850. See online reference for details of the other passengers n the ship.

Mount Elizabeth To be continued....

Civil Registrations(Deaths)-26 Nov 1893,Mount Elizabeth,District of Weenen.Matthew Porrill,male,age 67 years,Farmer.Cause of Death:Cancer of the liver.Informant:F Porrill-son of deceased(Gevonden,Klipriver)on 29 Nov 1893.Entry No 15 Image 739 of 832 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C91W-LKVZ?i=738)