CuZZin Hello!! Welcome to our Community

The CuZZin Community is a South African GENi user driven initiative to encourage productive collaboration with the aim of working for the "good of all" and providing links to our most important South African based projects. Please join us, read our letter introducing you to Geni and Introduce yourself here.

• Tip Click on the 'Follow' button in the top right hand corner of the page if you want to join our CuZZin Community.

What can you do here?

In this portal you will find sources and discussions that will help you with your Geni tree building and your research.

• Get advice and tips on how to use Geni, and how to start your own projects.
• Pose questions to Curators in the ATTENTION Curators, please assist Discussion, or, if you're not a PRO user, try the Please help complete my merge request Discussion to aid you with merging.
• In case you have a particular genealogical challenge, or if you have interesting information to share, simply start or take part in a Discussion from here (top right, 'Actions' drop down menu) / or private message with other SA Geni users to collaborate on your research & share knowledge you have gained from your research in a specific area.

Five Recommended Projects all GENi CuZZins should join:

1. CuZZin - FAQs / HELP

• Frequently Asked Questions and Help for Newbies and even some Oldies.
  • What is so special about GENi? / Is my family tree data safe on GENi? / Why does GENi have different fields to most other genealogy software?
  • What is the purpose of Curators?
  • Where can I learn more? / Where can I get help?

2. CuZZin - South African Profile Naming Conventions

• Naming Conventions for Profile Management on the South African branch of the "World Family Tree" (WFT). We endorse standard GENi data entry Conventions.

3. CuZZin - Genealogical Reference Centre

• Resources & records available for Genealogical Research
• Explanation of South African name and numbering customs.

4. CuZZin - Project Index

• Loads more recommended projects that will enrich your GENi experience. One of Geni's most unique features is the capacity to cluster profiles into projects that make stories - and we encourage everyone to collaborate on our Project Index, and make projects in areas that interest you too.
  • Starter Kits for How to Create A New Project / How To Add Text and a Photo to a Project / Template for a Family Name Project
  • 1. SA Projects by PEOPLE
  • 2. SA Projects by HISTORICAL TIMELINE
  • 3. SA Projects by PLACES

5. CuZZin - Image Library

• Guidelines on profile image use and a Library of relevant images.
  • Profile Image Etiquette
  • Historical Markers
  • Occupation Markers

Introducing the CuZZin Curators :

Hello - we are the Curators who help on the Geni SA tree and colloborate on this project(Scroll down for more people who help on the SA tree): You are invited to communicate with us via this platform.

• Sharon speaks ENGLISH & Afrikaans, & some embarrassingly rudimentary Zulu.
  • I'm the oldest SA Curator on Geni - as in the longest-running :-) - I was nominated soon after Geni started - well over 10 years ago now. So, I suppose you could say that Geni is a significant part of my life. By profession, I'm a Psychologist (lucrative, but boring), and the head of the English Dept at a Jhb boys' high school. (Lots of fun for peanuts money :-)). My ancestor tree is pretty extensive: covering French, Dutch, English, German, many slaves brought to SA, and a Khoisan woman too. I'm fascintated by the use of DNA in genealogy, and it was really exciting to see this all appear in my father and mother's DNA tests. So you'll see me wandering all over our SA tree and beyond. On the SA tree, I work on the French Huguenots, and try to help June maintain the 1820 Settlers. I watch over the SA World War I and II projects too, amongst many others, like the Famous South Africans project - one of the most popular on our tree. I've made a start on the amaXhosa, amaZulu and Swazi trees - in the hope of getting them built out beyond just the great men of oral traditions, and to include the ordinary South African people too. The shipping and shipwreck projects tend to be my babies as well.
• June speaks ENGLISH but understand quite a bit of Afrikaans!
  • June is interested in the English Immigrants to Southern Africa and early Rhodesian Pioneers.
• Daan speaks AFRIKAANS, ENGLISH and German and will never die in any Spanish country (hablo un pocito Espanol)
  • Has one of the most complete personal trees of anybody on Geni. Focussing at the moment on SWA Stamvaders and the complete BOTES tree for Southern Africa
• John speaks ENGLISH and AFRIKAANS and a little conversational XHOSA
  • Interested in assisting with understanding the workings of Geni, with a view to preserving and linking 'the common folk' (meaning all those ancestors who ventured forth in search of a better life across the world) into the “Big Tree”. Works in areas: “Germans in Kaffraria”, “1820 Settlers”, “Early English Settlers” "SA Railways" & with lines of: Robertson, Caldwell, Kannemeyer, Vercueil, Ballantine, Sparkman, Hamilton, Miller and a host of lines with their roots in the Cape and Eastern Cape.
• Donovan speaks ENGLISH & AFRIKAANS.
  • Working on Penaluna, Walsh, Graham, Meyer lines. Can also help with other surnames.
  • Currently working on South Africa - Crime Victims and South Africa - Farm Attack Victims
• Chris is fluent in AFRIKAANS, ENGLISH, DUTCH and GERMAN.
  • Working on Steyn and Viljoen / Huguenot lines. Also interested in places related to the genealogical history of the Steyns, especially Weidum and Leeuwarden in Friesland, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Overberg / Swellendam in South Africa and Angola (Thirstland Trekkers). Willing to help where requested.
• Alex speaks ENGLISH, AFRIKAANS and Greek.
  • Working on the descendant families of the Thirstland trek and the broader South African tree. Helps with genetic genealogy.
• Herman Speaks Afrikaans, English, Dutch and Sesotho. Reads German, Danish, Spanish, Latin, Greek. Deciphers & transcribes handwritten texts in 15th to 19th century Dutch or Gothic scripts.
  • Working on Southern African settlers of Danish, Dutch, British, Scottish, German/Prussian/Austrian ancestry; Great Trek & Anglo-Boer War; slaves & their descendants in Southern Africa.
• Drummond reads/speaks AFRIKAANS, ENGLISH, DUTCH and GERMAN.
  • Working on British Empire (1815-1914) including Australia, the British Raj, South Africa (with special interest in the Anglo-Boer war: armaments, battles, medals and refugee camps etc). Happy to assist in breaking down genetic genealogy brick walls.

Offers of Help from Other Wonderful Geni Users :

PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME BELOW IF YOU WANT TO HELP OTHERS ON THE SA TREE. IF YOU HAVE AN AREA OF INTEREST, ADD THAT TOO.

• Caroline Pienaar (Balona) speaks ENGLISH & Afrikaans
  • Works on the French Huguenot tree; offers to help in writing/putting facts in a succinct, chronological and logical manner in English if anyone needs help in this area.
• Wynand du Plessis speaks AFRIKAANS
• Michelle Alicia de Jager (Terblanche) speaks AFRIKAANS, English and German
  • "Ek is bereid om te help waar ek kan met die volgende bome waaraan ek werk. Abel Taylor (SV), Thomas Kemm (SV), Johannes Hermanus Kotze, Salomon (Solomon) Stephanus Terblanche, Adam Barnard."
• Craig Sheldon speaks ENGLISH.
  • Working with: Sheldon, Fahrenfort, van Driel, Hitzeroth, Borcher, Brink, Burgess, Dryden, Doubell,Greyling, Hampshire, Howard, Jones, Petterson, Sasman, Swanepoel, Wood
• David Prins speaks ENGLISH.
  • Curator NOT based in South Africa. Offers help with Early Jewish settlers in SA
• Pam Karp speaks English
  • Another Curator NOT based in South Africa. Offers help with Early Jewish settlers in SA
• Carolle Marquard
  • Help with Marquard family; Malan / Beyleveld heritage. I have docs. here too on Murrays, Rexes.of Knysna which ought be added some time as well as Malans and Marquards. .Access too to de Wet/Petersens/Moltenos and others. So if you need some Snail participation, glad to help ENGLISH.
• Heather MacGregor ENGLISH
• Louis Scholtz AFRIKAANS, Deutsch, ENGLISH, Française en NEDERLANDS.
  • Is bereid om te help waar ek kan. Fokus op Scholtz, Gouws/Gous, Roos, Heineman(n) en Immelman families, Duitse / Franse stamouers, Groot Trek en Anglo-Boereoorlog. Kan help met die intepretasie en / of vertaling van teks in die bogenoemde tale.
• Charmaine Labuschagne Speaks English, Afrikaans and a bit of German and Chinese.
  • Main surname interests: Labuschagne, Urbasch, Carstens
  • Currently working on: Hamburg to South Africa - Ships and Passenger Lists and Khoi and Griqua settlers of the Kat River Khoi Settlement .
  • Willing to assist with: locating source documents listed on the South African National Archives website.