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Thank you all for your kind help. I have just found a WW1 Service record for another family member and in 1915 he gives his next of kins address, (his mother) as Glan Morlais Farm, Kidwelly. I have found the farm on an 1888 map on Find My APst and it is just south of the village. I think that this may be the site of the 'factory farm'!!

Bets regards

Mike

Hi All

Thank you so much for your help I will try the Bristol RO

Thank once again

Mike

Hi

Once again thank you everyone for your help. I have now found out from other family members that Alexander was believed to have served as a mounted policeman in Queenstown and that he was shot outside his home, subsequently dying of his wounds. His hometown seems correct as his 2 children Ellen Martha, (b.12/05/1890) and Robert John (b.28/11/1891), both show on the UK 1911 Census as having been born in Queenstown, Cape Colony, while Annie is shown on the same document to have been born in Winterberg, Cape Colony in about 1873, - her maiden name would have been Jordan or Jordan and her father, who was a farmer was named as  John Peter.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to confirm exactly when this occurred, but his wife Annie McTAVISH arrived back in the UK in July 1901 and in November 1901 she re married William JOHNSTON at Bristol. William had been serving in the Royal Field Artillery in South Africa from 1899 to October 1901 when he returned to the UK and as Annie had no other known links to the UK it seems that she got to know William either before or after Alexander was killed and travelled to the UK to marry him.

Does anyone have any idea what newspapers covered the Queenstown area around 1900 as I would like to see if there is any record of a policeman being shot and killed in Queenstown around this time?

Thanks

Mike

Hi Shaun

Maybe I am being rabbit dense, but do you know whether is it possible to access the SA archive files online?

Best regards

mike

There's a service record in the Transvaal archives https://goo.gl/hEBmnL

Hi Sue

Thank you for getting back to me. Unfortunately, I am still trying to track down Alexander's parents and all I know with any certainty is that he married Annie Nellie JORDAN in South Africa probably somewhere around 1890 and had 2 children, Ellen Martha McTAVISH, born at Queenstown, Cape Colony 12/05/1890 and Robert John McTAVISH born 28/11/1891 also at Queenstown.

At the moment, my theory is that Alexander died sometime before 1900 and Annie Nellie met her future second husband William MITCHELL, who was serving in the Royal Artillery during the Second Boer War either before or after Alexander died. He was from Bristol in the UK and as Annie has no apparent link to the UK it seems to point to the fact that she and her 2 children followed him back to the UK to marry and start a 'new life'.

Family history is that Annie was from a Boer family and in the circumstances at the time, is it possible that she 'anglicised' her name to become more acceptable when she arrived in the UK?  On her UK Marriage certificate she gave her father's details as John Peter JORDAN, (Deceased) who had been a farmer.

Once again thank you for your help and best regards

Mike

 
There are a number of Alexander McTavish's on our archives.  Could you give us a little more information, such as his parents names or those of his children, it would help to narrow it down.  The Death Notices from that far back don't always list the spouse's name.

From the date of the Service record it would seem he may have served in the Anglo Boer War.  You would have to order it from the archives as they are not online.

Sue