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Messages - Wilhelmina

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South Africa / Roberts and Davis in the Gold Rush
« on: Friday 30 January 09 14:14 GMT (UK)  »
My great-grandfather, (James Alfred) Ernest Roberts, married Agnes Kate Davis in March 1893 in Pietermaritzburg.  They settled there, but she seems to have had ties to Johannesburg - a sister called Mary Florence Davis who married James B. Brown in Fordsburg, Johannesburg in January 1895 - while the rest of the Davis family remained in Bath, England.
 
While I have plenty of info on my great-grandfather, I know almost nothing of my great-grandmother or anyone else from the Davis family who came to South Africa.  Ernest seems to have joined the Johannesburg gold rush in the late 1880s, which is where I presume he met Kate.  Ernest's younger brother William settled in Johannesburg and even though I have traced his line, it sheds no light on the Davis family.
 
If anyone has any information that links the Davis, Brown or Roberts families to Johannesburg at the time of the gold rush, I would love to hear from them.
Thank you.

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Armed Forces / Re: The British South Africa Company Medal Roll - Free lookups offered
« on: Thursday 29 January 09 13:59 GMT (UK)  »
Hello, I have my great-grandfather's British South Africa Medal, and wondered if there is any more information about him on the roll.  It is the Rhodesia 1896 one - with no clasp, just the ribbon - and the engraving on the edge is Trooper J A E Roberts S F F.  I presume this means Salisbury Field Force, but can anyone tell me what they did?  I have only found information on the Bulawayo Field Force, so I presume this means he was a farmer or settler and not part of the police force.  I have records of him settling in Pietermaritzburg both before and after this time, so I'm not quite sure how he came to be in Rhodesia.  Was there some kind of army conscription, or would this have been volunteer settlers?  With no clasp attached, I also assume he was only active in the one campaign.  If anyone has any information, I would be very grateful.  Thanks.

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