Registration of marriages----Cape Town--S.A

[suzyvan]

HI List,
Can anyone help me please? ..... was it compulsory for British military to register their marriages 1895 in South Africa...... if so where are the records ....... are they accessable..... would their parents be mentioned on the certificate?
Have made contact with English GRO and they tell me it was not a requirement to register an overseas marriage in England then or even now.
Thank you for reading
Suzy

[Eric-C]

Hi Suzy, yes it apparantly was not compulsory, but many were registered.
Findmypast.com provide access to the GRO INDEX ARMY MARRIAGES (and Births and Deaths).
This index will give you Surname, Name, Station, year and Page number.
If you are lucky enough to find your ancestor, you can use this info to order the certificate from GRO.
Give me your names and I will see if there is anything to be found.
Regards, Eric-C

[suzyvan]

Eric-C,
Thank you for your help.
marriage is;
Robert  Anderson-- --1 Feb 1895---Cape Town, South Africa-----to----- Barbara McPherson.
NB; Alexander- his 2nd name....... may or maynot be included?
The information has been given by Robert himself the father on some birth certificates I have purchased,  have no actual proof,  I would suspect it to be correct as a son was born following year 28 Vernon terrace, Cape Town, S A [have this birth certificate.]
I will be so grateful of anything you can turn up.
Thanks a million.
Suzy

[Eric-C]

Rather strange. No Robert or Barbara found on Army marriages in Capetown, but did find:-
      Anderson, James. Capetown, 1895, page 249
  and
     McPherson, Blanche. Capetown, 1895, page 249
These may or may not have married one another, only the certiface will confirm.

Also, on Ancestry's Military service records I found :-
   Anderson, James, born about 1874, joined up 23/11/1892, Yorkshire Regt. Completed 21 years including service in Gibralter, South Africa and India.
  Father Alexander, brothers, Robert (10), Alexander (7) and William (7)
  Sisters Jane, Rose [A], Bella, Margaret.
  Address 45 North Road, [Torres], Invermess.
This may be an irrelevant co-incidence, but it is interesting.

Good luck, Eric-C

[suzyvan]

Thanks Eric-C,
That is a very interesting find on your behalf, makes one wonder why and if it is them with changed identities.
Robert committed suicide in 1912 at Edinburgh.
His fathers name was also Robert according to family records...from Scotland..not known where.
I agree with you about  ......This may be an irrelevant co-incidence, but it is interesting.,,,,,,!
I would like to try and get a marriage certificate from South African registers but am unsure of the process,
Have put it into the too hard basket at moment but will definitely proceed with it shortly.
Thank you for your generosity for the look ups.
Suzy

[Leanne68]

Hi Suzy and Eric-C,

With further reference to the James and Blanche ANDERSON of Cape Town :

Ellen Stanton posted the following transcription to the Rootsweb mailing list,

"Here is Installment #4 of Cape Town Birth Certificates for the year 1895. I have extracted all of the European names, and indexed the film by father's name, mother's maiden name, child's name (where given) and birth date. There is more information on each certificate that I did not transcribe. Most certificates have race, age, occupation, and place of birth for each parent, date of parent's marriage, number of other children (living and deceased), and the residence. If you would like a complete transcription of any of these, send me the Film #, the Item #, and the Entry # and Surname(s). Dates follow American convention of MMDDYY.

Microfilm #1926298
Cape Town Birth Certificates: 1895
Item 1

<snip>
Entry #1376
Husband: James ANDERSON
Wife: Blanche MCPHERSON
Child: James Henry
Born: 7/29/1895
______________________

Contacting Ellen might well prove or disprove this couple as being *yours*.
Ellen's email address is available on the web.  Google her name and rootsweb as the search criteria. 

best wishes
Leanne

[Leanne68]

Suzy,

Another thought :

If you know the regiment he served in you might well be able to get insight into where he was born etc.  I found a birth reference on an ancestor's discharge papers.  If i'm not mistaken, Kew holds many of the military records.

cheers
Leanne

[Eric-C]

Further info.
Ancestry's WW1 Pension records show:-
   James Anderson of Aberdeen b abt 1863, attested 24/06/1885 to Royal Highlanders(Black Watch) at Perth
   Father James Fraser Anderson
   James A m Blanche McPherson at Capetown SA on 28/03/1895. witnesses JF Mcpherson, Janet McPherson
   Children James Henry 27/09/1895 Capetown
   George McPherson 21/07/1897 [Subashu]
   Blanche 19/10/1899 [Sitapur] (Deceased)
   Joan b [Kamptee] India 03/10/1901.
   (Only Joan is shown in later papers)
   Address 60 Marchmont Cres Edinburgh
   After serving 21 years with destinction in the Black Watch, he reinlisted in 1914, serving until 1919.
If your robert committed suicide in 1912, then obviously not same person.
Regards, Eric-C

[suzyvan]

Thank you so much Eric-c,
You certainly have gone all out for me...I do appreciate very much the trouble you have gone too.
Yes you have definitely proved that it was just a coincidence of same surnames, place and time, and  Scottish as well.
I have been told as Robert Anderson [have the death certificate] committed suicide.... his records would have been destroyed.....so just leaves the marriage  register in Cape Town South Africa as my last possible hope.
Thanks again.
Suzy