Baptist church in SA Archives

[lubbyloo]

Eek, thank you I'm new to all this where is post no 6?

Yes I have all the information on the accident, my dad before computers were widely around wrote it all out from a library copy years ago!

It was in Bournemouth on March 20th 1933.

Louise

[lubbyloo]

Ah doh! I just thought about it and realised what you meant, thank you very much I'll have a look

[Danchaslyn]

Hi Lubbloo

Perhaps I should have said "Reply No: 6"!

Anyway, I'll send you an email address of Baptist Archives in SA (in private messages), whom I'm sure will be able to help you.

I do have several reference books now on the Baptist Church in SA, but they are in storage!

[Danchaslyn]

Hi Lubbyloo

Have sent a private message to you with a suitable email address for you to seek the info you need.

Had trouble sending it, so please let me know if you received it ok?

Good luck

[Danchaslyn]

Hi Pasdlm

Some further info to your very full and welcome Reply 21:

Thomas Aitken's life between his leaving home, and working for his father, John Aitken, as a Joiner, in West Linton, near Edinburgh, Scotland, and the commencement of his missionary work, is of great interest to me.

Without success so far, I've contacted various churches, in and around Wishaw, South of Glasgow, to discover if he is listed as congregant.  From early, to mid 1890's he left West Linton, and lived in Wishaw, as a Boarder, still working as a Joiner.

He then has his years of study at Spurgeon's College, London, before embarking on his missionary work.  It would be great to know of where he lived, whilst he studied?

And, Pasdlm, he went from the UK (I don't yet know where he left from), straight to the CAPE VERDE ISLANDS, where he had his first missionary posting, on the Island of St Vincent.

Then he went to South Africa, then to the Island of St Helena, then back to South Africa.

Hope all is going well with your Grandfather and that the above will interest him?

Any other help on Thomas Aitken's life in Wishaw, London and St Vincent will be greatly appreciated.

[pasdlm]

Hi Danchaslyn,

Have you tried to find him in the census records pre-1911?
 
If he was a Baptist, then the most likely church in Wishaw where he would have worshipped would be Wishaw Baptist Church (see http://www.wishawbaptist.org/)

You might like to contact Spurgeons College (http://www.spurgeons.ac.uk), or else when in London he might have worshipped at Metropolitan Tabernacle (the Baptist Church made famous by C H Spurgeon in the 19th century) at http://www.metropolitantabernacle.org/. These might still have the old records that may provide some info. If he was in London in 1901, then the census would provide the place where he stayed.

The findmypast website (findmy past.co.uk), I think, provides ships passengers - date, ship name and place they left from in the UK to other countries around the world.

Sadly my father died about 2 months ago aged 97 years. In any case he was very frail and for him to tell me he had remembered Thomas Aitken was quite an achievement.

If you have already tried all the suggestions above without any sucess, then apologies. I hope you will have some further success.

Regards,

pasdlm

[Danchaslyn]

Hello Padslm

My sincere condolences to you and your family upon the recent death of your dear father.  What a grand age he reached and I'm so touched that he did indeed, remember my grandfather.

Thank you again, for all your help.  I've found Thomas Aitken, in the past on Censuses pre 1911, staying in Wishaw, as a Boarder and still working as a Joiner, and yes, I did contact the Wishaw Baptist Church, but was told they 'don't have an archivist, so therefore would be unable to look up any records'.

I do have Thomas' record from Spurgeon's, but hadn't heard of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, until you mentioned it, this afternoon, so I will give them a try.

Regrettably Thomas had already left for "the Atlantic, St Vincent, South Africa, and St Helena,  by 1901.  The previous Census has him in Wishaw.

Do you think it possible that Spurgeons had their own accommodation attached to the College?

Thank you

[pasdlm]

Hi Danchaslyn,

Sorry, if I had read through the previous postings of this topic I would have realised that you would have pursued the avenues that I suggested in my previous reply!

I did a quick free search on findmypast.co.uk under the Migration tab, and I notice that there are several possibilties. The name Aitken, Thomas or Thos., or T or no initial at all on board a ship going to SA during the 1890's corresponding to a birthdate of about 1871-ish crops up quite a lot. The problem is which one is he? I am not sure whether it will be possible to know with any degree of certainty which one is the correct entry. Maybe he would have gone to SA quite soon after he finished at Spurgeons? - this might at least pinpoint a date of departure and eliminate some possibilities.

This is a tough one!

pasdlm

[Danchaslyn]

Hello Pasdlm

Again, thank you so much for your suggestions and help.

So that we don't go off on a tangent, I know definitely, that Thomas Aitken, left the UK (don't know where from) directly for the Cape Verde Islands, specifically the Island of St Vincent, after he studied at Spurgeon's.  There he remained on his first posting.

So many ships travelled, as we all know, from the UK, to the Cape, South Africa, and on to India, Australia etc.  I've also found a few Thomas es on some of these different voyages, but none, thus far, to St Vincent.

Were the Cape Verde Islands a regular stopping off point for ships in the late 1890's, early 20C?  Or, would this have been an unusual sea voyage?