Death Notice

[braw]

What bothers me about the DN's is that none of them were dated nor was the capacity of the informant noted, I wonder  how clued up the informant was as the place and date of marriage, the ages of the children and the middle name of Gertrude are not listed.

[iwccc]

Dear Braw,   Wow,  thank you so much for taking the trouble to find the DN for James McKey Brishop and Elizabeth his wife.  I now can fill in their exact dates of birth and James' occupation.   You mentioned that the children were adopted and then you wrote James Scott and Archibald Whimster.   Were these men the ones that adopted them or     May I ask where this information came from - was it on Elizabeth's DN? (this would help me to accurately record the information)
What a shame that the parents are not named  - I am led to believe that they may have came from Scotland - perhaps even came out as part of the 1820 settlers.  If this was the case....do you know if there are any list of names of the settlers or lists of names of those on ships coming to South Africa?  Really stumped now as to how to proceed to find James' parents.
I don't know much about South Africa - Where is Vredefort (is it part or near Cape Colony?) 

[iwccc]

Dear Nookie,  Good thought.  I had thought McKay (McKey) maybe the mothers surname but to date have not found her.  I really need something concrete to connect James to his parents.  Of course once I get a name I can try tracing the family back.  I'll keep trying but for present I have come to a brick wall.  Thanks for your information and input. Much appreciated.

[iwccc]

Braw,  Sorry, I meant dates of death not dates of birth.
Also I should have written Archibald Whimster Smart   

[braw]

They were appointed by the Master of the Supreme Court, Orange Free State. There was also 3 Applications for Inheritance, one by Gertrude born 11/3/1896 who married Isaac A Malherbe 14/12/1898 , the other by Grace born 11/3/1876 who married Willey Glendenning on 5/7/1901 and another by George born 9/4/1872 who married Louisa Margerita ( I could not decipher her surname).

[iwccc]

Hello braw,  Thanks for the reply.  Interesting that there were three children who applied for inheritance when I am led to believe that there wasn't enough money to bury their parents.  I guess it may have been after belongings were sold.  The last name you mention I believe was Louisa Margerita van Soelen.
I am still at a standstill regarding how to find James McKay Bishop's parents names.  I have tried a number of sites - trying to find ships that came to South Africa, the 1820's settlers sites, BMD's.  I am either missing seeing  the information or it isn't there.  I am led to believe that the family were 'Scottish colonials'. So I have tried some Scotland sites but without a first name there are too many Bishops.  I probably need a birth certificate for James.  His parents names are not on his death certificate.  How do I find a birth certificate from Australia?   I am guessing that his father was born in Scotland (but this may not be the case), Any help anyone can suggest would be much appreciated.

[shirl27]

Hi
In case you don't already have this information, Prof. Johan Pottas of the University of the OFS posted this on Rootsweb about 2 years ago:

Free State founding fathers:
"I'm busy on a project of compiling a list on all the overseas settlers in the Free State for the period c 1820 up until 31 May 1902, with the condition that they had died / been buried in the Free State."

269. BISHOP, James MacKay, * 1841 + 1887 (VAB B864/1887) x Metodiste
Kerk, Bloemfontein 25/12/1867 CLARKE, Mary Elizabeth, * 1839.

(Translation:  269. BISHOP, James MacKay, b.1841 d. 1887 (VAB B864/1887 - Estate File) married CLARKE, Mary Elizabeth, b. 1839 in the Methodist Church, Bloemfontein on 25 Dec 1867.)

Shirley

[iwccc]

Hi, shirt27,  Thanks for the reply.  I hadn't seen this information before - so thank you.
I am somewhat confused though - I have James Mackay Bishop as being married to Mary Elizabeth Venables - not Mary Elizabeth Clarke.
I have both James and Mary Venables dying in 1887.  The Methodist Church, Bloemfontein sounds right as many of the family were in Bloemfontein and also Methodists.
Could I ask - where did you find the name Clarke?    It leaves me wondering if I am on the right tree or not!! 
Thanks for the translation also. 
Do you know where James Mackay Bishop was born?  I have him as being born in the Cape Colony, South Africa.  So I am still trying to find where James father and mother were born. Would they have been in the 1820 settlers - were they from Scotland?  I am really stumped on how to find this information.   Thanks again

[braw]

The estate file VAB B864/1887 is the same same file I had a look at for you and there is no mention of a Mary Clarke, The Methodist church files for Bloemfontein I believe are held in the Cory Library, Rhodes University, Grahamstown and their contact email is  Cory@ru.ac.za

Regards