Hugh Thomson

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: James Thomson

James + Althea Eliza Poultney. Althea (daughter of Thomas Phillip Poultney and Elizabeth Sephton) was born on 28 Jan 1871; was christened on 12 Mar 1871 in Aliwal North Church (Wesleyan Methodist), Aliwal North, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died in 1950. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Name: Althea Elizabeth Poultney
• Residence: 1941, Zeerust, North West, South Africa

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Name: Thomas Phillip Poultney

Thomas married Elizabeth Sephton on 17 Apr 1857 in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Elizabeth (daughter of Thomas Hezekiah Sephton, 1820 Settler and Sarah Clarke Prynn, 1820 Settler) was born on 22 Feb 1831 in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 10 Oct 1910; was buried in Zeerust, North West, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Name: Elizabeth Sephton

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 647
• Name: James Augustus Poultney 1820
• Occupation: a Tailor
• Settler: 13 Dec 1819, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

Morgan's Party on Ocean Following from "Some Frontier Families", by Ivan Mitford-Barberton & Violet White, page 235. "Quoted from a letter from Mrs Esme Glazebrook of Westville, KwaZulu Natal, to Ivan. Our venerable and dearly beloved great-great grandfather, James Augustus Poultney, came out on the same vessel as Thomas Henry Halse. Their two children married. Henry Halse, the eldest, married Ann Poultney, J.A.P's eldest daughter. These two were my great grandparents. Two further children, Sarah Jane Poultney and Fred Halse also married and they were Cecil Halse's great-grandparents. The Poultneys went up to Grahamstown, and farmed in the vicinity of Queenstown. They were all splendid men, and both names (Halse and Poultney) have come down the years quite unblemished in any way. They were sheep farmers, and periodically took the wool down to East London. They were sons of James Augustus. One of the Marks men (I don't know whether it was the famous Sammy Marks or not), offered to finance a trip back to England to enable old J.A.P. to visit his homeland once again, and when the wool was ready to be taken to the coast the old man prepared to go down with the wagons and board a vessel for England. They slept in the wagons on reaching the coast, and the sons, in the middle of the night, offloaded the wool, inspanned the horses and started off for home, as they could not bear to part with the old man, and so he never visited hi beloved England after all. Settler J.A.P., after the death of his wife, lived with his daughter Sarah Jane (Poultney) Halse. In his old age he lost the sight of one eye - cataract - and some time later the sight of the other, thus becoming totally blind. He remained in this state for some years, but in a letter from Sarah Jane in 1853 she mentioned that his sight had been partially restored. It was a time of great rejoicing as he was able to recognise his children again after years of darkness, and all the family came to see and be seen. "

Notes extracted from Gordon Keith Poultney's Web Page
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JAMES AUGUSTUS POULTNEY and his wife ANN (nee Smith), aged 28 and 21 respectively, with their baby daughter, ANN, of four months, sailed on the ship "Ocean" from London in December 1819 or early January 1820. The River Thames had been frozen over for some weeks, so that the ships had been ice-bound. All the ships experienced very bad weather - some were nearly shipwrecked soon after leaving harbour. Several ships, including the Ocean, had to put in to Portsmouth for shelter. During the storm the Ocean broke from her moorings and collided with the "Northampton", but without any serious consequences. After the ships had passed through the Bay of Biscay the weather improved.

The party on the Ocean under the leadership of Dr N. Morgan numbered 41 - this was the Poultneys' group. There were three other parties on board - the total number of settlers being 206.

During the voyage, the Poultneys' ship called at Porto Praya, one of the Cape Verde Islands. Whilst lying at her anchorage there, in the dead of night, her passengers were rudely awakened by the booming of a cannon, followed by the tearing noise of the cannon ball through the rigging. One of the shore batteries had opened fire - this from a supposedly friendly port. While the scared passengers were wondering what was happening, a second discharge was heard, and this time the ball hit the ship, smashing through the side and entering a store-room just below one of the cabins. Excitement and consternation were intense. A third ball was fired and this one fell short, hissing as it entered the sea as if it were a red-hot shot. It turned out later that the shore batteries were "trigger happy" and had thought that the Ocean or another settler ship were the same as had fired on the port a few weeks previously. Fortunately the mistake was discovered before the Ocean was destroyed.

The ships had an uneventful voyage after this ! It took until 9th Apri1 1820 before the first ship dropped anchor in Algoa Bay - the last arrived late in June.

One of the passengers on the Poultneys' ship was Mr Bishop Burnett, a retired Royal Navy Lieutenant, who later achieved much notoriety by horse-whipping an army surgeon near Grahamstown. Lengthy legal proceedings resulted in the British Government to alter its constitutional policy in the Cape.

The Morgan (Poultney) party settled on a plot of land about 4 square miles in area, situated about 7 miles East of Grahamstown, to the right of the present national road as one travels from Grahamstown to Peddie.

Morgan's Party on Ocean
Following from "Some Frontier Families", by Ivan Mitford-Barberton &Violet White, page 235.
"Quoted from a letter from Mrs Esme Glazebrook of Westville, KwaZulu Natal, toIvan.
Our venerable and dearly beloved great-great grandfather, James AugustusPoultney, came out on the same vessel as Thomas Henry Halse. Their twochildren married. Henry Halse, the eldest, married Ann Poultney, J.A.P'seldest daughter. These two were my great grandparents. Two furtherchildren, Sarah Jane Poultney and Fred Halse also married and they wereCecil Halse's great-grandparents. The Poultneys went up to Grahamstown,and farmed in the vicinity of Queenstown. They were all splendid men,and both names (Halse and Poultney) have come down the years quiteunblemished in any way. They were sheep farmers, and periodically tookthe wool down to East London. They were sons of James Augustus. One ofthe Marks men (I don't know whether it was the famous Sammy Marks ornot), offered to finance a trip back to England to enable old J.A.P. tovisit his homeland once again, and when the wool was ready to be taken tothe coast the old man prepared to go down with the wagons and board avessel for England. They slept in the wagons on reaching the coast, andthe sons, in the middle of the night, offloaded the wool, inspanned thehorses and started off for home, as they could not bear to part with theold man, and so he never visited hi beloved England after all. SettlerJ.A.P., after the death of his wife, lived with his daughter Sarah Jane(Poultney) Halse. In his old age he lost the sight of one eye - cataract- and some time later the sight of the other, thus becoming totallyblind. He remained in this state for some years, but in a letter fromSarah Jane in 1853 she mentioned that his sight had been partiallyrestored. It was a time of great rejoicing as he was able to recognisehis children again after years of darkness, and all the family came tosee and be seen. "

Came to S.A. on the ship Ocean in 1820, a member of Morgans party. They
came from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

Settler:
Morgan's party on the Ocean

James married Ann Smith, 1820 Settler on 16 Nov 1817 in St.John's, Horsleydown,Surrey, England. Ann (daughter of James Smith) was born about 1798 in Surrey, England; died on 12 May 1853. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 721
• Name: Anne Smith 1820
• Settler: 13 Dec 1819, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

Settler:
Morgan's party on the Ocean

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 2768
• Name: Thomas Hezekiah Sephton 1820
• Occupation: a Carpenter
• Religion: the Protestant Church
• Settler: 15 Feb 1820, Deptford, London, England
• Settler: 15 Feb 1820, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

He was taking "Blue Pills" which we now know is a mercury compound. He then broke a leg due to the bone softening effect of the mercury, and was bedridden for about a year before he died. According to AA Roberts he died in the evening, after a long and protracted affliction which he bore with exemplary patience and resignation.

Educated in England came to South Africa with the 1820 settlers, was one of the Sephton party led by his father Hezekiah. As he was morethan 18 years of age at the time he was considered an adult and came under his own name not as part of his father's family. He was granted an erf on the bank of the Assegai River and was the Southern boundary of the village where it adjoined Cornelious van Schalkwyks farm- ( afterwards bought by the Wesleyn Society and turned into a mission station by William Shaw and named Farmerfield.) Only one erf lay between Thomas Sephton and van Schalkwyk, that of Thomas Selom-King still owned by Kings decendants and known as " Kingston ". After his marriage they lived in Grahamstown for a time, their eldest child was born in Bathurst street. . He joined the Wesleyan missionaries and became associated with Rev. James Archbell at the Platberg Wesleyan Mission Station south of the Vaal River near to Kuruman which was North East of Bloemfontein, there he laboured with Rev Edwardson the mission station established by Rev Archbell.
The tribes there (Baralong and Korrana) were being harassed bytribes from the North and after a plague of smallpox, which descimated them (whole famillies died and the huts were closed up,) Thomas cared forthe sick and also took the disease and was very ill. The missionaries then persuaded the remnant to move East and they eventually settled nearTabaN'chu, the area having been purchased from the Basutho chief Mosheshe though the efforts of Richard Giddy. Thomas was then sent to Ratabane , North of Thaba'Nchu, to open a mission station and subsequently to Umpukani. After Thomas died Richard Giddy (who had married Thomas' eldest daughter) took Thomas' 5 childrenas he had promised Thomas he would and they were brought up with his own children by their sister Sarah Jane.
A visitor at Thaba Nchu in 1839 reported on his return to the Colony" Thomas H. Sephton is a quiet steadfast worker and a great deal of good work has been done. No man ever devoted himself to a worthy cause with more zeal and consistant perseverance".

Settler:
Sephton's party on the Aurora

Settler:
Sephton's party on the Aurora

Died:
Description: a severe & protracted affliction.

Thomas married Sarah Clarke Prynn, 1820 Settler on 10 Aug 1825 in Grahamstown Church (Anglican), Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Sarah (daughter of William Prynn, 1820 Settler and Jane Clark, 1820 Settler) was born on 12 Jan 1809 in England; died on 23 Dec 1840 in Coranna Station, Lesotho (Basutoland); was buried in Grahamstown Cemetery (Settlers), Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 2743
• Name: Sarah Clarke Prynn 1820
• Religion: the Protestant Church
• Settler: 15 Feb 1820, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

She died three days after the birth of her ninth child, Charles Edward Sephton and her husband took her body to Grahamstown by oxwagon for burial because she made him promise that she would not be buried in "the wilds of Africa".
According to AA Roberts she died at 2 o'clock pm at Coranna Station,Bechualand

Settler:
Sephton's party on the Aurora

Died:
Description: at 2pm

Notes:

Married:
Description: Rev Thomas Ireland