Wilmot Glanville Godlonton

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes

Notes:

unmarried

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes

Notes:

They had 8 children.

Benjamin married Flora Adelaide GlanvilleGrahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Flora (daughter of Thomas Burt Glanville and Wilmot Watson) was born about 1851 in India; died on 11 Jun 1920 in Musbury, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 993
• Name: Robert (Hon) Godlonton 1820
• Occupation: a Printer
• Settler: 3 Dec 1819, Gravesend, Kent, England
• Occupation: 1828, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa; Chief Clerk to the Civil Commissioner

Notes:

Appointed as a police constable in Bathurst.

GODLONTON, Robert. A printer aged 25. Contributed articles to the Grahamstown Journal, became co-editor and then proprietor. The paper had a strong influence on Eastern Frontier opinion. He was author of many books and a member of the Legislative Assembly.
SOURCE: The Settler named Jeremiah Goldswain by Pauline GOLDSWAIN.

He and three fellow Settlers, Thomas Stringfellow, Samuel Mollett and Dr. Roberts brought with them a Printing press, but this was confiscated by the Government. Not being a farmer, Godlonton found employment first as a constable, then clerk to the Landdrost and later to the Civil Commissioner, Captain Duncan Campbell.

Through the efforts of Thomas Pringle, the freedom of the press had been recognised by 1828 and in 1831 the Grahamstown Journal was founded by L.H. Meurant. Godlonton became editor but later took over the whole business. Admitting his nephew, Robert White, the firm became Godlonton & White in 1845. This Journal became the leading newspaper in the Eastern Province, always supporting and defending the Settlers against the blatantly hostile attitude of the Western Province and Great Britain. It still continues today, though under another name and is the oldest newspaper in South Africa. Godlonton founded or obtained a controlling interest in The Friend of Bloemfontein, The King William's Town Gazette, The Uitenhage Times, Het Grahamstads Register en Boeren-vriend, the Queenstown Free Press, the Eastern Province Herald, and the Eastern Province Monthly Magazine.
In addition to his continuous work on the Journal, Godlonton found time to produce a number of other publications, including Narrative of the Irruption of 1836. Sketches of the Eastern Districts in 1842. Memorials of the British Settlers, 1844-5. The Case of the Colonists in reference to the Kaffir Wars of 1835 and 1846. The Eastern Province Directory and Almanac. A Narrative of the Kaffir War 1850-1. Review of the Frontier Hottentots 1799-1851. Sunshine and Cloud (attacking Stockenstr?m). Notes on the Separation of the Eastern from the Western Province.
A Brief Memoir of the Rev. John Ayliff.

Godlonton is referred to as the "Champion of the Eastern Province", was a well-known public figure taking a leading part in politics and church affairs. He was J.P. for Albany and Fort Beaufort, a director of the Branch Savings Bank, the Frontier Fire Insurance Co., and the Frontier Commercial & Agricultural Bank.

He held a commission in the Sixth and Seventh Frontier Wars and was a member of the Board of Defence in the Eighth. In the Settler Celebrations of 1844-5, he was the central figure and Chairman of the Jubilee Celebrations in 1870 and laid the foundation stone of the Settlers' Tower in Grahamstown. In recognition of thirty years of service, Sir Harry Smith nominated him to the old Legislative Council, 1850-3, and in 1854 he became a Member of the new Legislative Council, a position he held for 25 years. In tribute to his memory there is a marble bust of the Hon. Robert Godlonton in the Houses of Parliament, Cape Town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday 16 May 1838

GRANTS OF LAND
A correspondent has favored us wit the following extract:
"I do hereby grant on perpetual quit rent unto Robert GODLONTON a piece of 870 morgens of land, situate in the District of Albany, forming part of the location originally intended for BAYLY's party of Settlers, extending &c &c.
(Signed) B. D'Urban"
Grant dated 28th July 1836
If this is incorrect, or if any part of it can be explained, we shall willingly insert the correction or explanation.

GODLONTON - Robert - Born in London Sept. 24, 1794, Died in Grahamstown May 30, 1884. A British Settler of 1820. The recognised Father of the Press of the Eastern Province of the Colony, and for many years a valued member of the Legislative Council of the Cape of Good Hope.
--Colonies and India 17 December 1886

Appointed as a police constable in Bathurst.

GODLONTON, Robert. A printer aged 25. Contributed articles to the Grahamstown Journal, became co-editor and then proprietor. The paper had a strong influence on Eastern Frontier opinion. He was author of many books and a member of the Legislative Assembly.
SOURCE: The Settler named Jeremiah Goldswain by Pauline GOLDSWAIN.

He and three fellow Settlers, Thomas Stringfellow, Samuel Mollett and Dr. Roberts brought with them a Printing press, but this was confiscated by the Government. Not being a farmer, Godlonton found employment first as a constable, then clerk to the Landdrost and later to the Civil Commissioner, Captain Duncan Campbell.

Through the efforts of Thomas Pringle, the freedom of the press had been recognised by 1828 and in 1831 the Grahamstown Journal was founded by L.H. Meurant. Godlonton became editor but later took over the whole business. Admitting his nephew, Robert White, the firm became Godlonton & White in 1845. This Journal became the leading newspaper in the Eastern Province, always supporting and defending the Settlers against the blatantly hostile attitude of the Western Province and Great Britain. It still continues today, though under another name and is the oldest newspaper in South Africa. Godlonton founded or obtained a controlling interest in The Friend of Bloemfontein, The King William's Town Gazette, The Uitenhage Times, Het Grahamstads Register en Boeren-vriend, the Queenstown Free Press, the Eastern Province Herald, and the Eastern Province Monthly Magazine.
In addition to his continuous work on the Journal, Godlonton found time to produce a number of other publications, including Narrative of the Irruption of 1836. Sketches of the Eastern Districts in 1842. Memorials of the British Settlers, 1844-5. The Case of the Colonists in reference to the Kaffir Wars of 1835 and 1846. The Eastern Province Directory and Almanac. A Narrative of the Kaffir War 1850-1. Review of the Frontier Hottentots 1799-1851. Sunshine and Cloud (attacking Stockenstr?m). Notes on the Separation of the Eastern from the Western Province.
A Brief Memoir of the Rev. John Ayliff.

Godlonton is referred to as the "Champion of the Eastern Province", was a well-known public figure taking a leading part in politics and church affairs. He was J.P. for Albany and Fort Beaufort, a director of the Branch Savings Bank, the Frontier Fire Insurance Co., and the Frontier Commercial & Agricultural Bank.

He held a commission in the Sixth and Seventh Frontier Wars and was a member of the Board of Defence in the Eighth. In the Settler Celebrations of 1844-5, he was the central figure and Chairman of the Jubilee Celebrations in 1870 and laid the foundation stone of the Settlers' Tower in Grahamstown. In recognition of thirty years of service, Sir Harry Smith nominated him to the old Legislative Council, 1850-3, and in 1854 he became a Member of the new Legislative Council, a position he held for 25 years. In tribute to his memory there is a marble bust of the Hon. Robert Godlonton in the Houses of Parliament, Cape Town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday 16 May 1838

GRANTS OF LAND
A correspondent has favored us wit the following extract:
"I do hereby grant on perpetual quit rent unto Robert GODLONTON a piece of 870 morgens of land, situate in the District of Albany, forming part of the location originally intended for BAYLY's party of Settlers, extending &c &c.
(Signed) B. D'Urban"
Grant dated 28th July 1836
If this is incorrect, or if any part of it can be explained, we shall willingly insert the correction or explanation.

GODLONTON - Robert - Born in London Sept. 24, 1794, Died in Grahamstown May 30, 1884. A British Settler of 1820. The recognised Father of the Press of the Eastern Province of the Colony, and for many years a valued member of the Legislative Council of the Cape of Good Hope.
--Colonies and India 17 December 1886
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Born in London, he was employed for five years as a printer in the King's Printing Office, Shacklewell, before emigrating in company with a fellow workman, Thomas Stringfellow. Their employer donated a printing press jointly to the two printers and Dr Edward Roberts for use in the colony, but it was confiscated on their arrival at Cape Town. God-lonton was located at Cuylerville, where he built a house. He applied for a government post on the grounds that he had been prevented from following his trade, and in Septem¬ber 1821 he was appointed a constable at Bathurst. He was transferred to Grahamstown in 1822 as messenger in the Landdrost's office, but retained his claim to a share of Bailie's party's location by arranging for William Harden to occupy his house. In 1825 he was promoted to first clerk to the Landdrost, and from 1828 was first clerk to the civil com¬missioner of Albany and Somerset. He began his career as a journalist by contributing to the Graham's Town Journal almost from its inception, and he became editor in 1834, resigning from the civil service soon afterwards. He was part-owner of the Journal from 1834, and purchased it outright in 1839; in partnership with his nephew, Robert White, he subsequently founded a Dutch weekly newspaper in Grahamstown as well as newspapers in Bloemfontein, Kingwilliamstown, Queenstown, Uitenhage and Pietermaritzburg. He influenced public opinion as journalist, pamphleteer and historian, and in addition took an active part in local and colonial government. He was a member of the Albany Divisional Road Board and a Justice of the Peace for Albany and Fort Beaufort, and for 21 years a member of the Cape Legislature. He was nominated by the Governor, Sir Harry Smith, to the Legislative Council in 1850, and after the introduction of representative government was returned to the Upper House as a member for the Eastern Districts. He resigned in 1857, but was re-elected after a break of several years and retained his seat until 1878.
Godlonton had a practical interest in farming; he became secretary to the Eastern Pro¬vince Joint-Stock Sheep Farm Association, and a committee member of the Association for Introducing the Cultivation of Cotton. In 1836 he purchased the three allotments adjoining his share of Bailie's party's location, to make up Palmietfontein Farm, at the mouth of the Great Fish River. He donated the small homestead allotment that had origi¬nally belonged to Henry Vokins as the site for a church at Cuylerville. He subsequently owned farms in the Albany and Fort Beaufort districts. As a staunch convert to Methodism he was an office bearer in the Grahamstown Wesleyan-Methodist Church. After the death of his first wife in 1844 he married a widow, Sarah Richards. His second wife and two eldest daughters, Mary Ann (Shepperson) and Matilda Barton (Booth) predeceased him; he died in Grahamstown in his 90th year, leaving the two children of his second marriage, Benjamin D'Urban and Sarah Harriet (Hoole). His estate included Beaufort House in Grahamstown and two farms in the Fort Beaufort district, Hammonds and Papenkuilsfontein.
CO 8482 n.d. (1821); 1/AY 8/72, 14.8.1821; CO 6139, list of civil servants; CO 8541,9.8. 1824; DSAB II, 263-266; GTJ 6.7.1832; Godlonton,Irruption of the Kaffir Hordes, intro¬ductory remarks, pp.187-8; Deeds Office records; LG 540 no.1235, memorial of trustees of Cuylerville Church, 26.6.1843; Grahamstown Methodist Church marriage registers; MOOC 6/9/209 d.n. 8623/1884.
ADDITIONAL NOTE ON THE GODLONTON FAMILY
A 17-year-old boy, William Hex, emigrated with Robert Godlonton's family in 1819. He may have been a younger brother of Mrs Mary Ann Godlonton (one of her granddaughters was christened Mary Ann Hex). William Hex left Albany for Cape Town in February 1824, and in March was given permission to leave the colony and sailed in the Madras for London. S.A. Commercial Advertiser, 11.2.1824; CO 6062 vol.1 no.43, permits to leave the colony, 1824.
{Bailie's Party of 1820 Settlers by M D Nash }

Settler:
Bailie's party on the Chapman

Robert married Sarah Attwell, 1820 Settler on 15 Mar 1845 in Bathurst Church (St Mary's - Methodist and Wesleyan), Bathurst, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Sarah (daughter of Richard Attwell, 1820 Settler and Ann Labrun, 1820 Settler) was born on 2 Jun 1805 in Toddington, Bedfordshire, England; was christened on 26 Jun 1805 in Toddington, Bedfordshire, England; died on 2 Sep 1890 in Beaufort House, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 74
• Name: Sarah Attwell 1820
• Religion: the Protestant Church
• Settler: 3 Dec 1819, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

Settler:
Crause's party on the Nautilus

Notes:

Grahamstown Journal 1878 - 2 - April to June
We learn with very great regret the tidings of the death of Mr. Thomas Burt GLANVILLE, so well known and so much respected in this colony. He died at Woking in Surrey on 1st May, and from the brief intelligence that has in various ways reached us, it is probable that the immediate cause of death was heart disease. Circumstances today do not admit of our doing justice to his memory in the columns of this Journal, which was for many years edited by him with conspicuous ability. We can but express our sense of the loss which South Africa sustains in the death of a public servant, thoroughly acquainted with our affairs and well able to defend the views and interests of the colony at home. There are very few men who to so much mental power, wit and intelligence, joined the quality of being so generally beloved; and it will be some consolation to his bereaved relatives, both in this country and in England, to feel that Mr. GLANVILLE will be mourned as widely as he was known.

THOMAS BURT GLANVILLE
The mournful event of the death of Mr. Thomas Burt GLANVILLE, which was recorded in our last issue, cannot fail to be regarded as a public calamity; and in no community will it be more keenly felt than in Grahamstown, where many years of the most vigorous part of his life were spent, and where he gained the well earned reputation as a brilliant writer, and as a wise and sagacious politician, by which his name and memory must ever be distinguished.
It was in the year 1865 that he first became associated with this journal, and while it worthily occupied the high and influential position to which it had been guided by the skill and talent of the Father of the Eastern Press, Mr. GLANVILLE’s connection with it became noticeable by the cheerful, genial style which ever marked the production of his pen. Following the line on which he found it, the Journal, under his management, continued a course of honest, judicious devotion to Eastern province interests. No political or social occurrences escaped attention. The active and vigilant Editor was ever ready with the appropriate suggestion, and the opportune advice given in that animated strain, that singular felicity of language, which were so peculiarly his own.
The Journal has had a long – it would only be affectation if we did not add – a serviceable career. It has never shrunk from or evaded duty, and every honest witness must testify that it lost no prestige, it suffered no diminution of public favour, while controlled and directed by him whose loss we now deplore; and if in the future it can be conducted as he conducted it, if its opinions can be expressed as forcibly as under his facile pen they were expressed, we may safely hope that its coming time will not be utterly unworthy of its past history.
We do not intend to ignore the fact that there were some who did find fault with his writings, nor do we mean to say that those who withheld the merit of praise, given so ungrudgingly by the majority of his readers, were moved by any unworthy motives. There were thoroughly honest men who did not hesitate to say that his politics were colourless and his opinions not sufficiently pronounced; but looking back now upon events which he was dealing with, as they were transpiring ere their final issues were ascertained, it will be difficult to point to any instances in which his judgement was at fault, while we can observe many which prove that his hesitancy was prudent. With regard to the very uncertainty which was complained of, nothing is easier than to fall in with popular views, nothing more natural than to adopt commonly accepted impressions; it is the truest wisdom to pause while there is uncertainty, and to be positive only when the evidence is clear and the arguments conclusive, and so we are bold enough to say that if the mission of Thomas Burt GLANVILLE is fairly considered in its relation to the Chronicles of the colony and the important facts they record, it will be found that he hesitated only when it was folly to be oracular; and that when he was decided in his opinions he expressed the opinions of a sagacious, as well as a prudent man.
This sagacity to which we are referring was always a prominent feature in his character. Never was there a safer adviser, or one who more conspicuously possessed the faculty of directing the course which should be taken under embarrassing circumstances. He was invaluable as a member of a committee. If conditions were perplexing, opinions conflicting and parties antagonistic, a few words from him removed difficulties, reconciled views that were diverse, and men that were hostile, and speedily carried harmonious and judicious resolutions. And all this he would effect with unvarying kindness; he inflicted no wounds, he delighted in giving pleasure, and hundreds in the Colony hear pleasant and agreeable recollections of the associations which it as their good fortune to have with him while he lived in their midst. It is no wonder that he should have been chosen as a member of the Colonial Parliament. He was first elected to the House of Assembly as one of the representatives for the district of Victoria East, and held that position for two years. This was at a time when the Sessions of the Legislature were protracted, and required a very much longer attendance at Capetown than could reasonably be expected from a business man. The imperative call of his duties here required him to resign his seat, and it was not until some years later that upon the urgent and pressing requisition of his fellow citizens he was induced to enter the House of Assembly again as a member for this City. He was now forced to take part in the great battle of Responsible Government, which in those days shook colonial society to its very centre. Though systematically opposing that change, it was obvious to him that its occurrence was inevitable, and that the passing of the measure was only a question of time; hence, while steadily voting with his party, he took the opportunity of making suggestions which proved to be useful. For instance, we believe it was he who recommended that in the arrangement of the Executive offices, that of Secretary for native Affairs should be created; and subsequent events have shown that our colonial relations needed the constitution of that office.
He was by no means a frequent speaker in the House; he spoke only when he had something to say, and he possessed the rare art of leaving off when he had said it. Essentially an impromptu speaker, he excelled in the talent of being able to take all the salient points of a question, and state them in clear, forcible, often eloquent terms. Skilful in debate, few men could more readily collect the arguments of an opponent, and more effectually answer them. It was never his lot to address an impatient audience. He was never a bore. On the contrary, he had an exhaustless fund of anecdote, a keen and refined sense of humour, and thus was able to enliven his addresses with the most charming sallies of wit, by means of which, when in the vein, he could with the utmost facility throw his hearers into uncontrollable laughter.
A very significant proof of the impression he had made in the House of Assembly was given by the invitation he received from Mr. MOLTENO to join the first Colonial Ministry, with the offer of the Portfolio for Native Affairs. When this transpired his friends eagerly desired that he should accept the overtures of the Premier elect. It was hoped that with a seat in the Cabinet he would obtain a wider field of usefulness, , for the exercise of his peculiar powers; and we make no doubt whatever that if he had responded to that call, his influence would have been felt in shaping the destinies of the Colony, as it was in every position in which it was exercised. But the imperious demands of the business of the firm with which he was connected, which under his enterprise had now become extended to the Diamond Fields, forced him to decline the proffered honour, and soon after to give up the representation of the City in Parliament.
He was now able to give closer attention to the new and important engagements which he had undertaken at the Fields. He had been one of the earliest to visit this newly developed source of wealth. He saw at a glance that the discovery of diamonds would give an impetus to the commerce of South Africa, such as had never yet been experienced, and therefore lost no time in planting there a branch of his firm, and establishing the Diamond News, both of which projects under his fostering care rapidly grew, and by their results more than answered his expectations, and demonstrated his shrewdness and sagacity.
It was in the year 1873 that he yielded to the yearning anxiety to visit England, which is so common in those who leave the Mother Country in early life. Though he had become a genuine colonist, he was a true son of old England. His native land had held a charm for him which he could not resist, and as soon as favouring conditions permitted he took leave of us to go back to the home of his childhood. The keen enjoyment and the rich delight which this visit gave him were well described in a series of deeply interesting letters written by him, and from time to time published in these columns. He had not been there long ere he was fixed in London, and hard at work. His partners had resolved upon another enterprise; the Empire newspaper was established, and again he occupied the Editor’s sanctum, with his usual and customary success – a want long felt was admirably met, and a journal was published in London for the use of colonists, by colonists. European subjects were handled as it were from a colonial point of view, and the same buoyant style which had enlivened the pages of the Journal, gratified the supporters of the Empire, which has so far followed a satisfactory course, and has enjoyed much public favour.
The duties of conducting a newspaper – always harassing and laborious – were at length too severe for a man whose health needed lighter and less irregular work, so that he was led to accept the office of Emigration Commissioner, in succession to his friend Mr. FULLER. His occupation now involved much responsibility, and the uniform business of a Colonial department, but it was at least free from worry and hard labour. His large experience, attractive manners and kind heart rendered him specially adapted for his post. He was constantly in communication with those wanting information respecting “The Cape”. Intending emigrants sought his advice, and his rooms were a convenient resort to Colonists visiting England. He was always actively engaged in collecting emigrants for the Colony, under the Government scheme, or recruits for the Police Force, and making arrangements for their voyage; he seemed happy in his work, a long career of public usefulness in that special department seemed to be opening for him, his looks were those of a man in his prime, and his friends reasonably expected for him many years of good service, and might have hoped that he would enjoy in the evening of life a long and vigorous old age, when they were startled first by the intelligence of his illness, and then, saddest of all, by the news of his death.
And thus has passed away a marked and [typical] man, one whose broad generous sympathies lifted him above all that was mean or selfish; whose gentleness of manner, considerateness of behaviour, and goodness of heart, won for him in his life “troops of friends”, and who now in his death leaves a memory which will be loved and cherished by all who knew him. { per Lynn MacLeod }

Thomas + Wilmot Watson. Wilmot was born about 1826 in Totnes, Devon, England; died about 1917 in St Thomas, Devon, , England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to the account about the BOOTH family written by Florence BURRINGTON ('In Spekboom Country') which contains a short GODLONTON Family Tree - Robert GODLONTON was the youngest of seven children to James GODLONTON (d. London 1796/97) and Mary PERRY (d. London 1806/07). The children were:

1. James b. 01 Apr 1780
2. Samuel b. 19 Jun 1782, bur. 30 Jan 1803
3. Elizabeth b. 03 Sep 1784
4. James b. 18 Mar 1786 [presumably the first James had died]
5. Sarah b. 28 Jun 1788
6. Joseph b. 23 Aug 1792
7. Robert b. 24 Sep 1794

The third child Elizabeth GODLONTON supposedly married someone by the name of WHITE and they had two children Robert WHITE and Thomas A. WHITE.

James married Mary Perry on 23 Sep 1772 in Stepney, London, England. Mary was born on 12 Nov 1745 in Stepney, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 72
• Name: Richard Atwell
• Occupation: a Farmer
• Settler: 3 Dec 1819, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

Settler:
Crause's party on the Nautilus

Richard married Ann Labrun, 1820 Settler about 1794. Ann (daughter of William Labrun) was born on 3 Dec 1772 in Walton, Northamptonshire, England; died on 27 Mar 1837 in Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 7
• Name: Ann Labrun 1820
• Settler: 3 Dec 1819, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

surname poss WELLS, if so William WELLS is her brother

Settler:
Crause's party on the Nautilus

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Shipwright

Thomas married Anna Maria Burt on 27 Feb 1819 in Stoke Damerel, Devon, England. Anna was born about 1791. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
Name: Thomas Glanville
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 27 Feb 1819
Marriage Place: Stoke Damerel,Devon,England
Spouse: Anna Maria Burt
FHL Film Number: 916925, 916926, 916927