Reginald Benoni Webber

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes

Reginald married Lydia Catherine Boniwell on 9 Oct 1905 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Lydia was born on 5 Jul 1875 in Bournemouth, Dorset, England; died on 21 Apr 1969 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Vera Kathleen Webber was born on 14 Oct 1906.
2. Mabel Phoebe Webber was born on 6 Apr 1908 in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa.
3. Patrica Benoni Webber
4. Reginald Rufus Webber was born on 17 Mar 1912 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa; died on 19 Apr 1968 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
5. Charles Alfred Boniwell Webber was born on 15 Apr 1914 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa; died on 26 May 1972 in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes

Notes:

Description: Rev John Edwards

Died:
Description: Appendicitis

Benjamin married Millicent Ann Nash on 4 Dec 1866 in 'Harefield', Kendrew, Graaff - Reinet (nr), Eastern Cape, South Africa. Millicent (daughter of William Nash and Phoebe Prudence Hobson) was born on 13 Nov 1845 in Zwart Ruggens, Graaf Reinet, Eastern Cape, South Africa; was christened on 14 Dec 1845 in Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 8 Jun 1902 in Glen Lynden, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes

Notes:

Description: Rev John Edwards

Notes:

Married:
Marriage Record: 4 Dec 1866, the house, Harefield farm, Riet River Parish, Uitenhage District, Cape Colony; Rev. John EDWARDS, Wesleyan Minister; Entry #142; Groom: Benjamin Mitchell WEBBER, nearly 20 years (sic; actually 20y 4m), bachelor, Merchant, of Glen Lynden, Bedford District; Bride: Millicent Ann (sic) NASH, full age, spinster, of Harefield (farm), Uitenhage District; by Banns, Groom with consent of Parents; Witnesses: William NASH, William Henry WEBBER
d. Cape Civil Marriage Register #4681 1866

Charles married Emma Margaret Dixon, 1820 Settler on 25 Dec 1833 in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Emma (daughter of John Henry Dixon, 1820 Settler and Margaret Ann Gurney, 1820 Settler) was born on 3 Sep 1813 in England; died on 29 Jan 1893 in Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 1596
• Settler: 13 Dec 1819, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

Settler:
Dixon's party on the Ocean

Notes:

Died:
KAB MOOC 6/9/144 01 Ref. 9530 PART 1 1873-1873. NASH, WILLIAM. DEATH NOTICE.[doc] It was signed by his eldest son, Henry NASH

William married Phoebe Prudence Hobson on 25 Apr 1844 in Welgelegen farm, Riet River, Uitenhage District, Cape Colony, South Africa. Phoebe (daughter of David Hobson, 1820 Settler and Mary Ann Robinson, 1820 Settler) was born on 13 Jul 1829 in Albany District, Eastern Cape, South Africa; was christened on 9 Sep 1849 in Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 30 Sep 1875 in Jansenville district, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes

Notes:

issue 1 daughter
according to the Anne CAREY descendants tree held at the William CAREY University in the USA, Phoebe died on 30 Sep 1875. In support of this:
d. KAB MOOC 7/1/330 01 Ref. 76 1872-1872. HOBSON, PHOEBE PRUDENCE. WIFE OF WILLIAM NASH. WILL. FILED 1873.
e. KAB MOOC 7/1/350 01 Ref. 40 1875-1875. NASH, PHOEBE PRUDENCE. WIFE OF WILLIAM NASH. WILL. FILED 1875.
f. KAB MOOC 13/1/339 01 Ref. 18 1877-1877. NASH, PHOEBE PRUDENCE. LIQUIDATION AND DISTRIBUTION ACCOUNTS.

In 1873, William NASH died, and the Wills of both partners were submitted to the authorities. In 1875, when Phoebe (presumably) died, her Will was submitted to the authorities. Subsequently her Estate accounts were submitted for scrutiny and approval, in 1877.

Notes:

Married:
m. 25 Apr 1844, at the preaching house, Welgelegen farm, Riet River, Uitenhage District, Cape Colony; Rev. John EDWARDS, Wesleyan Minister; Entry #39
Cape Civil Marriage Register #12704 Cradock 1844

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Charles William Webber 1826
• Occupation: Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa; a Tailor

Notes:

from A Small World, by Norma van As:

In the year 1820, two British settlers, who were destined to play a part in the fortunes of the Webber family, sailed for the Cape Colony. They were Thomas Young, a farmer of Yorkshire, cousin to the Webber brothers Charles and Samuel of London, and William Shepherd, who was to return to England in 1825 in order to organise a new party of settlers.

By the year 1825 many of the original Albany settlers were reasonably well-established. Some of their most pressing difficulties, apart from the ever-present threat of attack by native bands, had been resolved. Many had left their original locations and moved to Grahamstown, Uitenhage or Algoa Bay, where they resumed their old trades or turned their hand to such occupations as would bring them a living. Certainly, the economic climate was not as depressed as it had been when the 1819 and 1820 settlers arrived. There was now a demand for housing, for shops to provide food, clothing and farming implements, and for better roads and means of communication. Further, the settlers were beginning to participate in civic affairs. Reports of conditions at this time evoked a picture of hopeful progress and the possibility of eventual prosperity in the Colony. The memories of hardships, disasters and rigours endured were eclipsed by a new spirit of optimism.

At about this time, Charles and Samuel Webber in far-off London became interested in settling in Albany, encouraged, no doubt, by their cousin Thomas Young.

Charles, three times married, with a family of six children ranging in age from nineteen years to a babe in arms, was a sober, strict and highly-principled Baptist, by trade a tailor and draper of Bond Street, London. He had lived at one time in Tottenham Court Road and later occupied a comfortable residence at No. 34 Cirencester Place (now Great Titchfield Street) in the division of Portman Square, Parish of Marylebone, Middlesex. This house was demolished in 1971, with all those comprising that block, in order to make way for the erection of the Great Regent Hotel facing on to Carburton Street, which now stands upon the site. Charles Webber's house stood where the ramp to the hotel basement garage has been constructed. Bomb damage during World War II had been severe in the area, but Charles' old home remained untouched.

Samuel, Charles' junior by some fifteen years, occupied premises at 84 East Street, Manchester Square, Marylebone - not a great distance removed from the home of his elder brother. Samuel was a cheesemonger by trade. He had spent thirteen years in the Merchant Navy before marrying and settling down to life ashore, but always hankered after adventure. No doubt he found life in London somewhat dull in the days of peace which followed upon the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars.

It is not known what made the two brothers decide to leave England and risk all in a new and unknown land. Samuel, with his expansive, generous and extrovert nature would have thought little of uprooting his wife and family of five children, but Charles, by far the more serious-minded of the two, must have given the matter much thought before deciding to join his younger brother in such a venture. Without doubt, business in England in the tailors' and drapers' business was not as flourishing as it had been during the Napoleonic Wars when there was a constant demand for military and naval uniforms, but Charles was ever a careful and resourceful man and would no doubt have ridden out the economic depression had he elected to remain in England.

Whatever the personal reasons which lay behind their decision, it is clear that Samuel was eager from the start to emigrate. The manner of their departure from England came about in this fashion: for various reasons, some men amongst the 1820 settlers had left their wives and children at home. They now felt able to support them and desired to be reunited with their families. Others, amongst them Thomas Young, wished various relatives in England to join them in the Colony. William Shepherd, of Sephton's Party, who had settled at Salem, agreed to organise such a party.
Once arrived in England, Shepherd struggled from July 1825 until well into 1826 in an effort to persuade the British Government to assist those concerned. Earl Bathurst, the Colonial Secretarv at one stage offered, on behalf of the government, to meet half the expenses involved. Delay followed upon delay until it seemed that the matter would never be satisfactorily resolved. Samuel Webber, meanwhile, in an effort to secure a free passage, wrote to Earl Bathurst from Manchester Square as follows: 'My Lord - being desirous of settling in Grahamstown, Cape of Good Hope, with my wife and five children, I take the liberty of soliciting from your Lordship the favour of a passage out, with the usual indulgences afforded to Free Settlers. Should your Lordship consider my thirteen years service in the navy entitle me to any claim to the above indulgence, I have enclosed my certificates for the last ten years service. Signed) Samuel Webber.'
Samuel's plea was of no avail and the final blow fell when Shepherd received a letter from the Colonial Office, bluntly informing him that the Treasury had no funds whatsoever with which to assist the would-be settlers.

In the meantime, some of these unfortunates had already sold much of their furniture and possessions in an attempt to raise their share of the required passage money. The full responsibility now rested upon Shepherd's shoulders and he carried out his task as best he could in the circumstances. It is not known how the financial need of all was met, but William Shepherd's Party, consisting of 78 adults (including unaccompanied children) and 88 accompanied children, set sail from England in the English summer of 1826 upon a vovage which lasted close on five months. Some, if not all, sailed in the ship Hebe. The approximate date of their arrival in Algoa Bay is recorded in a letter written by David Cawood in the month of November 1826, from the Colony, to his brother-in-law, William Barrett, in London, in which he stated: 'I have just heard of a few women and children whom their husbands left behind them in England are now arrived at Algoa Bay. From a letter written by John Mitchell Webber to his children, we know the duration of the vovage: 'I have heard my mother say that when a babe I was very small and weak, but having so long a voyage (nearly five months) caused me to grow strong and healthy.'3 Descendants of Charles Webber are proud of the fact that he was in a sufficiently good position to pay his own passage as well as that of his wife Mary and his six children. He certainly had no need to sell any of his possessions for he brought his furniture and books with him. His writing-desk remains in the family to this day. There was also no need for Mary and Martha Webber to sit upon their boxes and weep when the wagons carrying them from Algoa Bay to Grahamstown finally deposited them there. Thomas Young had doubtless made arrangements for the arrival of his relatives -four adults, one youth of nineteen in the person of Charles Pinchin, and ten more children of varying ages.

Samuel's daughter, Martha Jane, in her autobiography, tells of the first blow to befall the party after their arrival. She avers that grants of land had been promised them by Earl Bathurst contingent upon their having paid their own passages. Once arrived, they learned that anyone wishing to obtain land would be obliged to pay for it. There was nothing for it but to give up any plans of farming the land and turn to their trades. For Charles, the Bond Street tailor, this setback seems to have proved no great obstacle.

By 1826 Grahamstown had grown from a straggling village to a thriving town, set in a hollow surrounded by gently rising hills. The 'Settlers' City' had developed from a military outpost to a commercial town served by the two ports of Algoa Bay and Port Frances, the former having been declared a free port in 1826. There existed a flourishing coastal trade with Cape Town which encouraged commercial enterprise, while the institution of the 'Kaffir Fairs', which allowed trading with the natives, had done much to boost the economy of Grahamstown.

When the Webbers arrived there, they found the building of the original square-towered St George's Church in progress and the first Baptist chapel already completed. Artisans were building, innkeepers and businessmen were plying their trades and wagoners regularly travelled the routes to the ports. They saw military barracks and buildings, a gaol, the earliest settler cottages built in characteristic style with pitched roofs and gabled end-walls sporting a chimneystack at either end, as well as single- and double-storeyed buildings with flat roofs and simple lines. There was little evidence of Cape Dutch influence in the architecture of Grahamstown. The detached buildings of the provided a welcome change for the newcomers after the high-density which they had been accustomed in the terraced houses of London.

Charles + Mary Pinchin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 202
• Name: John Henry Dixon 1820
• Occupation: a Joiner and Cabinetmaker
• Religion: the Protestant Church
• Residence: 8 Mutton Lane, Mile End Road, London, England
• Settler: 13 Dec 1819, Gravesend, Kent, England
• Occupation: 1829, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa; a Parish Clerk
• Occupation: 1837; a Clerk of St George's Church

Notes:

Widower of "Waaiplaats" when he married Judith. Leader of Dixon's Party from London. Ship - Ocean sailed 1819. 1820 was a joiner and cabinet maker of 8 Mutton lane, Mile End Road, London. Later was clerk to Chaplain at Grahamstown 1829

Settler:
Dixon's party on the Ocean

John married Margaret Ann Gurney, 1820 Settler on 26 Dec 1806 in St Leonard, Shoreditch, London. Margaret was born in 1784; died on 21 Jun 1824 in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa; was buried on 25 Jun 1824 in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 1588
• Name: Margaret Waldon 1820
• Settler: 13 Dec 1819, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

Also called WALDRON in A Small World

Settler:
Dixon's party on the Ocean

Buried:
Description: Rev William Geary

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 333
• Name: David Edmund Hobson 1820
• Occupation: Cottesbrooke, Stoneyvale, Eastern Cape, South Africa; a Farmer
• Occupation: a Husbandman
• Religion: the Protestant Church
• Settler: 13 Dec 1819, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

name seen as David Edmund Hobson on Family Search.org
https://beta.familysearch.org/search/collection/igi/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22David%20Edmund%22~%20%2Bsurname%3AHobson~%20%2Bsubcollection_id%3A5&igi=%281%202%29

Ancestry : http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/2972/40612_B0151976-00404/1648894

Settler:
William Smith's party on the Northampton

Buried:
Cemetery is on a section of the original Martyrsford farm in the Jansenville district.

David married Mary Ann Robinson, 1820 Settler on 6 Feb 1823 in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Mary (daughter of Thomas Robinson, 1820 Settler and Mary Ann Dorrell, 1820 Settler) was born on 29 Feb 1804 in London, England; was christened on 25 Mar 1804 in St Clement Danes, Westminster, London, England; died about Jan 1880 in Wellfound (Welgevonden) farm, Jansenville District, Eastern Cape, South Africa; was buried in Wellfound (Welgevonden) farm cemetery, Jansenville District, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• 1820 Lineage: Yes
• Settler ID: 698
• Name: Mary Ann Robinson 1820
• Religion: the Protestant Church
• Settler: 15 Feb 1820, Gravesend, Kent, England

Notes:

The Marriage Court examined the prospective Bride and Groom and determined whether there were any legal impediments to the marriage. If satisfied, they issued a document. The wedding took place after this. There have been cases when the wedding took place on the same day, but it is unusual. Because the HOBSONs were Baptists, it seems unlikely that this wedding ceremony would have been easily arranged. There were still restrictions on the activities of various religious denominations in the Cape at that time. Until we have some documentary evidence, we don't have a date nor a place. It didn't help that the bride and her father were recorded as surname ROBERTSON instead of ROBINSON in the official document, either.


Description: Mary Ann ROBINSON was the eldest child of Thomas and Mary Ann ROBINSON.
Ref. IGI: name: Mary Ann ROBINSON gender: Female baptism/christening date: 25 Mar 1804 baptism/christening place: SAINT CLEMENT DANES, WESTMINSTER, LONDON, ENGLAND, birth date: 29 Feb 1804 father's name: Thomas ROBINSON, mother's name: Mary Ann. indexing project (batch) number: C04160-3 system origin: England-ODM source film number: 574267.


Settler:
Sephton's party on the Aurora

Buried:
Cemetery is on a section of the original Martyrsford farm in the Jansenville district.