Stephanus Jacobus Hart

Notes:

Stephanie May Perks (Hart) their grand-daughter remembers them having "long prayers before and after meals - each person kneeling by his or her chair."

Stephanus married Mary Jane Cottingham on 16 Sep 1863 in Queenstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Mary (daughter of Wolfran Cottingham and Mary Jane Bannister) was born on 14 Mar 1846 in Devonshire, England; died on 22 Dec 1920 in Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Horace Newton Hart was born on 30 Jun 1864 in Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 14 Jul 1935 in Cathcart Cottage Hospital, Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
2. Sidney Lawrence Hart was born on 19 Mar 1866 in Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 21 Jun 1922 in Luftha, Elliot, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
3. Ida May Hart was born on 16 Nov 1867 in Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 25 Sep 1952 in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
4. William Osborne Hart was born on 29 Jan 1870 in Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 18 May 1926 in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
5. Annie Margaret Hart was born on 6 Feb 1872 in Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
6. Mary Lillian Hart was born on 14 Dec 1874 in Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
7. Georgia Eulalie Hart was born on 22 Apr 1877 in Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 27 Nov 1961 in Dickenson St., Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, South Africa; was buried in Settlers Methodist Church Cemetery, Port Alfred, Easten Cape, South Africa.
8. Lylie Blanch Hart Hart was born on 30 Apr 1879 in Cradock, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 18 Jul 1916 in Queenstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
9. Stephanus Meintjies Hart was born on 29 Oct 1880 in 'Happy Valley', Klipplaats River, Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa; was christened on 20 Dec 1880 in Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 6 Oct 1969 in Durban, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
10. Muriel Violet Hart was born on 9 Apr 1882 in Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa; was christened on 4 May 1883 in Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
11. Gladys Elaine Hart was born on 9 Nov 1884 in Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa; was christened on 26 Apr 1885 in Cathcart, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 16 Jan 1964 in Settler's Hospital, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa; was buried in Signal Hill farm cemetery, Carlisle Bridge, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
12. Pearl Hart was born on 23 Nov 1886 in Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 9 May 1964 in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Robert Jnr Hart

Notes:

Grahamstown Journal, Saturday 12 February 1853

A DANGEROUS PICNIC

A party of juveniles, about 50 in number, attended by 10 gentlemen, went out on a picnic excursion to the waterfall at Mr. HART’s house at Glen Avon. Tho of the gentlemen, Messrs. W. BOWKER and R. HART, having their guns with them, proposed going a little further up the kloof to look for a bush buck, but they had gone only a few yards when they found the fresh spoor of Kafir.
Following it in silence for some distance they saw a Kafir seated about 40 yards from them, occupied in brushing the flies off his face. BOWKER was going to shoot him at once but HART persuaded him to try and get a little nearer, and in doing so the Kafir caught sight of them and instantly bolted.
At this moment perceiving that there were two Kaffirs, both armed with guns, BOWKER fired, and heard one of them fall heavily to the ground, while HART fired and wounded the other. On reaching the spot where the man had fallen they found that he had got up and made off. After following his spoor a short distance, HART turned into a hole under the krantz, where the Kaffirs had made an almost inaccessable lurking place by piling up immense quantities of wood; only one person could get in at a time, and then had to climb up a very steep place, so that two or three fellows could have defended this stronghold against a host. Nothing daunted by his surprise at unexpectedly finding such a place close to his father’s homestead, HART climbed the steep pathway which terminated in a sort of cave, and there discovered, comfortably wrapped up in his kaross and fast asleep, a huge Kafir, whom he instantly shot dead. We presume this picnic party terminated rather abruptly, and the following day a different party visited the spot, and led by BOWKER and HART they followed the blood spoor of the wounded men for about 3 miles, to a place where an ox had been killed by them, but could not trace it any further. The whole number of Kaffirs seen on the previous day amounted to six, whereof two were wounded and one killed. We much require a rural police to assist in routing out such nests of thieves and murderers.

Robert married Johanna Christina Meintjes on 14 Sep 1831 in Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Johanna (daughter of Stephanus Jacobus Meintjes and Cecilia Magdalena Vorster) was born in 1813 in Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 18 Jul 1841; was buried in Glen Avon farm, Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Extract from the Grahamstown Journal, July 1841:
Died at Glen Avon, Somerset on Sunday 18th inst Johanna Christina MEINTJES, wife of Robert HART Junior, at the age of 28 years and 6 months, leaving six young children, deeply lamented.

Also known as Cecilia, per her inscription on the Vault at Glen Avob

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: Between 1811 and 1817, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa
• Residence: Between 1817 and 1825, Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa
• Residence: 1825, Glen Avon farm, Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Notes:

Robert Hart (1776-1867) came from Strathavon in Lanarkshire, and as a young man joined the 78th Highland Regiment. The newly formed National Convention of the French Republic had just declared war on Great Britain and Holland, and was preparing to take possession of the Cape. So the British decided to take it first and immediately despatched Admiral Elphinstone with a fleet, which anchored in Simon's Bay in 1795. Robert Hart's regiment under General Craig was sent out with the troops that were to occupy the Cape. At this time the Cape was torn asunder by political intrigues and revolt against the bankrupt and despotic Dutch East India Company, and Graaff-Reinet and Swellendam had declared themselves Republics, but agreed to come under British rule.

In 1799 the Third Frontier War broke out and Chief Ndhlambi invaded the Zuurveld and Lieut Hart served with his regiment in the fighting on the frontier, which ended up in a patched peace leaving the Xhosa in possession of the ground that they had occupied.
In 1802, by the Treaty of Amiens peace was ratified between great Britain and the French Republic, and the Cape of Good Hope was given back to the Batavian Republic. British troops were withdrawn, and Robert Hart left with his Regiment for India. From here he returned to Scotland and married Hannah Tamplin. When the English retook the Cape in 1806, Robert Hart was again in the army of occupation under General Baird. In the following year Hart's regiment retook the Zuurveld, and pushed the Xhosa back over the Great Fish River, thus reclaiming the Albany and Bathurst areas where the bulk of the Settlers were located in 1820.
Grahamstown was founded in 1811, and Lt. Hart with his wife and family were stationed there until 1817, when he was put in charge of Somerset Farm which supplied wheat and fodder to the Military in the Eastern Province. When Somerset farm in 1825 became the town of Somerset East, Robert Hart, for his long and faithfull service to the Government, was given the farm Glen Avon, which he extended by purchasing additional land. Robert was Heemraad for the area, and he was responsible for the building of the Dutch Reformed Church in Somerset East. Some years later he contributed £1300 to the building of the Presbyterian Church.

Death date of 14 September 1867 is listed in "British Families in South Africa" by C Pama pub by Human & Rosseau 1992 on Page 87. Also on that page are: Robert Hart I born Scotland married to Mary Fleming parents of Robert Hart II born 1777 in Stathavon, Lanark, Scotland.

More about Glen Avon from Country life, March 2000;
When Robert Hart stepped off a boat at the Cape of Good Hope in 1795, he did not look like an important future figure. At the time he was 18 years old, a private in the Argyllshire Highlanders and penniless. Yet this young Scottish lad was destined to play a major role in taming the old Cape colony's wild eastern flank. After surviving the dangers of being a soldier on the turbulent eastern frontier, he took a short break in England before returning in 1807 to SA as a commissioned officer in Colonel Graham's newly formed Cape Regiment. By now he was also married to Hannah Tamplin, and the couple settled at the military base that later became Grahamstown. After a while, Robert took over Somerset farm, established in the Zuurveld by the government to supply the army. While there the Harts welcomed the Scottish party of 1820 settlers who ventured inland to the Baviaans River valley. Those were tough times for the Scots, but luckily they had a helpful friend in Robert. In 1825 Somerset Farm was shut down and the land set aside for the new town of Somerset East. Left with a small state pension, Robert Hart moved with his family to land he'd acquired a short distance away in a fertile valley below the Bosberg, a beautiful place he named Glen Avon.
Through hard work and great insight he soon made his farm a landmark in the region. He bred top merino sheep, a breed introduced to SA by Colonel Graham, and so contributed greatly to what became an important industry. His orchards produced a fantastic bounty of fruits, especially citrus, and his flood-irrigated fields delivered huge harvests of grain that soon justified a private mill.
The machinery for this was shipped out from Scotland and then transported by ox wagon from Algoa Bay over the Zuurberg Pass. The mill could produce two tons of meal a day and soon Robert was grinding all the wheat grown between Pearston, Ann's Villa and Zwagershoek.
....the amazing legacy of Robert Hart, who died in 1867 at the ripe old age of 90, is remarkable because everything has been so well looked after by his direct descendants. Their dedication preserved the old mill and the two homesteads...Although idle since 1991, Glen Avon's historic mill could be made to run again if it rained enough...and the rusted holes in the water feed troughs were patched up.

Newspaper cuttings from the Eastern Cape.
EP Herald, Oct 1967

The charming homestead on Glen Avon which was built by Robert HART round about 1825 and which is now occupied by his direct descendant, Mr. R.C. BROWN, his wife and family. The house was built of stone and roofed with imported Welsh slate. It has been restored under the supervision of a well-known Port Elizabeth architect and furnished with antiques appropriate to the period. A wing has been added to the house but is perfectly in keeping with the original structure. The veranda railings are those put up by Robert HART. They are of iron and are set in lead.

The old mill at Glen Avon, Somerset East, must be one of the very few mills of its type left in South Africa. It is still in working order and is used for grinding wheat and stock food. The wheat incidentally, which is grown on Glen Avon is used for baking the family bread. The mill machinery, which was made in Leeds, England in 1861 and the grinding stone, which came from Scotland and is of Aberdeen granite, were transported to Glen Avon from Algoa Bay and over the Zuurberg Mountains by ox wagon some time in the 1800's. The wheel is 20 feet in diameter.

The grave of Robert HART is on the estate and a Presbyterian church, erected in 1850, which is now used as a coloured school. The estate is about three miles out of Somerset East.

see also https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSVZ-5SMP-4?i=1164&cat=305287 and https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSVZ-5SMG-L?i=1165&cat=305287

Robert married Hannah May Tamplin on 10 Apr 1804 in Saint Peters Port, Guernsey. Hannah (daughter of Richard Tamplin and Susannah Randle) was born on 30 Jul 1777 in Chorlwood, Sussex, England; died on 3 Sep 1852 in Glen Avon, Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

I (Tombi Peck) received an email from Ruth LEVINE (we share their son JAMES HART as a common ancestor) on the 30th May 2007
"I have found a record in the Poor Law Records (Surrey) of a Hannah Tamplin aged 1 year 3 months in 1779. I think her age is wrong because it cites her brother Richard as 2 years old. It appears her family were subject to a removal order from Worth, Surrey (her mother's birth village) to Chorlwood, Surrey where they came from. Father: Richard TAMPLIN, Mother: Susannah TAMPLIN". We later found from the TAMPLIN ONE NAME SOCIETY that her mother was Susannah RANDLE from Worth, Surrey.
The Grahamstown Journal of the 11th September 1852 had the following
Obituary for her: (Photographed as usual by Sue Mackay)
"Departed this life on the 3rd September 1852, Mrs. Robert HART, Senior, aged 75 years, after a severe affliction, borne with christian resignation about 29 years - the last few years helpless as an infant - and a firm faith in her Redeemer, with whom I trust her soul is now enjoying all the blessings of redeeming love.

She has left a disconsolate husband, after a happy union of 48 years 5
months and a numerous family and circle of friends to lament a loss, which, notwithstanding her bodily helplessness, they acutely feel.
~
South African Commercial Advertiser, 11th September 1852:
"DIED at Glen Avon, District of Somerset, September 3rd 1852, aged 75 years, Hannah TAMPLIN, the beloved wife of Robert HART Esq. She bore a long affliction of 29 years with Christian patience and resignation to the Divine Will. Her last illness was marked by a firm reliance upon her Saviour, and a joyful anticipation of the rest and reward that awaited her; this to her bereaved and mourning Partner and Family is the best consolation."


Ruth LEVINE has found the birth Record for a Robert HART

5 January 1777 HART, Robert (O.P.R. Births 621/0010 0159
Page 156 1776/1777
Robert son of James HART, Weaver, Strathaven born 5 January 1777.

Further records uncovered by Ruth LEVINE shows:

To go with this information Ruth has found that his father James HART who died in Edinburgh and his mother was Isabel BROOM who was born and died in Scotland about 1791. Mary FLEMING married his father in 1807 so she was his stepmother, not his mother. He had two siblings, Andrew HART who married Isobele STEELE. Their daughter was Marion HART. His sister was Grizel HART who married David Campbell. Isabel BROOM'S (DIED 1791) parents were John BROOM and Bessie BINNIE. John BROOM'S father was William BROOM who was married to one Isobel BINNIE.
James HART'S FATHER was another James HART (mother unknown). His father appears to have been another James HART (mother unknown) The Stamvader being Robert HART and the Stammoeder Elizabeth DONALD.

Notes:

Description: Re marriage of Robert Hart to Hanna Templin
9 April 1804 St Peter Port Town Guernsey
Record states:
Robert Hart Sgt 91st Reg of Foot and Hannah Templin daughter of Richard of Worth Surrey and Susannah Randle

Stephanus + Cecilia Magdalena Vorster. Cecilia was born about 1792 in Graaff-Reinet district, Eastern Cape, South Africa; died on 24 Feb 1848 in Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape, South Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: James Heart
• Occupation: Weaver

James married Isabel Broom on 6 Feb 1774 in Polmont, Scotland. Isabel (daughter of John Broom and Jean Taylor) died in 1791 in Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard + Susannah Randle. Susannah was born in Worth, Surrey, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]