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- GSSA, East Cape newsletter - Chronicles, February, 2010 No.91
Benjamin Patrick, according to family legend, came originally from Ireland. Prior to sailing his family lived at Peterborough, Leicester, England. His wife was Mary Alcock. They were 42 and 40 years respectively when they came out as Settlers with four of their five children, (Mrs Nash in ‘The Settlers Handbook’, does not record the eldest child, Ann - ed), as members of Sephton’s Party on board the sailing ship “Aurora”.
Edward Wynne recruited a party of 344 persons in London. This party was of the independent type, ie each settler paying the deposit of his own family. Thomas Colling was given charge of it but was unable to embark on the appointed date and Hezekiah Sephton was appointed. Most of them sailed on the “Aurora” (500 tons) with the balance of 33 families in the “Brilliant” (330 tons) under Richard Gush.
Both ships sailed from Gravesend in the 15th February and arrived in Algoa Bay on Monday 15th May, exactly three months later.
After disembarking at Algoa Bay, the whole party encamped with other settlers awaiting the arrival of wagons to convey them inland. After a delay of about three weeks wagons arrived, but not enough to convey the whole Sephton Party, so they left in two batches. Sephton and half his party left on Monday the 5th June and were first located at Reed Fountain (Rietfontein) (halfway to Grahamstown at the present day turnoff to Shamwari & Sidbury as told to me by my grandfather - ed). Later they moved to the Assegai Bosch River where, on the 23rd July, 1820 they were joined by the remainder of their party. This, their final destination, was about nine miles above the junction of the Assegai Bosch River and the Kariega River. Opposite Wilmot and Wood, on the North bank, lived Thomas and Sophia Slater and their family and near them, with a deep gorge intervening lived Benjamin Patrick and his family. This gorge or locality is known as “Patrick’s Kloof”.
The village, at the centre of the settlement, was named Salem, and for many years the Settlers and their descendents made a practice of gathering on the 23rd July, to commemorate the founding there-of.
The children of Salem Settlers received early educational attention, for William Henry Matthews, a schoolmaster, was a member of the party. He began teaching at Salem in1820 and became master of the school in1822. Miss Sarah Slater, who followed her parents to South Africa in 1826 with Shepherds Party kept a girl’s school at her parents’ home. Because of disputes over money matters, Sephton was removed as head of the party and the administration of party matters was taken over by a committee elected by members of the party. James Hancock and Benjamin Patrick were members of the committee and thereafter used the title “Head of Party” when signing their names.
A. “With the exception of the Scotch Party at Baviaans River, the large party under Sephton was the most thriving of them all. After a year, they had already built a neat little village, which the called Salem, where they had established a school and where their Clergyman, the Rev. William Shaw, conducted services regularly.”
Extract from Theal
B. “It may be further stated that although one of the largest parties, they stood out conspicuously in the determination shown to make the best of the circumstances, to work harmoniously together and as they were, for the most part, a religious community, to act up to high ideals of duty”
Quoted from Cory.
Allan E Makin expands with the following info:
Benjamin Patrick, during the first year or two at Salem, supplemented his farm income by running a business of “General Dealer and Chapman”.
His wife Mary, nee Alcock, died soon after arrival at the settlement. Under laws of the Dutch East India Company that were in force in the Cape Colony at that time, a surviving spouse could not re-marry until a period of two years had elapsed since the death of a the marriage partner.
When about half this time had elapsed, Benjamin Patrick wished to marry young Mary Menzies, whose husband, William, had died in 1821 at Devonshire farm after his arrival in the Kariega valley. He had been leader of the Menzies Party that was located just east of the Salem Settlement. To get dispensation from the provisions of the Dutch Law that was preventing the marriage, Patrick sent a memorial (memo) to the Governor in Cape Town which read:
“… memorialist, a widower, wishes to marry the widow of an English Settler lately deceased who has left no children and may they marry before the expiration of the term required by Dutch Laws as she is having difficulty in the management of her cattle. They would like to be treated in the manner provided by the glorious Constitution of England.”
The following is an extract from the matrimonial records, Cape Town: Benjamin Patrick, widower, married in Grahamstown on 4th February, 1822, Mary Whitnall, aged 29 years, the widow of William Menzies.” She brought into the marriage the allotment and land rights of her deceased spouse at the nearby location of the Menzies party. Her right to this land grant was confirmed in 1825 by the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset. Theal, in his record states: “…because of the decease of William Menzies the land would now be transferred to Sweetnam as head of the party but, the widow of Menzies, now Patrick, must get her pro rata share of the land never-the-less.”
Benjamin Patrick served in the Fifth (or Cariega) Infantry division of the Albany Levy, a local defence militia, during its existence from 1823 to 1825. He continued farming at Salem until about the beginning of the decade of 1840 when the family moved to Grahamstown where they lived in Beaufort Street. Benjamin sold his allotment, No 33 to Henry Amos and the other allotments, Nos 8 and 27, to a fellow Salem Settler, Charles Thomas Croft. During the Frontier War of 1834 – 35 his homestead was burnt to the ground and he suffered heavy stock losses, but after the war the homestead had been rebuilt. In Grahamstown he made his living as a carrier and by transport driving to and from Port Elizabeth. In 1849 he was granted a licence to run a retail shop at his home in Beaufort Street.
Written by Denis Herbert Patrick with additional input
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