Sir Richard Southey, 1820 Settler

1808 - 1901  (93 years)

• Name	Richard Southey
  Title	Sir
  Suffix	1820 Settler
  Birth	25 Apr 1808	Culmstock, Devon, England
  Baptism	12 Jun 1808	Culmstock, Devon, England
  Gender	Male
  1820 Lineage	Yes
  Settler	10 Jan 1820	Bristol, Somerset, England
  	Southey's party on the Kennersley Castle
  Settler ID	728
  Death	22 Jul 1901	'Southfield', Plumstead, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
  Burial	St John's Cemetery, Wynberg, Cape Town, Western Cape, South africa
  Person ID	I5286	master
  Last Modified	7 Oct 2021

  
  

  Father	George Southey, 1820 Settler,   b. 5 Dec 1776, Culmstock, Devon, England d. 14 Jul 1831, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 54 years)
  Mother	Joan Baker, 1820 Settler,   b. 1782, Culmstock, Devon, England d. 16 Oct 1835, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 53 years)
  Family ID	F1999	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Isabella Shaw,   b. Abt 1810, England d. 21 Jun 1869, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa (Age 59 years)
  Marriage	1830
  Children	+ 1. Senator Charles William Southey,   b. 18 Jul 1832, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 30 Jul 1924, Culmstock farm, Middelburg, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 92 years) + 2. John Henry Oliver Southey,   b. 28 May 1836, King William's Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 15 Apr 1876, 'Tentergate', Tarkastad District, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 39 years) + 3. William Robert Southey,   b. 16 Jul 1838, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa d. 27 Nov 1909, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa (Age 71 years) + 4. Colonel Richard George Southey,   b. 20 Mar 1842, Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 30 Nov 1909, Claremont, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa (Age 67 years)   5. Robert Southey,   b. 20 Mar 1844   6. Arthur D'Urban Southey,   b. 20 May 1847, Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 21 Aug 1847, Graaff-Reinet, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 0 years)   7. Edith Southey,   b. Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa   8. Juan Smith Southey   d. Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
  Family ID	F1990	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	30 Sep 2018

  
  

  Family 2	Susan Maria Hendrika Krynauw,   b. Abt 1842, Cape, South Africa d. 14 Feb 1890, 'Southfield', Plumstead, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa (Age 48 years)
  Marriage	Nov 1872	Cape, South Africa
  Children	1. Helena Georgina Southey,   b. 19 Dec 1874, Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa d. 4 Jun 1936, 'Southfield', Cedarville, East Griqualand, South Africa (Age 61 years) + 2. Cecil Henry Southey,   b. 10 Aug 1881, 'Southfield', Plumstead, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa d. 9 Jan 1949, 'Southfield', Cedarville, East Griqualand, South Africa (Age 67 years)
  Family ID	F1998	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

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  Birth - 25 Apr 1808 - Culmstock, Devon, England Baptism - 12 Jun 1808 - Culmstock, Devon, England Settler - 10 Jan 1820 - Bristol, Somerset, England Marriage - Nov 1872 - Cape, South Africa Death - 22 Jul 1901 - 'Southfield', Plumstead, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa Burial - - St John's Cemetery, Wynberg, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Settler Photos

  Southey, Richard Caption Note: Photgraph taken in the 1820 Settlers Monument, Grahamstown Keywords: Picture

  
  

• Notes

  At the outbreak of the Sixth Frontier War his wife and son took refuge in St. George's Church (now the Cathedral) in Grahamstown. He was a Lieutenant in the Albany Mounted Sharpshooters , and later a Captain of the Corps of Guides. He was Resident Agent to certain native tribes at Mount Coke . In 1847 he was Secretary to Governor Sir Harry Smith,serving on the Cape frontier and in Natal, and Special Commissioner in the Orange River Sovereignty. In 1849 he was Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate at Swellendam, and then Secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor at Grahamstown. During the period of Representative Government he held two of the highest offices of the state - Treasurer(1861-64) and finally Colonial Secretary, 1864-1872 , retiring on the introduction of Responsible Government and receiving a C.M.G . The following year he was appointed Administrator and then Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand West, 1873-5 , dealing with many contentious problems, such as diamond digging and boundary disputes with the Orange Free State and Transvaal. During 1877-8 he was M.L.A for Grahamstown, and in 1881 was knighted K.C.M.G. - From Rhodes on Africa: "When one of the first diamonds was discovered among the paraphernalia of a Native witch doctor, Sir Richard Southey, the Lieutenant-Governor, laid it on the Table of the Cape Parliament with the prophetic words "Gentlemen, this is the rock on which the future success of South Africa will be built ". - To quote "Froude on Southey" from "The Life and Times of Sir Richard Southey KCMG" by the Hon Alex Wilmot: "In Froude's "Short Stories" he describes a brief visit to Kimberley in1874, and thus refers to Sir Richard Southey "The Governor himself is one of the most remarkable men in South Africa. He won his spurs in the Kaffir war of 1834." He then goes on briefly to review his career , and ends by saying that his policy was "to check the encroachment of the Transvaal Republic and extend the Empire internally." This, Froude declares was "the one mistake of his life. Being without a force of any kind, he could only control the Republics by the help of the Native Chiefs, and the coercion of the republics in any way became impossible from the moment that the control of the Cape Colony was passed over to its own people. Otherwise, I have rarely met a man I have more admired. Mr Southey is over seventy. He drove me one day over seventy miles in a cart with as wild a team as I ever sat behind, and went to a party in the evening." - One of the chief characteristics of Sir Richard Southey, one of his brothers says, was "determination". "When undertaking any thing there was no halting or half-measures. Another leading feature was self control." Had issue. Married twice. [1]

  
  

• Sources

  [S1373] Eira Makepeace, Elizabeth Brook ancestors.ged.