Before applying to take out a proprietary party of his own, Dalgairns had been associated with John Leigh, a City merchant and shipowner, in a project to form a company to settle emigrants at Saldanha Bay. This scheme was turned down by the Colonial Department as 'not conversant with the views of government'. Dalgairns then entered his name with Willson's party, but withdrew it when his own party was accepted to emigrate.

Dalgairns' first list of his party contained none of the names, apart from his own, that appeared in the final sailing list. He recruited his men in London, and as the party was finally constituted it included four men - Blakemore, Denham, Stephenson and Williams - who had originally engaged to emigrate with Brown and Stubbs, whose party was rejected (see Clark's Party). Tobias Tharratt's name was originally on the list of another rejected party proposed by James Wilmot (see Willson's party).

Dalgairns paid deposits for 11 men, and the party embarked at Deptford in the Northampton transport which sailed from Gravesend on 13 December 1819. The baby son of James Williams died at sea, perhaps one of the five deaths from small pox that occurred during the Northampton's voyage. Table Bay was reached on 26 March and Algoa Bay on 30 April.

Dalgairns' party was located on the left bank of the Blaauwkrantz River, but he left his location to move to Somerset early in 1823.

LIST OF DALGAIRNS' PARTY

ADCOCK, Christopher 35. Tallow chandler. w Elizabeth 29. c William 7, George 4, Edward 2.

BAILEY, William 21. Smith.

BLAKEMORE, John 28. Farmer. w Mary 26. c Elizabeth 2.

DALGAIRNS, Charles 42. Farmer. c. Agnes 14, Eliza 11, Magdalene 8.

DENHAM, Stephen 26. Carpenter. w Martha 26. c Mary 2, Martha.

EATWELL, William 33. Army pensioner.

HAW, Simon 37. Farmer. w Margaret 27. c Charles 1.

HILL, Richard 32. Carpenter.

STEPHENSON, Frederick 20.

THARRATT, Tobias 39. Gardener. w Ann 34. c John 6, Tobias 5.

WILLIAMS, William 40. Gardener. w Mary 36. c Mary 4, James 1 (died at sea).

Main sources for party list


Agent of Transports' List of persons belonging to Mr Dalgairns' party (Cape Archives C0 136).

Further reading


The Journals of Sophia Pigot, ed Margaret Rainier (Cape Town, AA Balkema, 1974).

from THE SETTLER HANDBOOK by MD Nash page 64