(Holder): British 1820 Settlers to South Africa

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Party	Holder
Leader	William Holder
Number in the Party	39
Area Party originated from	Gloucestershire, England
Area allocated to the party	New Bristol on the Bush River
1820 Settler Ship	Kennersley Castle,
Surnames in party	Brooks, Clark, Currier, Guest, Hancock, Hiles, Holder, Kidwell, Powell, Roberts, Shepstone, Tainton, Tubb, Unknown, Webb, Woods, Woolcott,
Other Information	A party of 39 from Gloucestershire led by William HOLDER sailed in "Kennersley Castle". They were located on a tributary of the Bush River, their location being named New Bristol. It is now wrongly named Lampeter.
Settler Handbook Content:	No. 44 on the Colonial Department list, led by William Holder, a yeoman of 7 Nelson Street, Bristol. This was a joint-stock party recruited in Bristol and consisting almost entirely of small tradesmen, although their leader assured the Colonial Department that 'all understood agriculture'. Only two of the names on the first list submitted - Holder himself and Webb - appeared on the party's final sailing list. Powell and Roberts were originally members of a party formed by John Staples of Bermondsey, London, who was unsuccessful in his application to emigrate; they were both Bristol men, and after Staples' party was rejected they joined Holder in place of drop-outs from his early list. Deposits were paid for 12 men, one of whom did not in the event emigrate. Two of the party, Holder and Powell, were accompanied by servants (Currier and Woods; the latter's age was given as under 18 in order to avoid paying the full deposit). The party sailed from Bristol on 10 January 1820 in the regular transport *Kennersley Castle, reaching Table Bay on 29 March and Algoa Bay on 29 April. Eighteen children died on the voyage, many from measles; four children of Holder's party appeared on the London list but not in the Agents' Return, and may have been among those who died. In writing about his fellow passengers on the Kennersley Castle, Thomas Philipps described the party as 'mechanics from Bristol, we like all but the head, he and the Lieut (i.e. the Agent of Transports) often quarrel ...' This opinion of Holder was evidently shared by his people, who complained that they were 'dissatisfied with his general conduct and behaviour as also of his Gross ignorance and uncouth manner', and requested permission soon after arriving in Albany for Shepstone to take over the direction of the party. Their location on a tributary of the Bush River was named New Bristol. LIST OF HOLDER'S PARTY* CURRIER, William 24. Labourer (servant of W Holder). GUEST, Edward 34. Mason. w Ann 40. c John 8. HANCOCK, John 23. Tailor. HILES, Frederick William 38. Sawyer and army pensioner. w Mary (or Elizabeth) 35. c William 11, George 9, Ann 6. HOLDER, William 30. Yeoman. w Sophia 25. c Sophia 3, Eliza 2. KIDWELL, Alexander 38. Labourer. w Phoebe 32. POWELL, James 32. Smith. w Sarah 32. c Priscilla 9, Sarah 5, Philip 3. ROBERTS, William 25. Carpenter. w Maria 24. c John 3. SHEPSTONE, John William 24. Mason. w Mary 20. c Theophilus 3. TAINTON, Richard 24. Carpenter. w Ann (or Mary) 22. WEBB, John 34. Pump and engine maker. w Sarah 30. c Eliza 7, Frederick James 5, Henry 3, Sarah. WOODS, Samuel 17 (servant of James Powell). *Main sources for party list* Agent of Transports' Return of settlers under the direction of William Holder (Cape Archives CO 6138/2,67); Special Commissioner William Hayward's notes (Cape Archives CO 8542). The first names of the women given in the Agent's Return differ in several cases from the names set down in the London sailing list. from THE SETTLER HANDBOOK by MD Nash page 81

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