Genealogy Chat

This link to the South African Government website may help:

http://tinyurl.com/h78jlhq

Try Cyndi's List, which is mentioned there.

How would I find birth/baptism records of any Dewars in SA

So now I have the correct date of birth and correct names I was able to look his death certificate up. Now my mother Peggy Maureen Dewar nee hand and my dad married I think 1947 and I was born 1948. Somewhere in in the late seventies early 89's they got divorced but remarried. Not long after my mom passed away my dad married Elizabeth Dumont in 1987. So now I know for sure that is correct. Now I need to see birth certificates of my mother and my father. Although I know for sure my fathers mother was Mary Alisa Dewar and am sure her maiden name was Arthur and his father was James Harold Dewar. I have seen the burial headstone in Port Elizabeth.
If I saw his birth and baptist certificate we could see names of his and hers parents. :-)

It doesn't help your search, but I came across this:

You say your father was born 7th Dec 1929.

Is this him with a different year of birth??


PERSONAL INFORMATION
Full Names
JAMES HAROLD REUBEN JOSEPH.
Surname
DEWAR.
Date of Birth
1924-12-07.

From here:
https://www.gendatabase.com/names-results.php?q=17795836

It's a death record, but I don't have a sub to see further details.

There is another gravestone ie Dewar Alex Pow 1890 - 1939, Cross Jessie nee Dewar 1952. They in one grave

The James Harold Dewar who died 1929 was dev my grandfather, his place of birth is a ? He married my grandmother Mary. She was dev South African. Grandfather died 1929 in December where his father died September of the same year. There apparently was a time he was missing, there was talk he was a fisherman but that remains ?? But he came back and died of pneumonia. My father was James Harold Reuben Dewar and was born December 1929.

Another miner - no mention of any family:

Mr Dewar
in the UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960
Name: Mr Dewar
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Birth Date: abt 1857
Departure Date: 4 Mar 1893
Port of Departure: Southampton, England
Destination Port: Cape Town, South Africa
Ship Name: Scot
Master: H D Travers

Coincidentally (??) the same ship as Mrs Dewar and children sailed on in 1895.

Just because of the date and destination:

J Dewar
in the UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960
Name: J Dewar
Gender: Female (NO! He's a single male, a miner)
Age: 24
Birth Date: abt 1868
Departure Date: 14 Apr 1892
Port of Departure: London, England
Destination Port: Algoa Bay, South Africa <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Ship Name: Dunbar Castle
Shipping line: Castle Line
Official Number: 87166
Master: Andrews

But unmarried and not travelling with any family.

This could be the birth of James from Bridgeton, if his birthday was after 2nd April.

1892 DEWAR JAMES M BRIDGETON GLASGOW CITY/LANARK 644/01 0359

If so, then he can't be the James who died in SA - and anyway, you say that one was born in SA..

Hi yes, will look again at info. I had a aunt Janet who gave me this info many years ago. Dewars arrived in SA from Ayrshire round 1892 - 1895. Great grandfather was John and wife Janet. Grand parents was james dewar wife Mary. The gravestone is dev my grandparents. I know there was a family grave with descendants but have never been able to find it on the eggsa. I remember my dad say Rueben was the brother who died at six months. Also remember my dad saying he saw an entry in a book in Cape Town, could be passengers, with mother, father and children. Unfortunately there was a massive flooding in Port Elizabeth and my grandmother lost all paper. So yes maybe if we could just find the info regards to an entry on a boat coming to SA we will know for sure who, what etc.

Good going there Ag!...

(and, somebody has James Rowat one, (Ancestry) Death 1981 Uddington)

Chris :)

This one's got me hooked!

so I've had a look at the 1911 census, and yes, the family are still in Scotland.

John Dewar, 45, stonemason, born Glasgow
Janet, wife, 42, born Glasgow
Jeanie, daughter, 16, shop girl, Eastwood, Renfrewshire.
Andrew, son, 15, office boy, Eastwood.
James, son, 13, school, Eastwood.
Janet, daughter, 11, Cathcart, Renfrewshire.
John, son, 4, Cathcart.

Living at 38 Minard Road, Cathcart.



Then looked for a James Dewar born c1894, and found this:

1911 DEWAR JAMES M 18 BRIDGETON GLASGOW CITY/LANARK 644/01 046/00 008

I feel this must be the James who travelled from Port Elizabeth to Bridgeton, (and possibly the one who died in SA in 1929 ????) - and therefore a different family from Janet & John.

John Dewar, head, 46, slater, Glasgow
Robina, wife, 46, Glasgow
James, son, 18, fitter <<<<YES! <<<<, Glasgow
Maggie, daughter, 16, cotton weaver, Glasgow
John, son, 14, baker's messenger, Glasgow
Thomas, son, 12, school, Glasgow
Alexander, son, 7, school, Glasgow
Thomas Begg, boarder, 40, yarn twister, Glasgow.

Living at 38 Queen Mary Street, Bridgeton. (Too much to expect them to be at 77 Canning Street!)

Not sure where that takes us. Still doesn't account for James Harold born in SA.

Where did you get all your information from, Lorna? Has somebody had a look at Ancestry or similar, and just assumed that John & Janet were his parents, or do you have actual records to back that up?

At the moment we seem to have three different families:
John & Janet, with no apparent sign that any of them ever went to SA,
John & Robina, with a son James who travelled from Port Elizabeth, but was born in Scotland;
and the family of your James Harold Dewar, who was born in SA, and who may or may not be the one who died in 1929 (gravestone posted by Chris doesn't give a middle name and DOB is different from the one you gave earlier)..

Don't know if this is relevant:

From the Valuation Rolls on SP:

1920 Tenant DEWAR JOHN HOUSE 77 CANNING STREET GLASGOW GLASGOW BURGH VR102 / 1275 / 29

Related to this:

James Dewar
in the UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960
Name: James Dewar
Birth Date: abt 1893 <<<<<<<<<<
Age: 29
Port of Departure: South Africa
Arrival Date: 11 Jul 1922
Port of Arrival: London, England
Ports of Voyage: Cape Town
Ship Name: City of Genoa
Shipping line: Ellerman Line
Official Number: 143111

Travelling from Port Elizabeth to 77 Canning Street, Bridgeton, Glasgow.
He's a fitter.

But confusing! YOB is nearer to the James who died in SA in 1929 than to John & Janet's son James born 1897.

Don't know if the John Dewar at 77 Canning Street is the same John who was married to Janet.

http://www.eggsa.org/library/main.php?g2_itemId=2130982

(Gravestone Photo, for James 1929, Mary 1969)

(says James Born 18th Dec. 1894)

Chris :)

So he hadn't gone to SA - or if he had, he came back again.

It might be worth your while spending some credits to search for the family on the 1911 Scottish census, Lorna.

If they're there, I would suggest this is a completely different family from yours.

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r/?_q=james+rowat+dewar

(occupation, Railway Clerk. 5th Sept. 1916, Ship served on, Vivid 1, transferred to Special Trawler Reserve Nov. 16)

(James Rowat on above)

Chris :)

I don't see how James Harold Dewar, born 1895 in SA, can possibly fit into this family.

Is he the family member you're working back from?
How have you linked him with the Scottish Dewars?
If he was part of the same family, surely he would have been with them in Glasgow in 1901 ??


This is the birth of the son James who is on the 1901 census:

1897 DEWAR JAMES ROWAT M EASTWOOD /LANARK 562/00 0440

I managed to view the marriage certificate of my great grandparents and also the baptism certificate of Janet Dewar.mgosh suddenly so much is coming together. I really would like to trace how and when they travelled to South Africa. If I could only see sone kind of log book etc as proof is this. Many thanks for helping me <3

I'm pretty sure this is the birth of John & Janet's daughter Janet.
(Crossmyloof was in the parish of Cathcart.)
If you have a look at the image on SP, you can verify whether or not Janet Rowat is her mother.

1900 DEWAR JANET STEWART F CATHCART (LANARK) GLASGOW CITY/LANARK 560/00 0374

(Hope I'm not wrong about that, if you're spending credits on it!)

To view the documents on ScotlandsPeople, you need to register with the site:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, and buy credits.
30 credits cost £7.

Then go to "Statutory Registers" (that's for BMD's from 1855 onwards), and select Marriages (assuming it's the John Dewar / Janet Rowat marriage you want to see.)

Enter the search details as shown in my earlier post, and set the Search Options box at "Exact" names, and click "Do the search".
Normally it's best to set the Search Options to Surname Variants (or Foreneme Variants) as names are often not spelled as you would expect them to be, but in this case you have the exact spellings in my earlier post.

It will cost you one credit to "Do the Search".
When you then see the search result, you can click on "View", which will cost another 5 credits, and it will show you an image of the original document, which you can print if you wish..

If you decide not to print it, but then later want to see it again, DON'T do the search again, as it will cost you more credits..
Instead, click on "Previous Searches" at the top of the page, and you can view it again free of charge.