Bernard's Family

This was taken in 1947 to 49, and is Bernard, Sheila, Ken, Edna, Marion, Harold, Celia and Anne. Bernard was one of seven children. In order, Enid (married George wright), Harold (married Marion), Ron (married Evelyn; they had seven kids of their own), Bernand (of course married Edna), Kenneth, Maurice (married Olive Ledbury) and Celia (married Paul Simpson).

The only one I remember at all (besides my grandparents) was Kenneth, or Uncle Ken. He was a teacher, who taught in Preston Grammar School for a while. He retired to Instow in Devon, and when I was small, we stayed with him every year.

Joseph and Jess Benson, Bernard's parents. He was a missionary in South Africa, where he met his wife, but had to return to England due to ill-health. Bernard was born on Johannesburg, the year before they returned; I suspect they were already in the process by then.

Kenneth, unknown, Ronald and Bernard at the back, Jess and Celia at the front.

This one was in an album a couple of pages after Celia's wedding, which dates it approximately. I think we see Celia, unknown, Joseph, Jessie, Ronald, Kenneth and Edna. It is likely Bernard was taking the photo.

The rest of this post is taken from two set of notes I found already typed up.

Some information from Aunty Olive and Uncle Maurice  collected by Viola K Benson in the summer of 1980 

Christopher Benson, commonly known as Kit, lived in Dacre Bank, near Patley  Bridge, in Nidderdale. He is the one who is known as the black sheep of the  family. He left Dacre Bank under a cloud and went to live in Halifax. No one  seems to know the nature of the cloud. Whether he was then married, or married  in Halifax I don't know, but three children were born to him in Halifax. Joseph was  the eldest, and is the father of Ronald Hill Benson, my father. Two more followed  but I don't know their order ... Tom and Mary.

Uncle Maurice was of the opinion that it was this Kit who married the Washington  and that her name was Sarah, but he was very vague. It could have been an earlier  generation which married the Washington. Anyway Kit deserted his wife and  children and fled to America. Many, many years later he came back again, a  changed character. Aunty Olive said that she had a recollection of seeing a picture  of him in a dog collar it seemed to her, but she never heard anything definite to that  effect, and admits that you can mistake pictures. His two sons refused to see him  or have anything to do with him, but his daughter Mary accepted him, and when  Aunty was talking to Mary's daughter Trissie she said the story had a different slant,  and that Kit was perhaps not the black character commonly supposed. It would be  very interesting to pursue this topic further, but Aunty didn't seem to remember  anything of what Trissie had said. Maybe she didn't. Maybe she just hinted. Was  great grandma Washington difficult to live with perhaps.

To go back a bit. When Kit deserted his family Joseph managed to get a job in a  local stores ... Hollingrake (Hollindrake?) and Clegg. He did very well. He had  planned to be a teacher but had to give up the idea. Some time later (he was now  a Local Preacher) it became evident that Joseph wanted to be, and would make a  good Minister, and the firm arranged for his brother Tom to take his place so that  Joseph could go to College. He trained at Richmond in Surrey. In 1883 he went  to Africa as a Methodist missionary. In the words of the obituary "during his third  year he was suddenly called out, and within a month had been ordained, and was on  the ship for South Africa." (Makes one wonder who had the call!!) In 1886 he  married Jessie Webb, at the Wesleyan chapel in Potchefstroom. It was August 10th  and the ceremony was performed by the Rev Thos. Wainwright and Rev Geo  Sheldon. The first five children were born in Africa, the first in 1887, but then ill  health and severe malaria made it necessary for him to return to England. The date  would have been between Jan 1894 and Sept 1894. It was fully expected that when  he was better he would return to Africa, but in fact he never did, and his wife never  saw her own people again.

Joseph had a series of Methodist Churches ... Manchester, Derby, Crewe,  Middlesborough (South Bank), Redditch, Hinckley, Kings Lynn (at the last three he  was the Superintendent). Health again made it necessary for him to give up being  a Super, so he went as second Minister to the Ilkley Circuit ... living at Addingham.  Four years later he took up full responsibility again at Knaresborough, but it was too  much and two years later he resigned. He was appointed as Super to Ryton-on-Tyne but again it proved too much. He went back to being a second Minister, this time  at Bingham, Nottingham. In November 1923 the doctor ordered him to give up  work entirely. He went to live in Redditch near Aunty Enid, and in the house  where I remember Aunty Celia and Grandma living. In July 1926 his health got  much worse and he died on 6th December 1927.

I guess he was quite a character. He loved to be with people and his hobbies were  astronomy and microscopy. Mother remembers him showing her all sorts of  interesting things under the microscope. Uncle Maurice also remembers his interest  in Motorbikes and says he used to take them to pieces in the drawing-room!!

Jessie Webb also has an interesting background. Her family were not missionaries  but settlers from right back in the days when South Africa was first settled by  whites. They went out in J820. Jessie's father was a Jonathan Webb, and he was  in training for a Methodist Minister ... possibly already a probationary Minister,  when he was sent on a journey of three months duration, to a far off area, to see if  the area should have a missionary station set up. During this journey he failed to  keep up his studies so was demoted. He gave up the Methodist Ministry and  trained to be a wheel-wright. He had not lost his calling though, and as well as his  work in the wheel-wright business he ran a church of his own. He married into  another settler family ... the Hills. They were not as well known as the Webbs.  Later on he inherited a farm called Hancock Grange, but Aunty Olive didn't seem  to know who it was that bequeathed it to him.

He had a lot of daughters and last a son, Aubrey. When grown up the son got in  with the Dutch it seems, who were creating somewhat, and didn't keep in touch with  his family, and no one seems to know anything further about him. Aunty is pretty  certain he didn't marry, or had no children if he did, and so the name would have  faded out there. Of Jonathan Webb's daughters one was drowned in a waddy (a dry  river bed). The water suddenly swept down as a group was crossing and this girl  was drowned. Two of the sisters names were Ada and Addie. A second cousin of  these girls used to correspond with Aunty Olive, but is now dead. Some years ago  another relative by marriage turned up. His name was Stanley Legrove Smith and  his wife was a Margaret Webb.

Joseph's brother Tom did very well at the business where he had taken over from  Joseph, and ended up a comfortably well off man. He had a lovely home in  Scarborough. When Joseph had to come home ill from Africa Tom helped him out  financially on more than one occasion I gather, and never asked for it back. In fact  he seems to have been a good friend of the family all through. 

The second set of notes were provided by Mrs AM Poole, a genealogist of Cory Library, Grahamstown, South Africa.

Dear Mr Benson

RESEARCH : WEBB AND BENSON FAMILIES

Thank you for your letter of 18 March 2004 enclosing your payment by Credit Card of 

23.00 pounds sterling, this being the appropriate fee for an extensive search of our 

records. I have now carried out a search for you, and have pleasure in reporting on the 

results.

The original 1820 Settler with the surname WEBB who came out to this country as a 

member of Pigot's Party, appears to have been called Charles rather than William. I 

enclose a photocopy of pp.106-7 of a work entitled The Settler Handbook : a new list of 

the 1820 Settlers compiled by M D Nash, and published in 1987 by the Chameleon Press, 

Cape Town. Pages 106-7 of this work contain an account of Pigot's Party, and you will 

see that your ancestor is listed as Charles Webb, 19. Wheelwright.

I have discovered that this Charles Webb was married on 25 December 1823 in 

Grahamstown to Sarah Wills. Their marriage record appears in a very early register of 

the Anglican Church, Grahamstown (our ref. MS 14 877/1). Unfortunately, this register 

is extremely fragile and cannot be subjected to a photocopier, but the early handwritten 

entry reads as follows, under the heading "Marriages at Graham's Town, Albany, Cape of 

Good Hope"

No.39 Charles Webb of the District of Albany, Bachelor and Sarah Wells of the District 

of Albany, Spinster were married in this Town by Bans this 25th day of December 1823 

by me Wm Geary Chaplain.

You will notice that William Geary has entered Sarah's surname spelt as Wells, but 

Charles and Sarah have both written their own names in the register underneath the above 

entry and Sarah definitely writes her surname as Wills. The witnesses' names appear to 

be John Biggs and Wm. Howard.

Although Charles Webb and Sarah Wills were married in the early Anglican Church in 

Grahamstown, they appear to have become Methodists later on, and their son Jonathan 

Webb who was apparently born on 24 October 1835, was, in fact, baptized in the 

Methodist Church in this city, and I enclose a certified photocopy of his baptismal record 

which appears in the original Baptismal register of the Methodist Church, Grahamstown 

(our ref. MS 15 899/1). You will see from the entry no.565 that Charles Webb's 

profession has been entered as Painter, and that Jonathan was apparently baptized on 22 

November 1835 by R Haddy.

Your forebear Jonathan Webb was married to Matilda Ann Hill on 20 March 1861 in the 

Methodist Church, Grahamstown, and I enclose a certified photocopy of this record 

which appears in the original Marriage register in our keeping (our ref. MS 15 900/1). 

You will see from the entry no.453 that Jonathan Webb's profession has been entered as 

Wagon Maker, and that consent for Matilda to marry him, under the age of 21, was 

apparently given by her father'John Hill of Graham's Town. Jonathan and Matilda have 

both signed their own names, and the witnesses on this occasion appear to be John Hill 

and Jessie Hill, and the ceremony was conducted by J Richards.

I have managed to trace three children born to Jonathan and Matilda Webb in 

Grahamstown, but after 1864, this family must have moved elsewhere, as I cannot find 

any further entries in the records we hold. The three children I have traced in the original 

Baptismal register of the Methodist Church, Grahamstown (our ref. MS 15 899/3 are :

 1. Evelyn Webb, born 12 March 1862, baptized 13 April 1862 (entry no.1342)

 2. Rowland Hill Webb, born 21 August 1863, baptized 23 September 1863 (entry 

   no.1434)

 3. Jessie Webb, born 20 September 1864, baptized 6 November 1864 (entry 

   no.1517).

As the third child listed above, is, in fact, your paternal grandmother, I include a certified 

photocopy of this record.

By great good fortune, I have also managed to trace the marriage record of your 

grandparents Joseph George Benson and Jessie Webb, and I enclose a certified 

photocopy of this record which appears in the original Marriage register of the Methodist 

Church, Potchefstroom (our ref. MS 17 322/1). You will see from the entry no.42 that 

your grandparents were married by Thomas H Wainman, the Minister in charge of the 

Potchefstroom (English) Circuit which at that time fell under the Transvaal and 

Swaziland District of the Methodist Church.

Although we are fortunate enough to hold this early Marriage register for Potchefstroom 

in our library, we unfortunately do not hold any relevant Baptismal records. The earliest 

Baptismal register we hold for the Potchefstroom (English) Circuit only begins in

November 1897, which is too late to include any entries of children born to Joseph 

George and Jessie Benson as according to the Minutes of Conference of the Wesleyan 

Methodist Church, 1928, your grandfather had returned to England by this time.

I enclose a photocopy of p.102 of the Minutes of Conference, as it contains an obituary 

(no.24) for Joseph G Benson, who it seems served in this country between 1883 and 

1894. Your grandfather's last appointment in South Africa appears to have been in 

Johannesburg where he was stationed with the Transvaal Mission of the Methodist 

Church.

Again, by good fortune, we happen to hold an original Baptismal register of the Central 

Methodist Mission, Johannesburg (our ref. PR 4739, von.) in which I have found an 

entry for Bernard Benson who must have been the last child born in this country before 

the departure of your grandparents in 1894. I enclose a certified photocopy of the entry  

no.145 from which you will see that Bernard was apparently born on 7 May 1893, and 

baptized on 26 July 1893 by R F Appelbe, who was also stationed in Johannesburg at that 

time.

I enclose a receipt for your payment of 23 pounds Sterling, and do hope that the 

information I am sending you will be of interest and help in your research of your family 

history.

With kind regards, 

Yours sincerely

(Mrs) A M Poole

There are some details of "Pigot's Party" on-line, and you can see Charles Webb listed. It looks like he was an indentured servant; he paid his fare to South Africa by promising labour for perhaps 10 years.