Tag: South Africa

  • Mary Anne Sinclair Frost’s Unsual Family

    Mary Anne Sinclair was born 11 October 1837 in Cape Town, South Africa. She was the daughter of Thomas Kenneth Sinclair and Maria Magdalena Weingartz. She was also the granddaughter of my distant cousin, Adamus Paulus Weingartz, who immigrated to South Africa, from Düsseldorf, Prussia via the the Netherlands in 1787. I blogged about Adamus a while ago. You can read about him here.

    Mary Anne married Frederik Dunch Frost 12 October 1855 in Cape Town, South Africa. Frederik was born 22 June 1828 in Stepney, England. The couple had their first child, Frederik James, on 31 July 1857 in Capetown. He was baptized 28 August 1857 in St. Georges Church in the same town. I have no further information on Frederik, he might have died very young.

    The young family then left South Africa and went to England. Their second child, Sara Perry Frost was born 30 November 1858 at sea. In the 1861 England Census we find Sara and her parents in Middlesex. No sign of her brother Frederik. The father’s profession was mariner or sailor.

    Sara stayed single her whole life. I found her in the 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911 Census. She never married and she never worked. May she inherited some money. Sara died in January 1938.

    Sara’s sister Mary Magdalena Frost was born 18 June 1860 in Shadwell, London. I also found Mary in several censuses in England and she never married. In fact I found her living together with Sara and a younger, sister, Alice Mary Frost in 1921. Alice Mary also never married.

    Mary died April 1935 in Conway, Wales. So, why did the sisters not get married?

    The fourth child, Angelina Anna Frost was born circa 1862 and you guessed it, was also a spinster. She died in March 1900. What is going on in this family?

    The fifth child, Alice Mary Frost, was born 1863 in Islington, London and died in July 1939 in Surrey, England. I already mentioned her earlier, living together with her other unmarried sisters. We know have four sisters, all unmarried. Let’s take a look at the rest of the siblings.

    The sixth child, Frederick James John Frost was born in 1866. He left England and immigrated to Ohio, USA in 1892. He married Gertrude Mae Walker 11 October 1899 in Trumbull, Ohio. The couple had three children, Florence, Dorothy and Frederick Theodore. Frederick James died 13 August 1936 in Youngstown, Ohio and Gertrude died 27 January 1948 in Warren, Ohio. Their children Dorothy and Frederick both married. I couldn’t find a marriage or death date for Florence.

    The seventh child, Ada Frost, was baptized 31 May 1867 in Surrey, England. I did find her in the 1891 and 1901 England censuses. I couldn’t find anything specific after the 1901 census.

    The eighth child, Henry James Frost was baptized 20 September 1868 and died in October 1952 in Surrey, England. I did not find a marriage for him.

    The ninth child, Claud Frost, was baptized 10 April 1873 in Surrey. He married Rose Mabel Ledbrook 3 September 1902 in Saint Mark, England. They had three children together, Barbara, Evelyn and Phillip. I haven’t been able to find any marriages for them.

    The tenth child, Elsie Maude Frost, was baptized 22 January 1875 in Lambeth, England. I found her in the 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911 England censuses plus in the 1939 England and Wales Register. Yes, you guessed it, she was not married either.

    The eleventh child, Albert George Frost, was born circa 1876. He immigrated to Australia and married Madeleine Henrietta Bode 7 April 1899 in Queensland, Australia. The couple had three children, Horace, Vivian and Adrian.

    The twelfth child, Horace Frost, was baptized 24 August 1877. I was able to find him in census records. In 1911 he lived together with his sisters, Sara and Elsie Frost. I have no specific dates for him after that.

    The last child, Leslie Howard Frost, was born in 1879 and died in 1880

    This family is mind boggling. None of the girls go married! Two of the boys went to America and Australia respectively. One stayed in England.

    Have you ever encountered such a family in your research? Leave a comment below.

  • Petrus Josephus Weingartz 1721-?

    Petrus Josephus Weingartz was my paternal 4th Great Grandfather. His parents were Joannes Petrus Weingartz and Anna Gertrudis Bommels. Petrus was baptized 4 April 1721 in the Sankt Martin church in Düsseldorf-Bilk.

    St. Martins Church in Bilk

    Petrus had several siblings all baptized in the church above.

    • 1. Sibylla Gertrudis born 1716
    • 2. Wihelmus Henricus born 1718
    • 3. Anna Sophia born 1719
    • 4. Catharina Elisabetha born 1723, was married to Paulus Kucks.
    • 5. Joannes Henricus born 1724, was married to Anna Catharina Heinens. They had 10 children. One of them emigrated to South Africa.
    • 6. Anton Xtiantius born 1727
    • 7. Joannes Petrus born 1729. He was married to Anna Margaretha Schwan. They had 7 children
    • 8. Maria Margaretha born 1731. She was married to Joannes Angelus Wallinger
    • 9. Maria Magdalena born 1734. She was married to Franciscus Breidt.
    • 10. Joannes Petrus born 1736.

    I have found several spelling variations of the name Weingartz. Weingarts, Weingart and Wingart. The name originates from Weingarten (vinyard). May be my ancestors grew whine.

    Petrus married my 4th Great Grandmother, Anna Elisabeth Herbst (1722-1782), 4 August 1746 in Bilk.

    A week later they married a second time in the Sankt Lambertus Church in Düsseldorf. This was the church where Anna was baptized.

    St. Lambertus Church Circa 1920’s

    Petrus and Anna had 11 children, all of them were baptized in the church above.

    • 1. Anna Gertrudis Bernadina born 1747, died 1787, was married to Petrus Josephus Rebus. They had 8 children.
    • 2. Joannes Petrus born 1749.
    • 3. Christina Catharina born 1750.
    • 4. Henricus Paulus born 1752.
    • 5. Maria Sophia born 1754.
    • 6. Maria Anna Josepha, my 3rd Great Grandmother, born 17 February 1756, died 17 September 1814. She was married to my 3rd Great Grandfather, Joannes Winandus Josephus Krings. They had 9 children.
    • 7. Joannes Angelus Josephus, born 1758. He was married to Anna Wilhemina, Margareta Hellersberg.
    • 8. Joannes Henricus born 1759. He was married to Anna Catharina Hoenen.
    • 9. Magdalena Josepha born 1761.
    • 10. Anna Elisabetha Josepha born 1763.
    • 11. Henricus Antonius Bernardus born 1767.

    Petrus’s wife, Anna, died 21 April 1782 in Düsseldorf. Her death was mentioned in the newspaper.

    I do not have a death date for Petrus yet. The church books were only recently published online.

    Sankt Lambertus church is located only about 4.4 km or 2.73 miles north of the Sankt Martinus church. Both churches still exist and survived WW2.

    The sources I used were mainly on Ancestry and the church books from Düsseldorf which are listed here.

    If you like this article, please make a comment and/or subscribe. Thank you!