tony vines
27-11-2010, 2:40 PM
A fairly close ancestor of mine, George William VINES born in 1868 in England was untraceable after the 1881 census and I now know why. He enlisted as a sapper in the Royal Engineers in 1888 and was eventually posted to South Africa. His main trade both as a civilian and seemingly in the army was plumbing.
His service record shows two periods of service in South Africa 1894-1896 and 1899-1901 when he left the army due to unknown medical reasons. I suspect that he was still in South Africa in the missing years because on 23/11/1896 he married Clara Johanna Veldsman in Kalk Bay, Cape Colony.
In his discharge papers he said that he intended to live in Lange Cottage, Broad Rd. Wynberg which I'm reliably told is not a residential area these days.
I'd love to find out anything more about his later life; whether he and Clara had children and where and when they died etc. I suspect that he would have used his skills as a plumber to make a living. There is no sign of a modern Vines family in the Cape Town directory.
His service record shows two periods of service in South Africa 1894-1896 and 1899-1901 when he left the army due to unknown medical reasons. I suspect that he was still in South Africa in the missing years because on 23/11/1896 he married Clara Johanna Veldsman in Kalk Bay, Cape Colony.
In his discharge papers he said that he intended to live in Lange Cottage, Broad Rd. Wynberg which I'm reliably told is not a residential area these days.
I'd love to find out anything more about his later life; whether he and Clara had children and where and when they died etc. I suspect that he would have used his skills as a plumber to make a living. There is no sign of a modern Vines family in the Cape Town directory.