Pretoria Birth Records

[alkey21]

Hi

Unbelievably new to this site and wouldn't have a clue where to start! I'm from Australia and looking for information on how to access birth records from Pretoria. Can anybody please help me?

Thanks a million!

[Sue Mackay]

Have a look here.

One problem is that civil registration didn't start in South Africa until right at the end of the 19th century. However, a lot of parish registers can now be viewed on Family Search
See https://familysearch.org/search/coll...&region=AFRICA

[alkey21]

Hi Sue. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I have looked at these sites but am unsure where I am meant to be searching. Do you know if anybody would be willing to look up the information for me? It's definitely going to be a long shot because this man is a complete mystery to my family. He never spoke of his parents or any family members and we don't know anything about him. His name is Allen Everard Williams and on his Australian Military documents he wrote that he was born in 1900 in Pretoria, South Africa. We have no idea what his parents names are, however we know that he came to Australia with his parents when he was approximately 2 years old. That's all we know! Any guidance you can give me would be sincerely appreciated. I'm hoping to find some information to give to my ailing grandmother. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

[christanel]

Allen Everard Williams
Death Place - Bairnsdale, Victoria
Age - 74
Estimated Birth Year - abt 1899
Father's Name - William
Mother's Name - Annie Monisor
Registration Year - 1973
Registration Place - Victoria
Registration number - 1783

[alkey21]

Thank you! That is amazing! Each time I searched for his records, there was no information on his parents. I have tried a quick search on Allen's mother, but there is nothing at all. I am just so grateful that we could add another piece to the puzzle. Thanks for taking the time to assist me. It in sincerely appreciated.

[christanel]

Glad I did find something but I am not having any luck finding any shipping records. Allen's name is unusual but his parents first names aren't. The death record is a little ambiguous also as the William referring to his father could mean his surname.
It may help buying the death certificate to see what other information is on it and if it makes it clearer whether his father's first name was William.
https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/

What may be on the certificate, depending on the informants knowledge of the deceased, is
Name
Occupation
Age
Date and place of death
Usual residence
Where born
How long in Australia
Name and occupation of father
Place of marriage
Name of spouse
Age when married
Marital status
Names and ages of children
Name and address of informant
Cause of death and duration of illness
Place of burial or cremation
Name of minister,
names of witnesses to burial

[alkey21]

Thank you! I was able to purchase both the death certificate and marriage certificate of Allen today. Your help has been invaluable and I sincerely thank you for your assistance. My journey continues!

[geneius]

This is good news! Watch this space......

Just seen that Ancestry has purchased the records of Ancestry24 the databases containes SA records!

Statement form Ancestry.com

We are delighted to inform you that Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, has acquired over four million South African records from Ancestry24, the South African family history website that closed for business in February 2013.

We are currently working hard to make the records available in the future and we will communicate this through Ancestry24 and this website as soon as they are available.