 Birth Notes:
http://www.durban.gov.za/Documents/DiscoverDurban/Museums%20and%20Durban%20Art%20Gallery/1_march2002_publications_ppmar02.pdf
And
http://www.archive.org/stream/natalwhoswhoani00unkngoog/natalwhoswhoani00unkngoog_djvu.txt
And
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KDCK-L41
And
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-23609-17209-80?cc=1468076
And
http://www.s2a3.org.za/bio/Biograph_final.php?serial=1921
And
Copy of Alfred Duchesne Millar's Death Notice Dated 30th May 1911 in RAB's possession. It records his birth in Durban.
Christening Notes:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-23609-17209-80?cc=1468076
Sponsors:-
John Ayres
Walter Ayres
Alice Ayres
Death Notes:
http://www.durban.gov.za/Documents/DiscoverDurban/Museums%20and%20Durban%20Art%20Gallery/1_march2002_publications_ppmar02.pdf
And
http://www.geni.com/people/Alfred-Duchesne-Millar/6000000010875223413
And
http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/people/millar-ad.html
And
Died of blood poisoning.
http://www.tmbl.gu.se/libdb/taxon/personetymol/petymol.m.htmll
And
National Archives of South Africa
DEPOT NAB
SOURCE MSCE
TYPE LEER
VOLUME_NO 0
SYSTEM 01
REFERENCE 42/29
PART 1
DESCRIPTION MILLAR, ALFRED DUCHESNE. (S/SP JESSIE JANE NIMMO).
STARTING 19110000
ENDING 19760000
And
http://www.s2a3.org.za/bio/Biograph_final.php?serial=1921
And
Copy of Alfred Duchesne Millar's Death Notice Dated 30th May 1911 in RAB's possession.
Burial Notes:
http://www.eggsa.org/library/main.php?g2_itemId=1726672
Sources of information or noted events in his life were:
Web Based Info. http://www.durban.gov.za/Documents/DiscoverDurban/Museums%20and%20Durban%20Art%20Gallery/1_march2002_publications_ppmar02.pdf
And
http://www.geni.com/people/Alfred-Duchesne-Millar/6000000010875223413
And
http://www.geni.com/people/Violet-Grice-nee-Millar/6000000009896664519
Occupation. Lawyer.
http://www.durban.gov.za/Documents/DiscoverDurban/Museums%20and%20Durban%20Art%20Gallery/1_march2002_publications_ppmar02.pdf
And
Attorney.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12402-147736-99?cc=2063749
Advocate.
Copy of Alfred Duchesne Millar's Death Notice Dated 30th May 1911 in RAB's possession.
General Comment. MILLAR, Alfred Duchesne, Advocate, Solicitor, and Notary Public ; b. 30th Ju1y, 1858, in Durban; s. of late Hon. John Millar, J.P., M.L.C, of Durban; m., Jessie Jane, d. of late Kobt. Nimmo, of Durban ; 3 children. Educ. Durban High School and Hilton College. Hobby: Natural history. Add., "Avoeliie" Ridge Hd., Berea; and 1 Marine t'hanroers, Durban. Member Durban Club.
http://www.archive.org/stream/natalwhoswhoani00unkngoog/natalwhoswhoani00unkngoog_djvu.txt
http://www.angloboerwar.com/images/pdf/natalwhoswho1906-m.pdf
And
A. D. Millar was born in Durban and educated in Natal where he spent his whole life.
In the legal fraternity he was known as a man of integrity and a very sound lawyer. He was, for many years, Vice-president of the Law Society.
All his spare time was devoted to sport and to natural history. He was an expert taxidermist. He helped the author of the book 'Birds of South Africa' but published little under his own name. He and his brother, Harold, contributed largely to the Durban Museum. A.D. was a member of the Museum Committee from 1895 and President from1904. He amassed a large collection of birds, birds' eggs and insects.
http://www.geni.com/people/Alfred-Duchesne-Millar/6000000010875223413
And
Lepidopterist
http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/people/millar-ad.html
Millar, Alfred Duchesne (1858-1911)
Lawyer and amateur naturalist associated with Durban Natural Science Museum.
Date Age Event(s)
1858 0 Born in Durban to John and Ellen Millar.
? Educated in Durban.
? Involved in the legal profession in Natal.
?-? Vice-president of the Natal Law Society.
1895 37 Joined the Committee of the Durban Museum.
10 May 1911 53 Died in Durban.
"Millar devoted virtually all his spare time to the pursuit of natural history, particularly in the fields of ornithology and entomology, where his collecting prowess won him no small measure of renown." (Clancey, 1981).
"Associated closely with the Durban N.S. Museum through generous donations of insects, mainly butterflies." (C. Quickelberg pers. comm.).
Nephew of Tom Ayres.
Specimens collected
"Most of his collection of birds' eggs passed into the possession of the Durban Museum along with his extensive series of Southern African butterflies, which, however, do not possess the scientific value of the egg clutches, lacking as they do much field data." (Clancey, 1981).
Donation to SAM: 1894, 1896 (D'Urban).
References
Clancey, P.A. 1981. Millar, Alfred Duchesne. In: In Dictionary of South African Biography Volume IV (ed. C.J. Beyers [check]). Tafelberg-Uitgewers, Cape Town, pp. 360-361.
And
Alfred D. Millar was a son of John Millar, at one time member of the Legislative Council of Natal, and his wife Ellen Ayres. He was an older brother of the naturalist and taxidermist Harold M. Millar*, and a nephew of Thomas Ayres*, the renowned bird collector of Potchefstroom. Alfred was educated at Durban High School and Hilton College, near Pietermaritzburg, and became a prominent advocate and solicitor, serving as vice-president of the Natal Law Society for some time. He was a keen sportsman and was married to Jessie J. Nimmo, with whom he had three children. Practically all his spare time was spent in the pursuit of natural history. Initially he was interested mainly in mammals and taxidermy, mounting many specimens with care. However, his most important contributions were made to ornithology and entomology. He had very keen eyesight, was adept at climbing trees in pursuit of specimens, and his notes on various life histories were models of patient labour.
Around 1890 Millar visited Karkloof gorge to collect butterflies. There he met the young brothers Austin and Noel Roberts* and asked them to send him butterflies from Lydenburg. He presented insects to Albany Museum, Grahamstown, (1894) and also many valuable and interesting specimens, including beetles, to the South African Museum, Cape Town (1895, 1897). Janse (1940) described him as one of the foremost early insect collectors in Natal, who had a fine collection of butterflies, many of them bred, and also a good collection of beetles. Unfortunately he neglected to attach locality labels and other field data to his specimens, which deducted from their scientific value. His collection of 2740 butterflies, representing 396 species, was acquired by the Durban Natural History Museum. His breeding experiments with butterflies were reported on to the British entomologist Professor Edward B. Poulton*.
Millar's general interest in natural history is shown by his paper, "Zoological notes from Natal", published in The Zoologist in 1899. In this paper he described a huge ray (cartilaginous fish), an aspect of reedbuck behaviour, and birds' nests in an active ant-bear hole. He became a member of the committee of the Durban Natural History Museum in 1895 and was one of its most active members, serving as its president from 1908 to 1910. With other members of the committee he supervised the transfer of the museum from the old town hall to the new city hall complex in 1909, as the curator, J.F. Quekett*, was ill at the time.
The Millar brothers collected birds extensively in the neighbourhood of Durban. Alfred presented bird skins and eggs to the South African Museum during 1900 to 1904, many of them new to the museum's collections. Most were from the Durban area, but some were from Beira, Mozambique. He also provided copious notes on the breeding behaviour, nests and eggs of Natal birds to Dr W.L. Sclater*, then Director of the South African Museum, for Volumes 3 and 4 of The birds of South Africa (1900-1906), a work commenced by A.C. Stark*. In 1906 he published "Ornithological notes from Natal" in the Journal of the South African Ornithologists' Union (Vol. 2(1), pp. 32-35), followed two years later by a paper "On the nidification of the Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti)" (Vol. 4(1), pp. 37-40). Over the years he built up an extensive collection of birds' eggs, which was later acquired by the Durban Natural History Museum. It served as an important source of information on breeding dates in Natal, egg colour and size and formed the basis of much of the nesting and breeding information contained in standard works on South African birds published up to half a century after his death.
Millar was a reserved person, but belonged to a variety of local and British scientific societies. He became a member of the South African Philosophical Society in 1899 and remained a member after it became the Royal Society of South Africa in 1908. He joined the South African Ornithologists' Union in the year of its formation (1904), served on its council from 1906, and as vice-president from 1907 to the year of his death. He served as president of the Natal/Durban Field Naturalists' Society/Club (founded 1889, defunct by 1910). In August 1910 he was the leading founder and first president of the Natal Scientific Society, serving until his death a few months later. His last paper, "Notes on the nesting habits of certain birds little known or undescribed" was publishe in the society's journal The Naturalist in January 1911 (Vol. 1(3), pp. 116-120). In Britain he was a corresponding member of the Zoological Society of London, a member of the Entomological Society of London, and a colonial member of the British Ornithologists' Union. He died as a result of blood-poisoning at the age of 53.
List of sources:
Brain, C.K. Austin Roberts. A lifelong devotion to South Africa's birds and beasts. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, 1998.
Cape of Good Hope. Report of the committee of the Albany Museum, 1894.
Cape of Good Hope. Report of the trustees of the South African Museum, 1895, 1897, 1900, 1903, 1904.
Clancey, P.A. The birds of Natal and Zululand (pp. xxiii-xxvi). Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1964.
Clancey, P.A. A one-time Mecca for ornithologists. Natalia, 1975, Vol. 5, pp. 29-35.
Dictionary of South African biography, Vol. 4, 1981.
Janse, A.J.T. Glimpses of the development of entomological science in South Africa. Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa, 1940, Vol. 3, pp. 1-8.
Natal who's who. Durban, 1906.
The Naturalist, 1911, Vol. 1(3), Council of the Natal Scientific Society and paper by Millar.
Obituary: Alfred Duchesne Millar. The Naturalist, 1911, Vol. 1(5), pp. 181-186.
Obituary: A.D. Millar. Journal of the South African Ornithologists' Union, 1911, Vol. 7, pp. 92-93.
Quickelberge, C. Collections and recollections. The Durban Natural History Museum, 1887-1987. Durban Natural History Museum, 1987.
Royal Society of South Africa. Transactions, 1908-1910, Vol. 1, list of members.
South African Ornithologists' Union. Journal, 1906-1911, Vol. 2-7.
South African Philosophical Society. Transactions, 1900-1907, Vol. 11, 16 and 17: Lists of members.
Summaries of some recent botanical and zoological papers referring to South Africa. Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society, 1902, Vol. 11(4), pp. 383-418.
Winterbottom, J.M. & Clancey, P.A. The development of ornithology in South Africa. Lantern, September 1964, Vol. 14(1), pp. 13-22.
Compiled by: C. Plug
Children. They had 3 children.
http://www.archive.org/stream/natalwhoswhoani00unkngoog/natalwhoswhoani00unkngoog_djvu.txt
Obituary. ALFRED DUCHESNE MILLAR.
:Born 1858 -~ 'Died 1911.
Obituary. 93
nincli himself, he assisted [William Lutley] Sclater very materially in the preparation of his "Birds of South Africa" and Millar's notes can he found quoted on many a page. In the same way he notified his valuable breeding experiments with butterflies to Professor Poulton.
He joined the Museum Committee of Durban in 1895, and was one of the most enthusiastic and indefatigable workers, being afterwards Secretary of the Museum, and
consequent upon the illness of the then Curator took upon himself the supervision of the removal of the collections to the new Municipal Buildings.
Mr. Millar was a Corresponding Member of the London Zoological Society, a Member of the Entomological Society of London, "Colonial" Member of the British Ornithologists' Union, Vice-President of the S.A. Ornithologists' Union, President of the Natal Field Naturalists' Society and Natal Scientific Society.
Besides being an ardent naturalist, Millar was a keen sportsman.
He left a fine collection of Birds' eogs which has so far not been disposed of.
We may add that Mr. Millar was a nephew of " Uncle" Tom Ayres, of Potchefstroom, the famous old field ornithologist whose notes \emdash even to-day- \emdash constitute our only records upon certain species, and "who is still living, albeit old and feeble.
To the widow, daughter, and two sons of our lamented friend we tender our sincere sympathy. \emdash A. K. H.
http://www.archive.org/stream/journalofsouthaf07sout/journalofsouthaf07sout_djvu.txt
General Comment. Copy of his father - John Millar's Death Notice dated 22 May 1919 in RAB's possession.
General Comment. Copy of his son, Manville Duchesne Millar's, Death Notice dated 5 Apr 1972 in RAB's possession.
Alfred married Jessie Jane Nimmo, daughter of Robert Nimmo and Margaret Helen, on 16 Apr 1884 in St. Thomas' Church, Durban, Natal, South Africa. (Jessie Jane Nimmo was born on 20 Dec 1858 in Durban, Natal, South Africa, christened on 20 Mar 1859 in Durban, Natal, South Africa, died on 9 Mar 1925 in Durban, Natal, South Africa and was buried in Durban, Natal, South Africa.)
Sources of information or noted events in their marriage were:
Web Based Info. https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KDCK-L41
And
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12402-147736-99?cc=2063749
Witnesses:-
James Hay Nimmo
Harry Millar
Annie Hay Nimmo
General Comment. Copy of Alfred Duchesne Millar's Death Notice Dated 30th May 1911 in RAB's possession.
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