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Richard Clarence
(1759-1826)
Elizabeth Buck
(1775-1852)
Ralph Clarence
(1811-1878)

 

Ralph Clarence

  • Born: 1811
  • Marriage (1): Ann Lawton
  • Died: 1878 aged 67
Family Links

Spouses/Children:

1. Ann Lawton

(+ Shows person has known children.)



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bullet  Birth Notes:

http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/8566800/person/5038715095

bullet  Death Notes:

http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/8566800/person/5038715095

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bullet  Sources of information or noted events in his life were:

• Web Based Info. http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/8566800/person/5038715095

• General Comment. Full text of "Natal, Cape of Good Hope. A grazing, agricultural, and cotton growing country.Port Natal, January 28th, 1848. Esteemed Friend, \emdash So many years having elapsed since you were acquainted with me, you will perhaps have forgotten the request you made when I was about to leave England for Africa, that I should write and give you any information that lay in my power respecting the " Sons of Africa." The object of my now writing, is to give you and the Society of Friends generally, (if you think the information of any value,) some idea of the vast field that Natal presents to Christian benevolence for the improvement of the human race.Natal is, in my humble opinion, a key designed by the great Giver of every blessing for the opening and civilization of the interior of this vast continent ; so few parts, on either the east or west coast of Africa, are sufficiently healthy to offer a reward to" European enterprise and industry. With regard to Natal, I can speak from experience, having a large family, all of whom enjoy perfect health: it is decidedly more healthy than Cape Town, and although nearer the Tropic, Europeans find no difficulty in following the plough, or other agricultural work. Natal, unlike many, or most parts of theold colony, is well watered. Rivers that are flowing throughout the year intersect the country in every direction; both the hills and valleys are always covered with thick grass. Although the Society of Friends do not send out missionaries, yet, I have thought for some time past that if a small body of them were in this country, forming cotton and indigo plantations, where schools could be established for the instructions of the natives who would be living on the plantations at their own kraals, a system of this kind might bemore advantageous, and perhaps, more successful than many or most of the missionary institutions have proved. I have observed that industry does not appear to be, in general, sufficiently inculcated. If Friends were to come here, they might make it (as it were,) a mercantile speculation. Agriculturists might come with the express object of cultivating the land, and the Friends as a body defray the expense of having schools established, say one to six or eight plantations, so as to be central; a moderate degree of labor, and attending the school, might go hand in hand. Cotton and indigo are particularly well-adapted to the climate; both are indigenous. Of indigo there are many varieties; one or two appear superior to that generally cultivated in India. Mr. Lindley, one of our American missionaries, who was brought up on a cotton plantation, his father being a cotton-planter in America, has often told me that he believes the cotton here to be 50 per cent, more productive than in America, where it is sown every year: here it lasts many years, being a perennial. He has said that he never saw anything like it, and it is his opinion, that Natal is the finest country in the whole world for cotton. If such is the case, could not a death-blow be struck at American slaverv? Here we have thousands of blacks willing to work for three or four shillings per month; and these people when guided by proper management work well. There is no question that Natal could supply the greater part of the cotton required; we only want English enterprise; of capital, it wants but little. One reason why this colony offers a more favorable field than many others is, that there would be no interference with the rights of any other tribe. The present natives are nearly all emigrants or refugees from interior tribes; the Aborigines were exterminated some years since, by a Zooloo chief. The Fingoes on the frontier of the Cape colony were a remnant that escaped. In conclusion, I would remark, that the government are desirous of affording every facility to emigration. A cotton Company has lately been established in Cape Town with a capital of twenty thousand pounds. The government have granted to the company, land for every British emigrant brought into the district of Natal, in the proportion of two shillings per acre; and valuing each emigrant at ten pounds, that is 100 acres for every emigrant. I do not feel myself competent to do this subject justice, but I have written from a sense of duty, feeling that the Society of Friends would be conferring incalculably more benefit on the sons of Africa, by forming a settlement here, than by anything else they could do. The natives here are an agricultural race, and make good servants. Owing to cotton thriving so remarkably well, a farm two hours' ride from the bay, that was sold for three hundred pounds only a few months ago, and thought then to be a good price, was purchased to-day for fifteen hundred pounds ; the purchaser is daily expecting one hundred and sixty German emigrants to put on it. Any information I can furnish will be done with the greatest pleasure. Believe me, yours sincerely,(Signed,) RALPH CLARENCE.
http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/8974730/person/-124850158/media/1?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid%7cpgNum

• General Comment. National Archives of South Africa

DEPOT NAB
SOURCE MSCE
TYPE LEER
VOLUME_NO 0
SYSTEM 01
REFERENCE 36646/1943
PART 1
DESCRIPTION CLARENCE, THOMAS LAWTON. (WIDOWER).
STARTING 1943
ENDING 1956
REMARKS MSCE 12 323.

Clarence, Ralph (*Hooley Park, Surrey, Eng., 1816 - †Durban, 4.1.1878), horticulturalist and sugar pioneer, was one of the three sons of Richard Clarence who came to the Cape Colony in 1837 and from there went to Mauritius to grow sugar. Experiencing labour problems there he emigrated to Natal soon after it was established as a British colony (1843).

C. was connected by marriage to an important philanthropic group in England, headed by the Fry family, and to this group he was able to send exact information about the prospects of cotton planting in Natal. These very favourable reports led directly to the impetus which was given to emigration from England to Natal in the late 1840s and especially to the scheme of W. J. Irons........ C. also saw great possibilities in the cultivation of cotton by the Bantu although he realised the difficulties which this would create. He is credited with the introduction into Natal of the bluegum tree as well as the eucalyptus from the Cape Colony, and he was a persistent believer in the merits of planting blue grass in Natal. In the horticultural field he gave a large measure of assistance to the Byrne settlers, many of whom had little knowledge of cultivation.

As regards sugar, C. was (prior to 1852) a very early Natal planter on the south bank of the Umgeni River near the Springfield Flats. He also cultivated the Clare Estate. In 1853 he served on a committee of leading Natal men who were interested in sugar; they discussed the formation of a company for manufacturing it and also the labour question. C. urged the introduction of White labour for the growing of sugar. On his estate he supervised for the botanist M. J. McKen....... the growth of new varieties of cane and it was he who had the first vacuum pan process in the colony. Using cane planted in 1857, he set going his mill in 1859. Later he sent his son to Mauritius to learn the sugar-making methods used there.

Although noted for his philanthropic activities and his concern for his less fortunate fellow colonists, C. took little part in public life in Natal but he did find time to criticise the British Bantu policy of temporising which led to a shortage of labour.

He married Anne Lawton and had nine children. There is a representation of him in the Local History Museum, Durban, and a sketch in R. F. Osborn (infra). B. J. T. LEVERTON
http://ancestry24.com/wp-content/uploads/pages/Dictionary%20of%20South%20African%20Biography/page_02349.pdf

• General Comment. Copy of his son, Wilberforce Clarence's, death notice dated 14 Jan 1929 in RAB's possesion.


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Ralph married Ann Lawton. (Ann Lawton was born in 1820 and died in 1902.)



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info There will inevitably be errors and omissions and the whole purpose of creating this online record, is to invite feedback and corrections.
The data is specifically for non-commercial use and my clear intention is to build family records. The data may, therefore, not be used in any way for the purposes of financial gain.

Caveat:- Throughout the project UK GRO birth, marriage and death index data appears. The GRO data appears in Quarters. Q1 = January, February and March, Q2 = April, May, June , Q3 = July, August and September and Q4 = October, November and December. Similarly, Mar Q = January, February and March, Jun Q = April, May, June , Sep Q = July, August and September and Dec Q = October, November and December. Where these dates occur, they represent the date of Registration of the event rather than the date of the actual event. Logically, registration occurs AFTER the event. In some cases this may be days or months or even years after the event. The important thing is that the event was recorded and a copy of the document of registration could be obtained if necessary. This also applies to South African NAAIRS records.

Similarly, the UK system is confusing to the uninitiated because registration districts can span several counties. Accordingly GRO locations may not record the true location of the event. They do record where the record is actually kept or recorded.

Caveat #2:- I have used URL's throughout the website as sources. The URLs are often from paid subscription sites so you may not be able to access them without an account. Inevitably there are broken URL's. I have been to every URL recorded here and at the time they were operational. In this regard, the Ancestry24 records are a problem. There are numerous references in the South African data citing Ancestry24 records. Unfortunately Ancestry24 has closed down and these records are no longer available on line.

The early South African records on this site would not have been as good as they are without the work done by Delia Robertson. Where there are website addresses containing http://www.e-family.co.za... I record the citation should read Robertson, Delia. The First Fifty Years Project. This website can be found at First Fifty Years