 General Notes:
Family Background:-
James, together with his parents and sister Emma and brothers Samuel and George returned to England in 1845. During his lifetime he "superintended the shipping of guns from Birmingham", presumably to the Cape Colony where his father and a brother were shopowners. At the time of the 1881 census the family was living at Oakbourne, Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Warwick, England and James' occupation was given as Cape Merchant. In later life he lived at Hastings.
Death Notes:
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=iT8oxce%2BMdA3i5b3epMVrQ&scan=1
Hastings RD.
Sources of information or noted events in his life were:
• General Comment. See James Weakley's story at - http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/1738918/person/-460131201/media/1?pgnum=1&pg=0&pgpl=pid%7cpgNum
History of the Weakley Family of the Cape
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STORY OF 1820 SETTLER'S FAMILY - TOLD BY LAST SURVIVOR
Mr. James WEAKLEY, uncle to the editor of this paper, died in England in February last, aged eighty years and three months. Before his death, at our request, he wrote a sketch of the early history of the family of which he was the last survivor (that is of that generation) and though it was never intended for publication we publish it hereunder. It contains a good deal that is of little interest to anyone but the clan itself, now pretty numerous in South Africa, but there are also references of general interest.
The "George" mentioned in the narrative was the father of the present editor of the Heidelberg News.
MR. JAMES WEAKLEY'S NARRATIVE
Father was born at Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, on June 27th 1790 and Mother at Farleigh, Wiltshire on November 5th 1791. I am told that variations of our family name, such as WAKELY, WHEATLY etc abound in the neighbourhood of Bradford-on-Avon - our correct name, however, is WEAKELY - as the birth certificate proves - but Father ran away from home during the French War and joined the Navy, and was prisoner in France for two years, and his name was entered as WEAKLEY. This spelling has been retained ever
since, partly I expect as prize money was expected after the termination of the war. Father and Mother (Joseph WEAKLEY and Emma KINTON) were married on November 3rd 1814 and lived subsequently at Frome, Somersetshire, where Father earned a livelihood as a weaver of West of England cloth. They afterwards, in 1820, went out to the Cape with the British Settlers, several children having previously been born. On landing at Algoa Bay the only shelter provided was tents, permanent buildings not having been erected there. From Algoa Bay they trekked to Bathurst, each settler in their party being allocated a certain extent of land in that neighbourhood. Father, however, soon commenced trading up country, using bullock wagons, and received cattle in exchange for the commodities he supplied. On his periodical returns to Bathurst, where Mother and the children remained, his drove of cattle were killed, the hides and tallow realizing far more than the live animals cost him. From Bathurst a move was made to Grahams Town, the farm house on West Hill being bought and converted into stores, so that they might almost be said to have been the first inhabitants of that flourishing city. A successful trade was carried on there, principally with
the Dutch farmers (who came periodically to the Nachtmlaal etc). When Father and Mother first lived there, droves of elephants used to feed in what is now the centre of the town and lions etc had also their homes close at hand. Their family increased to a total of eleven, seven sons and four daughters, George being born when mother was about 49 years old - but two sons Benjamin and Joshua died in their teens. In 1845, the five elder children being married, Father and Mother and the four youngest bairns (Samuel, James, Emma and George) sailed for England in the "Owen Glendowe", a large sailing East India liner, and after a pleasant seven weeks voyage landed in London. The Great Metropolis looked so dirty to us youngsters, although it was then at its best being the month of May, that some of us cried to be taken back to the Cape. Those also were Joe's (Chamberlain) good old protection days and the poverty and misery of the working classes was heartrending. We resided first at Barking and afterwards at Woodford, both near London, till about 1848, when leaving Samuel to manage the shipping agency, the rest of us removed to the island of Jersey in search of a warmer climate, and from thence, in 1851, to Bordeaux in Southern France. George and I were sent as pupils to the Lycee of that city to pick up the French language, but unfortunately after a fifteen months stay, the climate not suiting Mother and Emma, we returned to London and from thence removed to Birmingham in 1853 to superintend the shipping of guns from that town. Whilst residing there Father built a small chapel and school room underneath in Hope Street, entirely at his own expence, for the poor of the neighbourhood, which was afterwards vested in trustees of the Baptist denomination, the principal
condition being that all seats should be free and the Ministers have no salary. I may add that this little chapel, of about 300 seatings, has flourished ever since and hundreds of similar ones should be erected all over the large towns of England, as our working classes will not attend the Grand Churches and chapels now existing. Father and Mother too had sweet
voices and were fond of leading the singing at chapel. Father also played the violoncello and flute and he often sang favourite hymns and accompanied himself on his bass-viol as a hobby at home. In 1854 Father and Mother and the two youngest children returned to Grahams Town, leaving James in Birmingham and Samuel in London. After george and Emma were settled in the Colony the seniors made several voyages to and from the Old Country till on May 27th 1863 Father died at Grahams Town of apoplexy seized while having his morning's cold bath. Mother died there also after a long and useful life, beloved by all, on February 17th 1876, leaving very numerous descendants even reaching the third (or fourth) generation and counting over one hundred and twenty souls.
Father had an only sister and Mother an only brother in England, the latter died young and unmarried and if the former, who left one son and one daughter, has any grandchildren living they have quite vanished from our knowledge and probably emigrated to Canada or the United States as they were brought up on farms.
Although I have been away from South Africa nearly sixty years I still have a vivid recollection of its grand scenery and especially Grahams Town and neighbourhood. I can also remember being christened by the Rev. William SHAW in the Old Wesleyan Chapel Grahams Town when only six years old. Father and Mother took George for the same ceremony, being then a babe in arms, and occupied a front pew. Emma, aged three years, and I however sat at the back of the chapel, along with an elder sister, until Mr. SHAW
announced the christening as follows: "Those parents who have any children to be baptised will now bring them forward." Whereupon I took Emma's hand, no doubt having been thoroughly drilled previously, and led her up the aisle; and I can remember to this day how the people leant over the gallery grinning at us both, or rather I expect at such a young father having such a fine baby.
To show how cheap livestock was in the colony in 1845, let me tell you that 50 woolled sheep were offered on the Grahams Town market on the day of our departure by a farmer at 1s 9d each. Father offered eighteen pence which he accepted, and as my brother Joseph was standing by he said "Here Joe is a present for you", and we heard afterwards that the little flock did wonderfully well on Joseph's farm in the Somerset district.
The above is thought to have been written about 1905
• General Comment. 23 Noted events in his life were:
• He appeared on the census in 1851 in Woodford Bridge, Woodford, Essex.
• He worked as a Colonial Agent in 1858 in Vincent Street, Balsall Heath.
• He appeared as a Cape Merchant on the census in 1861 in Grahamstown Villa, Mary Street, Kings Norton.
• He resided at Post Office Directory in 1867 in Grahamstown Villa, Mary Street, Kings Norton.
• He appeared as a Cape Merchant on the census in 1871 in Grahamstown Villa, Mary Street, Kings Norton.
• He appeared as a Cape Merchant on the census in 1881 in Oakbourne, Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Warwick.
• He resided at Kelly's Directory in 1890 in Hope Villa, St Helen's Road, Hastings.
• He resided at Kelly's Directory in 1891 in Hope Villa, St Helen's Road, Hastings.
• He appeared as a Living on own means on the census in 1891 in Ingleside, St Helen's Cresent, Hastings.
• Other: Informant, in attendance on son's death, 7 Mar 1897, Ingleside, St Helen's Cresent, Hastings.
• He resided at Kelly's Directory in 1899 in Ingleside, St Helen's Cresent, Hastings.
• He appeared as a Retired Merchant on the census in 1901 in Ingleside, St Helen's Cresent, Hastings.
• He appeared as a Retired South African Merchant on the census on 2 Apr 1911 in 10 St Helen's Cresent, Hastings, Sussex. No of Rooms -8
• He resided at Kelly's Directory in 1915 in 10 St Helen's Cresent, Hastings.
• He had an estate probated London on 11 Aug 1915. Effects £6616 5s 6d.
• Occupation. It is a known fact that Joseph Weakley (their father) returned to England temporarily in 1845 to set up two of his sons, Samuel and James, in Birmingham in a shipping business sending firearms to Grahamstown. It must be assumed that John Hayton also obtained his firearms from this source as Samuel and James remained in England and never returned to their land of birth.
• Web Based Info. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ahoneybun&id=I7335
• Census: UK, 1851. http://search.ancestry.com/iexec?htx=view&r=an&dbid=8860&iid=ESSHO107_1769_1770-0646&fn=George+R&ln=Weakley&st=r&ssrc=&pid=4677935
This census lists him as James W. Weakley
James married Jane Hinson, daughter of Henry Hinson and Sally Osborne, on 11 Sep 1854 in Kings Norton, Worcester, England.23 (Jane Hinson was born in 1835 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England 23, christened on 18 Nov 1835 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England 23 and died Dec Q 1916 in Hastings, East Sussex, England 23.)
Sources of information or n events in their marriage were:
• Web Based Info. http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=y3ts%2FOgxphHybnPjoMcc8g&scan=1
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