Openshaw

The Openshaws
we are looking for a link between Sarah Anne and the Openshaw family

The KELLETT and OPENSHAW
family history and pedigree
from Sandi de Sarigny, edited by Diana

Mr OPENSHAW was sent to South Africa as a 'remittance man' before the 1820 Settlers. One of the OPENSHAWS made a fortune in the woollen industry and bought himself a country estate in Hothersall near Ribchester. This sounds like the background from which a Victorian 'remittance man' would have come. Mr OPENSHAW married Hester BOWLES (from England) circa 1821 in Cape Town. They had two sons one of whom was George OPENSHAW * 2.5.1824 (Constantia) x Phoebe CLARK * 14.10.1825 (Grahamstown) + 15.12.1898 (Steynsburg) Phoebe was the daughter of George Clark and Elizabeth Parker. George and Phoebe had one daughter and six sons.

Suggested reading
Bechuanaland Diaries
1929 - 1937
Monarch of all I Survey
by
Sir Charles REY
Edited by
Neil Parsons & Michael Crowder

Family Tree - Abbreviations and Symbols
* born, x marriage, xx second marriage, + death, circa (about) s.o. son of, d.o. daughter of, ÷ divorce, (a) adoption, s.p. sine prole (without descendents),
NN surname unknown

b1 James * 27.1.1849 x Lydia HADLOW * 1852

b2 William * 1853 +26.2.1919 (E.London) x (Grahamstown) Susan WHITEHORN * 1854(England)
     +20.5.1920(East London) d.o. William & Caroline WHITEHORN
       c1 Florence Adelina Ann 1877-1944 x William KELLETT
           d1 Emily Beatrice 1898-1972
                x Ernest Morley NEWMAN 1890-1975
           d2 William Robert 1899-1956
                x Bernice Margaret ADAMS 1904-1979
                e1 Molly *1927
                e2 Florence Bernice * 1928
                e3 Shirley * 1931
           d3 Eric Dudley Richard * 1903 x Emily Marie OBERHOLZER
                e1 Dudley
                e2 Julian
           d4 Ernest Albert 1904-1967
           d5 Alfred Swain 1906-1967
               x Mary Magdalene ALLISON 1911-1974
               e1 Harold 1934 * 1988
               e2 Alfred Swain * 1942
               e3 Iris * 1944
           d6 Walter Seed 1909-1981 x Georgie
               e1 Desiree *circa 1941
           d7 Sydney circa 1914-1944
           d8 Alice Florence 1916-1995
               x Peter James PETERSEN 1914-1957
               e1 Neville James
               e2 Sandra Ann
               e3 Diane Lyn
       c2 Ivy Maud x SANDERS
       c3 William George
       c4 Percy Evelyn
       c5 Richard Charles
       c6 Sydney Frederick d.1941 (Kenya)
       c7 Morris Edward
       c8 Leslie Rufus
       c9 Eric James
     c10 Violet Mary x FISHER

b3 John Charles *1858 (Dordrecht) +6.2.1924 (East London) x (10.3.1891 Queenstown) Sarah Jane CHRISTIE
       c1 Arthur George
       c2 Oliver Douglas
       c3 John Herbert

b4 Mary Anne x James GIBSON

b5 David

b6 Charles Richard x (7.11.1889 Bathurst) Lydia Alice GRADWELL
       c? Herbert Douglas 1895 +16.7.1916
       (age 23yrs 3mnths - fell in Delville Wood)

b7 Frederick (is he Sydney Frederick?)

HISTORY

George earned his living as a tailor and when Phoebe died on 16.12.1898 it was deemed that her household property was insufficient to pay costs of liquidation. George died on 20.12.1906. There is a letter in the estate file from an A J OPENSHAW dated 22.8.1947 requesting a copy of the death notice and naming the children.

William OPENSHAW, the father of Florence was born January 1853 in Grahamstown and died in 1919.. He married Susan WHITEHORN, born April 1854 in England, daughter of William and Caroline. They had nine children. William was a farmer and the family resided on the farm named Overport in the Cove Rock vicinity on the West Bank outside East London Susan died a year later on 20.5.1920. The family OPENSHAW is still very much in evidence in East London although some of them must have distributed themselves in other parts of the country.

There was little contact between the OPENSHAWS and the progeny of William and Florence. Both families were large and sheer force of numbers meant it was inevitable that they would lose contact. In 1953 Alice (the youngest daughter of Florence and William) and her husband Peter PETERSEN and their two daughters visited Charles (the son of Violet) who was a tug master in East London. Persons with the surname OPENSHAW are in all likelihood distant relatives.

The Openshaws were generally a tough, hard drinking and sometimes an adventurous lot and Florence recalled that one of her great uncles, one Francis OPENSHAW who was a trader, operated as far as the Zambezi River in what is today Zimbabwe and Zambia. The worthy reached Victoria Falls only a couple of years after David Livingstone and has the dubious distinction of having a town 'FRANCISTOWN' named after him in what is present-day Botswana (Francis OPENSHAW must be the brother of Mr OPENSHAW in the pedigree)

ORIGIN

The original home of the OPENSHAWS was in Lancashire and there is in fact a village of that name not very far from Preston. When Florence's great grandfather had his first son, two men came from England and took the infant back to Preston. What became of that son is unknown

Results of the research in England of the origin OPENSHAW is that it is a township on the eastern side of Manchester. It is long and narrow, with the Ashton Old Road running along the middle of it, so it probably originated as a clearing on either side of the King's Highway.

About OPENSHAW as a surname, opinions appear to differ. One local historian assumes that it derives from the township and refers to a Robert de OPENSHAGH, who was a chaplain of the parish church of Manchester in 1295. However, there is a 3-page pedigree of the OPENSHAW family in 'The History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster' by Edward Baines, revised by James B. Crosten. This indicates the family lived in and around Bury, north of Manchester in mediaeval times, so their name may have come from some lost place in that area.

An old directory also points to Bury as the place where the name was most common. There is an Openshaw Fold Road to the south west of Bury, but this is probably a case of the place taking its name from the family and not vice versa.

Surnames derived from places, often quite small places are particularly common in Lancashire and some families and places stayed together down to the eighteenth century, but this was not the case with OPENSHAW.

More Openshaws

Research Notes

Sidney Frederick (s.o. William & Susan OPENSHAW) *1890
       (E.London) +19.3.1957 x (6.1.1916 Potchefstroom) Anna Julianna
        d1 Joseph Louis
        d2 Alexander Phillip
        d3 Lawrence Jacob
        d4 Percy Davies

   William Oswal *1884 + 24.6.1952 (Pretoria) x÷ NN
       James Albert
       Tobias Jacobus
       Hester Margarietha x TURNBULLE
       Lydia x VENTER

   Joseph Henry (Kanye) x Christina F TALJAARD (Kanye)
       Joseph Henry *1897(Potchefstroom) +5.11.1918
       (21 yrs 7 mnths - unmarried)

   William Edward Openshaw *05.02.1852 (Cape Town) + 07.02.1915
   (Haydock Lodge, Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire)

Discharged soldiers and sailors who were granted permission
to remain at the Cape: 1815-1824 by Peter Philip - Familia XVI/1979 No.3

28/8/1823 OPENSHAW, John RAC (Royal African Corps)
25/6/1824 OPENSHAW, John RAC

"I have attached," said Sir Rufane DONKIN (who had to dispose of the men of the RAC), "these worthless and unmanageable people to the detachment of the 72nd Regiment at Grahamstown, but I shall take the earliest opportunity I can of removing them to Cape Town, as neither the settlers nor the ordinary inhabitants here would be safe in the vicinity of such congregated banditti as these men will form when collected."

The Royal Africa Corps arrived in the Cape in July 1817. Known as a "regiment of evil reputation" it served in captured French possessions on the African coast. Crime prevalent in the regiment and the colonists requested their discharge or withdrawal. (from the Letter Book of Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin)

From "Robinson Crusoe in Cape Town"

The year 1817 saw the arrival of one of the most lawless batches of soldiers ever sent to defend our shores. The very mention of the RAC was sufficient to strike terror into the hearts of law-abiding citizens.

The men of these units were drawn from many nationalities and the majority had been convicted of military of civil offences. Many were recaptured deserters, other were criminals of the worst type.

Their unruly character soon manifested itself - on 20 June the transport LLOYDS arrived in Simon's Town carrying the first party of 161 soldiers, every one a deserter at some time or other. Even before plans for disembarkation were complete a detachment of the 48th Regiment was sent on board to guard the new arrivals, for it had been discovered that a plan had been hatched on board to seize the vessel and make off with her

When all the new troops had arrived in various ships some four hundred were formed into the Royal African Corps. They were sent to the Eastern Frontier and posted to the forts and strong positions along the Fish River. The RAC knew one brief hour of glory when they fought gallantly at the Battle of Grahamstown in 1819.

With Britain not keen to have them back and the Governor not inclined to give them their discharge in this country, they were attached to the 72nd Regiment, not required to wear uniforms or perform military duties and sent to build the French Hoek Pass. After completion of the pass England and SA rid themselves of these unworthy soldiers by sending them to Sierra Leone.

25 September 1846 - William OPENSHAW m. Pauline Emilia UNNA

June 1875 - OPENSHAW, G - Wagon Manager for Francis & Co at Shoshong (see E.C.Tabler's 'PIONEERS OF RHODESIA') Was transport manager for W.C. Francis

1879 - Burgher List (Acc 56 pg 15) - King Williams Town - No 70 - OPENSHAW - John, 22 years, staying at Ncera. Calling: Wagon Maker

From SA Directory 1883-84 - Grahamstown (Albany) -G. Openshaw - Tailor, Beauforts... and W. Openshaw - Carrier, Location

In FAMILY REGISTER OF THE SA NATION - Openshaw can be found on page 744

OPENSHAW, George - Another melancholy report of death by lightning has reached us, the victim in this case being Mr George OPENSHAW, a young man whose parents reside in this city - on the Molappo River

7 November 1889 - OPENSHAW, Charles Richard m. at Bathurst on the 7 November 1889, by the Rev. Oliver CAREY ...sixth son of George OPENSHAW of East London, to Lydia Alice, second daughter of Levi GRADWELL of Bathurst.

from Geoff Quick - FRANCISTOWN was named after Liverpool born Daniel FRANCIS (1840-1921), who mined in the area and had extensive land holdings just south of the present town. He was also a director of the De Beers Mining Co. in Kimberley

from HISTORY OF BOTSWANA - 1st Political Party - J. Openshaw became Secretary-General of Bechuanaland Protectorate Federal Party, now called Liberal Party, but in 1962 it disappeared

from J.H. Openshaw jnr - Joseph Henry *30 September 1961(Bulawayo). Family lived in Lobatse, Botswana since 1962 - Owned the Lobatse Hotel. Family of about 6 generations buried in the family burial ground in Kanye

from The Director of National Archives and Records Services in Botswana - Openshaws had Minchin and Kelly Company as their Lawyers - If anyone wants to pursue this you need to gain access to the Openshaw Brothers (Pty) Ltd files. Permission can be obtained from Registrar of Companies in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Botswana and you will have to quote "Location No K/7/3678 and File no 00222 Vol.1"

Permissions to remain in the Colony - CO 6055 1806 Vol 1

John Openshaw No 4120
John Openshaw No 4398

4121 Late of the RAC. This permission shall however not extend to the 3 Frontier Districts of Albany, Graaff Reinet and Uitenhage and transmitted to the Military Secretary.

16 September 1820 - The restriction of residing in the Albany District withdrawn as long as he remains in the service of Mr Cowderoy at the Kowie

Description

Age: 29 years
Height: 5' 4"
Hair: Dark brown
Eyes: Hazel eyes
Complexion: Fresh
Trade: Paper maker