GriquatownAndersons.com is the family tree of
Anderson of Griquatown / Griekwastad, South Africa
and the Anderson-Davel extended family of Zimbabwe

GriquatownAndersons.com is the family tree for 4871 individuals linked to Anderson of Griquatown [William Anderson 1769-1852] and the Anderson-Davel family. Anderson landed at the Cape, South Africa in 1800 and the following year founded Griquatown - an isolated place far north (beyond the Cape border) that became the main route for explorers, and also the centre of British Colony "Griqualand West" 1873-1880 with its own flag, coins, stamps and the Kimberly diamonds. William Anderson came from England but his ancestors traced to Thomas Anderson (1635-1699) Aberdeen Scotland. Anderson of Griquatown married Johanna Maria Schonken (1777-1848) whose direct ancestors landed in 1723 from Holland, and who also provided a rich slave heritage (from 1658) to our family. Johann Christiaan Davel (1788-1842) of the Anderson-Davel's of Zimbabwe landed in South Africa in 1734 from Germany. On the maternal side of this family, John Balfour Blyth (Abt 1807-1891) landed in 1856 from Scotland and Johannes Pretorius (1642-1694) before 1680 from Holland.

The Anderson-Davel family is one of the earliest arrivals from Europe in Southern Africa - arriving only a few decades after the first 197 people landed April 6, 1652 led by Jan van Riebeeck from Holland and long before the 3,800 British "1820 settlers" or explorer David Livingston who arrived 1841. In 1845 Livingston married Mary Moffat who was born at the Griquatown Anderson Mission. William Anderson landed when the white population in the Cape numbered less than 15,000.

More about the Anderson-Davel extended family tree

The parents of our Anderson-Davel family [photo on left] arrived in Zimbabwe [Rhodesia] probably after 1897 [when the railway from Cape Town reached Bulawayo]: William Wardlaw Anderson (1888-1978) likely 1914 and Willem Marthinus Davel (1886-1922) before then, entered Rhodesia and settled near Bulawayo and Gwelo respectively.

Examples of information: on this website are given by clicking on the buttons or arrows in the following Anderson-Davel family table. Ralph Blyth Anderson (1916-2013) [our Family Tree author] is five generations removed from Anderson of Griquatown -

Anderson-Davel	Parents	Ancestors	Descendants
Ralph Blyth Anderson 1916-2013	William Wardlaw Anderson & Sheila Blyth	«	»
Helena Elizabeth Davel 1918-1996	Willem Marthinus Davel & Helena Elizabeth Pretorius	«	»

The GriquatownAndersons.com Site Author - Ralph Blyth Anderson 1916-2013

Ralph Anderson dedicated a huge amount of time over the last fifteen meticulously researching and developing the information on this site. Nothing appears which he has not been quite thoroughly checked or confirmed. The sources include copies of original documents, old family Bibles, and records of various institutions such as the London Missionary Society and Aberdeen & N E Scotland Family History Society, both of which he personally visited a number of times. He also made a special visit to the site of Anderson of Griquatown's Mission in the Cape. We are extremely grateful for the work he has done and for the family history that is now available to our family spread across the globe.

You can assist in perpetuating this work by providing the results of your investigations and details of your own immediate family. You can have your family information included or updated on this site free! If your photo is missing or you have a better photograph of yourself please email it as an attachment using the above email address. Any photos of Historical Importance also appreciated! Please send your family history by email to GriquatownAndersons via our contact page, or simply use the following email address edward@GriquatownAndersons.com

PLEASE DO YOUR DNA PROFILE: By 2022 quite a few of the Anderson-Davel family have added their DNA analysis on the two major platforms in North America and Europe. Unfortunately, these platforms are apparently not available in Southern Africa so there is the expense of transporting the DNA sample internationally. In any event GriquatownAndersons encourages the family to join the get their DNA profile, and soon we will add some interesting DNA ancestry data to our site. We have quite astounding findings already: We (actually Alan H Anderson) have documented that our direct Anderson-Weber Family ancestors included at least these five "Free Blacks" (freed slave) women -

1. Maria van Ellewe (1750-1845): 4x great-grandmother
2. Leonora Claesz (1698-?): 5x great-grandmother
3. Catharina Le Febre (1688-1760): 7x great-grandmother
4. Catrina/ Catharina (c.1658-?): 8x great-grandmothe
5. Elisabeth Christina van de Caap, born c.1764: 4x great-grandmother
6. The details of our slave heritage is at this link!

7. Webmasters DNA Ethniticity Inheritance 2022

   Son of Ralph Blyth Anderson 1916-2013 and Helena Elizabeth Davel 1918-1996

   

OUR FAMILY WEB PUBLISHING POLICY

Information published on GriquatownAndersons.com is done so in good faith believing that it is acceptable to family members and friends. If there is any discomfort about any statement made, please contact us and we will expunge any such offending words. GriquatownAndersons prefers to remain free to include data of public record such as birth, death, marriage and divorce but for living people this data, and indeed most information, is password protected in the Family Vault.

Access to our Anderson-Davel Family Vault: The ancestry for our family departed is available to all visitors to this site but information on the lives of our family living is restricted. However, if you are related to the family you can access our Family Vault (see menu left) to learn more about your living relatives as well as their ancestry: Please contact us if you would like a password for the Family Vault and can prove that you are a relative.

Copy of original GEDCOM or Legacy File: The original data file is available to individual close family who are directly related to the Anderson-Davel line. Indeed, we encourage family tree enthusiasts to continue and hold for safekeeping the outstanding work of Ralph Blyth Anderson.

Concepts for Griquatown Andersons: Rev William Anderson, South Africa Missionary, London Missionary Society, Klaarwater Mission, South African History, Rhodesia History, Rhodesia Missionary, Rhodesia Family Tree, Rhodesia ancestry, Rhodesia descendants, Zimbabwe History, Zimbabwe Missionary, Zimbabwe Family Tree, Zimbabwe ancestry, Zimbabwe descendants,   South African History, South African Missionary, South African Family Tree, South African ancestry, South African descendants, trace family history,  find relatives, my family heritage, lost relative, where do  they live, family relations,  family lineage, family descendent, family pedigree, personal family, ex patriot family, immigrant families, Harare Family, Salisbury Family, Blyth Family History, De Jager Family History, Du Plessis Family History, Edmeades Family History, Forsyth Family History, Helm Family History, Jackson Family History, Melville Family History, Pretorius Family History, Weeber Family History.

Updated May 21, 2015