Parkin Family of South Africa: June 2012

Hi to all Parkin family and other vistors

This site is dedicated to those wanting to know more about the Parkin family in South Africa and also provide a forum for all descendants of John Parkin to share information about the family.

John Parkin, an 1820 settlers, was the first Parkin to set foot in South Africa, in Algoa Bay on 20th May 1820. He was accompanied by his wife Elizabeth Abraham (nee Howard) and his first four children, William, John, Jane and Robert. Initially settling on the farm designated by the British Government to the Parkin party, some 14km south west of Bathurst in the Eastern Cape, he moved into Port Elizabeth soon after and during the early years of the cities existence, quickly acquired a large portfolio of the Port Elizabeth real estate.

Today, not much (if any) of his original land remains in the Parkin name, with only a few items in the city remaining as an acknowledgement of his input into the beginnings of Port Elizabeth, namely Parkin Street in North End and a memorial plaque in a park in Stella ave Fernglen, close to where his original homestead was.

Marrying a second time, John Parkin's offspring could have made up a rugby team, all of 15 kids. Upon his death in 1856, his estate was never settled as a number of his children had moved on from Port Elizabeth and some thought to be dead. In the years that followed, some of his property was purchased from the estate by the government of the day for in order to build the Port Elizabeth Railway Station, where it still stands today. In the 1960's, a descendant of John Parkin, (N.P. Sellick) interested in determining who still had a claim to the estate, researched the Parkin genealogy in conjunction with the HSRC and wrote a book "John Parkin of Baakens River farm and his family, 1820 to 1970", which gave the basis for the family tree that can be found on this site.

To this I have added my direct family from information my father could still remember before his death in 1993 and more recently, through contact with Parkin Family on the net, have managed to update other lines in the family tree.

In order to see if you,your parents or grand parents are listed in the tree, do a "find" search on each of the pages in this Blog Archive (bottom right of this page) 2009, October, showing the various generations. As a guide, birth dates for the various generations are as follows

2nd generation birth dates between 1810's and 1840's
3rd generation birth dates between 1830's and 1890's
4th generation birth dates between 1860's and 1910's
5th generation birth dates between 1890's and 1930's
6th generation birth dates between 1940's and 1970's
7th generation birth dates between 1970's and 2000's
8th generation birth dates between 1990's and 2000's
and now the 9th generation in the 2000's

I would be happy to hear from anyone that has more information about the family or your particular lineage in order to updated the family tree.

You can find my contact details here http://www.blogger.com/profile/00702972045824582781

Saturday, June 30, 2012

John Parkin's application for emigration

Letter of application to Emigrate

Transcribed by Sue Mackay.

From National Archives, Kew CO48/45, 191

[Transcriber's note: In this letter PARKIN has used the word “likewise” before the names of potential settlers, with little or no punctuation. To make it easier to read, I have taken the liberty of re-formatting the information below the original. Subsequent letters concerning PARKIN's Party were written by Robert NEWCOMBE (in CO48/44)]

Lower North St
Exeter
Sept 3rd 1819
My Lord
I beg permission to make a reply to your kind letter dated the 19th of August last and I have to inform your Lordship that the following persons with myself are willing and ready to emigrate under your Lordship's directions and regulations to the Cape of good Hope as before specified. My own profession or calling is a carpenter and farmer age 32 – wifes age 30. I have also 5 children – the eldest 9 years, the fourth 7 years, the third 4 years, the second 2 years & the younger one year – likewise Richard FORD, carpenter and farmer age 42, wife 39 with 2 children one ten year old & the other 4 years old – likewise Daniel DINGLE farmer age 22, single man likewise Samuel ADDICOTT farmer age 15 – likewise Richard CROSS carpenter & farmer age 23, wife 27, one child one year – likewise William LANGWORTH smith and farmer age 22, single man – likewise John SPRAGUE carpenter and farmer age 27, wife 27 – likewise William GENDLE Carpenter age 22, single man – likewise Robert FOURACRES Cooper and farmer, age 32, wife 27 – likewise Richard LUCAS farmer age 16 – likewise William CLOGG farmer age 29, wife 27, one child two years – likewise Phillip ROBERTS Carpenter age 23, wife 27, one child one year old – likewise Henry BROOM farmer age 18 years Samuel CURTIS farmer age 17.
Should the before mentioned names and occupations meet your Lordship's approbation stating what we might be allowed to take out with us such as deferent sorts of cattle and implements in [obscured] and the particulars that will be wanting and the [time] and place we are to take shipping your Lordship's [kind] information of particulars will be thankfully accknowledged and punctualy attended to by your Lordship's
Most obedt humble ser't to command
John PARKIN
[Transcriber's revision of families mentioned in the letter]
John PARKIN, carpenter and farmer, age 32, wife 30, five children between 1 and 9 years old
Richard FORD, carpenter and farmer, age 42, wife 39, 2 children one 10 & the other 4 years old
Daniel DINGLE, farmer, age 22, single man
Samuel ADDICOTT, farmer, age 15
Richard CROSS, carpenter & farmer, age 23, wife 27, one child 1 year old
William LANGWORTH, smith and farmer, age 22, single man
John SPRAGUE, carpenter and farmer, age 27, wife 27
William GENDLE, Carpenter, age 22, single man
Robert FOURACRES, Cooper and farmer, age 32, wife 27
Richard LUCAS, farmer, age 16
William CLOGG, farmer, age 29, wife 27, one child 2 years old
Phillip ROBERTS, Carpenter, age 23, wife 27, one child 1 year old
Henry BROOM, farmer, age 18
Samuel CURTIS, farmer, age 17'

Source: www.eggsa.org

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Keep the updates rolling in!

Wow, the updates are coming fast now. Thank you Lindsay de Klerk and Elizabeth Leslie Te Roller for more info about the Parkin Family. Catch the latest update on the link below.

Thanks to Tjaart Johannes Parkin for the latest update and congratulations on your newest additions to your close family.

Keep the updates rolling in!

You can download John Parkin's descendants summary here!

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxIrPBf5E_C-VFNuVWpSa2dTdVE

and a tree here

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxIrPBf5E_C-MldmV0xxYWlIYzQ