Martha Agnes Dorete Wilhelmine Swan (nee Muller)

About:

Date of Birth: Unknown

Born in Hamburg, Germany.
"My Aunty Betty (Uncle Alec's wife) said she was Jewish, and I believe it to be possible." - Pam Stones (nee Swan)

She was paid to accompany a family with children on the ship to South Africa to look after the children. She came to Johannesburg, and worked in a hotel as a cook or a barlady. George Swan met her there.

 

Parents:

Unknown: Hamburg, Germany, possibly of Jewish descent.

Siblings:

She had a sister, Friedl. Lyn thinks they came to South Africa together.

 

Places Lived:

• Hamburg, Germany.

• 21 George Street, Rosettenville, Johannesburg.

 

Work:

• Children's nanny on ship.

• Cook or barlady at Lutje's Langham Hotel, Johannesburg.

"Lyn remembers my mother telling her that my grandmother was hired by the hotel while she was in Germany." - Pam Stones (nee Swan).

Married:

George Alexander Swan.

Children:

 

1. Alexander (Alec) - born ± 1905 married M. Elizabeth (Betty)
Son: Kenneth married Beverley
Grandchildren: Barry, Warren and Craig (married Renee)

Joseph (Joe) - born  ± 1906 married Thelma
Children: Sandra and Glenda


2. Douglas (Doug) - born 22 April 1908 (died August 1975) married 6 January 1939 Härdis Linnea De Friedland (born 11 May 1918 died 26 May 2001)

Children: Pamela Margaret (born 3 September 1941) married John Leslie Stones (born 27 June 1942)
Grandchildren: Katherine Anne (born 9 June 1969) married 30 December 2005 Jan Holzmann Petersen (born 2 March 1967)= Great Grandchild: Daniel Craig Stones (17 April 2002, father Craig Stones)
Jonathan Michael (born 1 June 1970) married Rebecca Clarke = Great Grandchildren Alexander, Sophia and Finnian
Children: Marilyn Joan (born 2 July 1943 died 20 August 2014) married Dennis Kneale Jane (3 January 1941)
Grandchildren: Gareth Kneale (born 13 September 1966) and Gregory Dennis (born 10 April 1969) married (1) Nicola Wasserman = Great Grandchild Andrew (2) Debi Lindsay
Children: Stephen Douglas (born 23 October 1946) married Marilyn Sinclair
Grandchildren: Susan, Gordon, Wendy and Anne

3. Joyce
"Lyn remembers my mother telling her that she had looked after her mother until her [mother's] death. Then she had a quarrel with her brothers and left. No one heard from her until she got in contact with my mother in the 1950's. My mother took Lyn and I to visit her in her flat when she was older. We never saw her again." - Pam Stones, nee Swan.

#Swan

George Alexander Swan

About:

• Date of birth unknown (1870’s?).

• Probably born in the Eastern Cape, possibly in Kingwilliamstown.

His father possibly came from Scotland with his family in the (late? 1840’s and settled in the Eastern Cape. He was a steeplejack, and as the story goes, died when he fell off a steeple of a church he was building in Kingwilliamstown (Grahamstown?)

• When he came to Johannesburg, he met my grandmother, Martha

Muller, who was working as a barlady in a Johannesburg hotel.

• Date of death unknown – buried in Johannesburg. He must have

been relatively old, because he died before my mother met my

father (before 1937). Cause of death unknown.

Parents: Unknown

• I believe they came from Scotland, possibly Skye. When we visited Skye,

We found a several graves in the north-east, bearing the surname “Swan” and also with the Christian names given to my grandfather, my father and his two brothers.

Siblings:

• My parents told me that he was the last in the line of males in his direct

family. A sister/sisters were never mentioned.

Places lived:

• Eastern Cape – Kingwilliamstown.

• Johannesburg: 21 George Street, Rosettenville.

Work:

• He drilled for water.

Married: Martha Agnes Dorete Wilhelmine Muller from Hamburg, Germany.

Children:

· Alexander (Alec) – b. +-1905. M. Elizabeth (Betty).

Son: Kenneth m. Beverly

Children: Barry, Warren & Craig (m Renee)

· Joseph (Joe) – b. +- 1906. M. Thelma.

Children: Sandra and Glenda.

· Douglas (Doug) – b. 22 April 1908. 6 January 1939: M. Härdis Linnea De Friedland (b 11 May 1918),.

Children: Pamela Margaret (b. 3 September 1941) m John Leslie Stones (b 27 June 1942)

Children: Katherine Anne (b 9 June 1969 m Jan Holzmann Petersen) & Jonathan Michael (b 1 June 1970 m Rebecca Clarke)

Marilyn Joan (b. 2 July 1943) m Dennis Kneale Jane (b 3 January 1941?)

Children: Gareth Kneale (b 13 September 1966) &

Gregory Dennis (b 10 April 1969)

Stephen Douglas (b. 23 October 1946) m Marilyn Sinclair

Children: Susan, Gordon, Wendy & Anne

#GeorgeAlexanderSwan #Swan