Serge's World

As I have previously posted, my maternal great-great-great-grandparents where Frederick Bender and Annie Truter. Despite my best efforts, I have not found much more information regarding these two ancestors, except for the fact that I am fairly certain that they were of mixed race.

The searching begins

This led me on a little detective journey to try and uncover as much as I could about them, following all Bender or Truter leads I could, especially centering around the period 1800-1840, which would be the era in which they were born. Around this time, the Truter and Bender surnames were particularly rare in South Africa, especially Bender, as the root ancestor of the main branch of Bender’s in South Africa only arrived in the country aorund the 1820’s, and are unrelated to my ancestry. Before that there were a few Benders who arrived in South Africa, but the records are sketchy, and they did not leave very many descendants. The Truters arrived a bit before that, but where not all that numerous yet at that stage. The fact that my ancestors were of mixed race means that the records are even more scarce, since they would most likely be illegitimate children of a European settler and a local Khoisan or slave woman (especially Annie Truter, since that is the only way I could have Khoisan mt-DNA).

Let’s start with what we know for sure. The family of Frederick Bender is as follows:

• Frederick Bender (c1831 - 1898) = Annie Truter
  
  • Sarah Elizabeth (c1860 - 1919) = James Reid
  • John D
  • Abraham Andreas (c1870 - ?)
  • Charlotte Maria (1874 - 1953) = ?? Herbert
  • Aletta Frederika (? - 1952) = Edward William Steele
  • Frederika Maria (1879 - 1940) = Frederick John Gietzman
  • Maria Frederika (1866 - 1940) = Henry Charles Jackson

One thing that I did uncover is that the family is very much centered around Somerset West, Stellenbosch and Cape Town. Previously I covered the above individuals and their descendants, now I started trying to uncover the more distant and murkier past.

Some Benders and Truters of interest

In the baptism records of the Dutch Reformed Church in Stellenbosch, I found a few interesting baptisms.

• Jemima Charlotte Truter, baptisted 1836-4-13 at Stellenbosch, was the illegitimate daughter of the apprentice (maidservant), Carolina, in the service of Maria Sophia van der Riet, the widow of Rynhard Porreyn. The baptism was witnessed by Maria Sophia van der Riet, Petronella Sophia Faure and Francina Maria Greeff.
• Johan Frederik Bender, born on 1835-8-8, and baptisted 1835-10-11 at Stellenbosch, was the illegitimate son of Aletta Frederica Bender and Charles, a foreigner with an unknown surname. It was witnessed by Francina Maria Greeff and Sara Catharina Bedelstond
• Aletta Frederica Theunisse, born on 1832-12-24, and baptisted 1835-10-11 at Stellenbosch, was the daughter of Sara Catharina Bedelstond and Frederik, who was a former slave of Frederik Bender. The witnesses were Adonis Muller and Frederica Bender.

Aletta Frederica Bender and Sara Catharina Bedelstond also became members of the Dutch Reformed Church in Stellenbosch at the same time, on 1829-7-2, when they were baptised as adults.

These are the closest individuals which have a chance of being related to my ancestors that I could find. Digging deeper, however, I uncovered a bit more.

Deeper details for Carolina

Another interesting set of baptisms center around Carolina Sophia Carsten. She was baptised on 1838-12-23 in Stellenbosch as an adult, listed as being born in Cape Town around 1814. She was the daughter of Nicolaas Carsten, a former slave of the widow of Jacosu Petrus Roux, and of Lea, an unbaptised apprentice of Maria Sophia van der Riet. The witness were Maria Sophia van der Riet and Johanna Maria Reinira de Korte.

It seems too much of a coincidence that this Carolina, of more or less the right age to be the mother of Jemima Charlotte Truter was also related to the household of Maria Sophia van der Riet, so I am reasonably sure that they are the same person.

Carolina Sophia had a brother, Hermanus Jacobus, by the same parents, and two half-sisters who were the daughters of Louisa, another former slave.

Carolina Sophia Carstens also witnessed several baptisms after her own baptism:

• Clara Martha Weber, baptised in 1839-9-8, and born 1834-4-1 in Stellenbosch, was the daughter of Isaac Jacobus Weber, and Sophia van de Kaap. Carolina Sophia was a witness together with Martha Wilhelmina Adriaanse
• Christiaan Jacobus Theodours Bruyns, baptised in 1841-2-14 in Stellenbosch, the son of Christiaan Bruyns and Satea, an unbaptised apprentice of Petronella Sophia Faure. Carolina Sophia was again a witness together with Anna Maria de Vos.

Maria Francina Greeff shows up again

Another name that pops up more than once is Francina Maria Greeff. She was a witness at the baptism of Johan Frederik Bender and Jemima Charlotte Truter, but those were not the only baptisms she was present at. She also shows up in the following records:

• Maria Francina van Loon, baptised in 1837-12-24, and born 1818-10-26 in Stellenbosch, was the daughter of Datus, an apprentice of the widow of Jacobus Roux, and Delia, an apprentice of Abraham Bosman. Francina Maria was a witness together with Abraham Bosman and Debora Maria Botha
• Wilhelmina Maria Geertruida van Loon, baptised in 1837-12-24, and born 1833-6-20 in Stellenbosch, was also the daughter of Datus and Delia. Francina Maria was once again a witness together with Abraham Bosman, Getruida Botha and Debora Maria Botha
• Francina Maria Greeff, baptised in 1837-1-11 in Stellenbosch, was the daughter of Jacobus Greeff, an unbaptised Bastard (the actual term used in the baptism record), and Isabella Catharina Magdalena Vlotman. Francina Maria was a witness again.

Who exactly was this woman who showed up everywhere?

Conclusions

The life of the former slaves in Stellenbosch appears to have been very interconnected, and these records are merely the tip of the iceberg htat I found following the clues. I left out all the other interconnected relationships that strayed further away from the Truters and Benders I was originally hunting for.

I haven’t yet found any definitive links to my own ancestry, but I am fairly certain that there is at least some likelihood that there may be some family link. Many of the names in the trail echo the names of some of the known relatives, which I mentioned at the beginning of this post, but cannot say anything for definite.

For now, the search goes on….