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Archiver > SOUTH-AFRICA > 1998-07 > 0900101058


From: "Ashley Strickland" <>
Subject: Re: CapeTown help needed
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 22:04:18 +0200


Hi Bob,

That's Robben Island, in Table Bay, opposite Cape Town. It's most famous
resident was of course a certain Nelson Mandela who spent some time there as
a political prisoner.

I have forwarded your e-mail to a friend who works at the museum on the
island. He will see what he can find out but he tells me that the South
African Archives in Cape Town has all the records relating to the island.
Unfortunately the only way you could get at them would probably be to spend
a day or two at the S.A. Archives itself or find a local researcher who can
do it for you.

At that time Robben Island was a leper colony and mental asylum and nearly
all the people on the island would have been patients or workers connected
with those institutions.

Regards,
Ashley Strickland
Welcome Glen, Simon's Town
South Africa


-----Original Message-----
From: Billie and Bob <>
To: <>
Date: Thursday, July 09, 1998 20:13
Subject: CapeTown help needed

>Hello, I am brand new to the list and was told by a friend that you
>folks are friendly and helpful and that is exactly what I need. I
>placed a message about a week ago but our computor was doing some weird
>things at the time so I am not sure the message ever got out. Here is
>my delimia. I have two irish uncles that went to SA shortly before the
>start of the Boer War. supposedly they both faught in that war. Their
>names are Jacob and Henry Neilans. Jacob married a Mary O'Neal while
>there and then moved to the US. Henry, stayed in SA and died there we
>believe unmarried. Not having family makes the search harder. I have
>no date of death for Henry but according to his brothers will he was
>still living in 1925 and his place of residence was Ribben Island
>Capetown. He was born in 1881. Can someone please help me out with
>this. Are there census records or such that can be looked out or how
>can I go about finding info on Henry or both men. I wrote to London to
>see if perhaps they had joined the army there and then went to SA but
>no records were found. I have no info on what unit they were in . All
>I have is what I mentioned above. This is one of those cases that you
>can't let go, because you can't seem to get the right info. So. I am
>asking for help.
>Thanks in advance
>Billie
>
>

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