The Flemmer Family

MEMORIES

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"We didn't realise we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun!"

 

On this page we'd like to encourage family members to send in fond - or not so fond - memories they may have of something.... a place...... a person, in their past which helps to weave a stronger story of the Flemmer family history. Please e-mail stories (short or long) to flemmerclan@gmail.com and Colleen will add them in here. It would be great if you could include dates or some kind of a time estimate.

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Submitted by Steve Herbert - Jan 2016

In an idle moment recently I searched the SA Archives database and was surprised to see more Flemmer files had been added to the list. I had gone through all available ones at the time I researched the Story of the South African Flemmers. There’s more work to be done! But a file that caught my eye was the estate file of my grandmother Kathleen Flemmer (Nolan Neylan). It included the joint will with my grandfather Marius Toger Flemmer, their antenuptial contract among much else. But I think what really interested me (and I think many of us ‘East London’ Flemmer descendants) was a listing of the house at Bonza Bay in the contract. 

 

In 1903 it was valued at a surprising £825. Given that at the time it was a long, long way from East London and it didn’t include the land, this was a lot of money. Roughly in today’s terms it would be £79,120 or

R1,850, 000. I can remember my Mom telling me that when she was a girl it was virtually a day’s trek with the ox wagon out there for the summer holidays. I suppose now it’s no more than 10 minutes by car from the Nahoon River.

 

The mention of Bonza Bay brought back many good memories for me. After a three day trip by car or train from Salisbury to East London we would spend weeks at the Bonza Bay camp. There was no running water or electricity and a drop toilet down in the bushes. There were, I think, three pretty ramshackle buildings and a constant stream of cousins, uncle and aunts coming to visit or stay. It was heaven, totally unspoilt and a place where we kids could run wild from morning til night. What a wonderful place it was.

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Submitted by Steve Herbert - December 2021

Through the Geni site, I was able to find my oldest ancestor yet. He is a direct link to me and over 12 generations to my grandkids. I will show some of the details below – he is an ancestor of the East London Flemmer line via my grandmother Kathleen Nolan Neylan the wife of Marius Toger Flemmer. He was Jakob Trägårdh born in 1688 on the island of Gotland in Sweden. The name became Trichardt in South Africa – one of his descendants being the well-known Louis Trichardt. 

 

A bit closer in time (only 170 years ago!) we came across this advert for the good Doctor Flemmer – the first to arrive on these shores. 

 

Cape Frontier Times 1853 1 January - March

DOCTOR FLEMMER

Lately residing in the Capital of Denmark, where he was a medical Practitioner in all branches of the profession for 15 years, and has the best testimonials for his skill, is at present resident in Cradock, and solicits the patronage of the public, assuring them that no exertion on his part shall be wanting to restore those that may honour him with their confidence to that greatest of life’s blessings – Perfect Health.

A good stock of genuine Medicine on hand.

C.A. FLEMMER

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Submitted by Steve Herbert - 29 July 2021

This information was emailed to William A. Martinson of 

Border Historical Society, East London

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I’m attaching a picture of Marius Toger (MT) Flemmer taken I think in the early 1960s. He was born in Middelburg in 1877 and died in East London in 1965. He was a wonderful grandfather and I have many happy memories of sitting in the rowing boat fishing in the Nahoon River when down on holiday from Rhodesia. You probably saw the book I wrote – it’s online ‘The Story of the South African Flemmers'. The family lived in Steynsburg when MT was young and after his father died in 1896 he was supported by his uncle, Marius Flemmer, who was a lawyer in Steynsburg. I don’t have the exact year MT went to live in EL but believe it was just before the Anglo Boer War. This link 

https://87f7cf75-6223-4bdf-a53c-bd26046b5073.filesusr.com/ugd/69400e_3dea120bbe1048ee9032b28dc7e57484.pdf will take you to the section about MT’s father. MT himself is recorded from online page 23 onwards.

 

For interest attached is a pic from the family album and titled ‘Off to the Quinera’. This would be members of the family setting out for MT’s house at Bonza Bay. I have wonderful memories of late 1950s Bonza Bay too. We used to stay out there for weeks!

 

On the subject of Quinera, we met Babe Watson’s daughter in Jbg and we were family friends. Through Babe I met Brian Watson and visited him at his house on the river when researching the Flemmer book. He gave me copies of pictures headed Quinera 1930. On one photo we noted the names of property owners of individual houses. You probably have these pictures but if you would like them let me know.

 

Also attached – the 1916 Who’s Who entry and finally an address he gave to the boys at St Andrews (date unknown). Historically interesting and very amusing.