FELTONS in South Africa ? (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 02:32 (4423 days ago) @ unknown

Hi Heather,
as a mechanical engineer with mining roots, I'm curious wrt your search for ancestors in South Africa, where engineers & miners were certainly in demand in the late 1800s.
The following "hits" from the LDS site may interest you, perhaps the names will be familiar with some in your known family line ?.

"South Africa, Dutch Reformed Church Registers, 1660-1970,"
name: John William Felton
event: Membership
event date: 28 Sep 1874
event place: Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
residence:
gender:
age:
marital status:
birth date:
estimated birth year:
father:
mother:
parent's residence:
spouse:
spouse's age:
spouse's marital status:
spouse's estimated birth year:
spouse's residence:
banns or license:
entry number: 75
page:
film number: 2214276
digital folder number: 4434429
image number: 00847

I guess this refers to John joining the Dutch Reformed Church, perhaps as a precursor to marrying a Dutch girl ?.
https://familysearch.org/search/records/index#count=20&query=%2Bsurname%3Afelton%7E...

"South Africa, Dutch Reformed Church Registers, 1660-1970,"
name: John William Felton
event: Marriage
event date: 01 Feb 1875
event place: Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
residence: Kaapstad
gender: Male
age: 20
marital status: Single
birth date:
estimated birth year: 1855
father:
mother:
parent's residence:
spouse: Julia Christiana Graves
spouse's age: 21
spouse's marital status: Single
spouse's estimated birth year: 1854
spouse's residence: Kaapstad
banns or license: Banns
entry number: 4
page:
film number: 2214378
digital folder number: 4434435
image number: 00629

NB: Kaapstaad is Afrikaans for Cape Town.
It was from the late 1860s onwards when diamonds then gold were discovered in the Transvaal(Afrikaans/Dutch) region of South Africa, inland from Cape Town. This caused huge expansion of the city & population.

John & Julia have the following children:
name: John Jesse Jacobus Felton
event: Baptism
event date: 05 Mar 1876
event place: Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
residence:
gender:
age:
marital status:
birth date: 23 Feb 1876
estimated birth year:
father: John William Felton
mother: Julia Christani Graves Felton

name: Jessie Christiana Felton
event: Baptism
event date: 11 Nov 1877
event place: Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
residence:
gender:
age:
marital status:
birth date: 29 Sep 1877
estimated birth year:
father: John William Felton
mother: Julia Christina Gravis Felton

name: Florence Maria Felton
event: Baptism
event date: 16 Feb 1879
event place: Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
residence:
gender:
age:
marital status:
birth date: 12 Dec 1878
estimated birth year:
father: John William Felton
mother: Julia Christina Graves Felton

There is also this unrelated entry, seems curious given the child has an "English" name but clearly Dutch parents, perhaps political wrt the Boer War etc:
name: Henrietta Francis Felton
event: Baptism
event date: 08 Apr 1885
event place: Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
residence:
gender:
age:
marital status:
birth date: 26 Jan 1885
estimated birth year:
father: Hendrik Johannes Felton
mother: Petronella Johanna Dorothea Staal

The LDS site also shows this baptism for a wholly? Dutch family:
name: Johana Thobia Faltein
event: Baptism
event date:
event place: Stellenbosch, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
residence:
gender:
age:
marital status:
birth date:
estimated birth year:
father: Johan Pieters Faltein
mother: Johanna Wilhelmina De Villiers

--------------------------------------------

Searching for John William Felton born abt 1855, LDS suggests a few including my favourite:
name: John William Felton
gender: Male
baptism/christening date: 08 May 1853
baptism/christening place: Christ Church, Tynemouth, Northumberland, England
birth date: 14 Apr 1853
father's name: Matthew Felton
mother's name: Isabella

In the 1861 Census they're in Seaton Delaval, nr Blyth Northumberland. Until I started researching my brother-in-law's family 2 weeks ago I'd never heard of it, now I know it was a major coal mining area AND near the seaport of Newcastle On Tyne. I cannot find him in the UK after 1871 where he is still single at home ??.

Another possible:
John William Felton, baptised 10 Sep 1854, Solihull Warwickshire, parents John & Mary Anne. HOWEVER he is still in Solihull in 1891 Census.

Also of interest may be the sole African birth offered, and at Cape Town too !.
Perhaps a brother of the aforementioned John; if so it looks unlikely this John is one of yours given his Salisbury parents ??

name: William G. Felton
titles & terms:
event: Death
event date: 17 May 1885
event place: Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts
residence: Plymouth
street address:
gender: Male
age: 34
marital status: Married
occupation: Ropemaker
birth date:
birthplace: Cape Town, Africa
estimated birth year: 1851
burial date:
burial place: Plymouth
cemetery:
father: Robert
father's titles & terms:
father's birthplace: Salisbury, Eng.
mother: Elizabeth
mother's titles & terms:
mother's birthplace: Salisbury, Eng.
additional relatives:
spouse:
volume/page/certificate number: v 365 p 349
film number: 960229
frame number:
digital folder number: 4223253
image number: 374

Leading to:
name: John Felton
event: Census
event date: 1861
gender: Male
age: 7
relationship to head of household: Visitor
birthplace: Wiltshire
record type: Household
registration district: Alderbury
sub-district: 3 Britford
ecclesiastical parish:
civil parish: Milford New Sarum
county: Wiltshire
(ie Salisbury...???)

Of course this is NO evidence at all that your family did extend to the Cape, or that John William for example was an engineer/miner, but hopefully it helps you in your search which should be an interesting one.

Good Luck, Jeff

http://www.on-the-rand.co.uk/Key%20Events%20In%20South%20African%20Mining%20History.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Cape_Town