Page 328 - Just another English family (Sep 2019)

South Africa
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Earlier in the chapter I have suggested that William and his wife together with William’s brother, Sam Greenwood, came to South Africa, probably around the mid-1890s. After that the information on the South African Soothills is sparse. In his 1938 letter, Walter suggests that both William and Sam might have moved on to New Zealand, but following his visit to New Zealand, Walter reports that he only met Soothills who were derived from the Rochdale branch. While it is a guess, I suspect that, if either William or Sam had children, then they would have been brought up in South Africa.
Subsequent information is sparse, but there are some clues. From the
National Archives of South Africa [Database of Public Records of former Transvaal Province] there is evidence of four divorce cases which are helpful in several ways, but they are a bit difficult to interpret. I will consider each in turn.
There is a 1939 divorce case recorded which involves “Benjamin Semmons versus Dorothy (born Soothill).” If Dorothy was born in the early part of the 20th century, then there is perhaps a good chance that she is a child of either William or Sam Greenwood.
The next case seems to be on firmer ground in terms of possible identification. It is a 1945 divorce case which involves “Louis Greenwood versus Anna Cecilia Gertruida (born Minnie)”. Louis Greenwood Soothill sounds more convincing as a descendant of Sam Greenwood and if Louis is in his mid-40s at the time of his divorce, then he could certainly be a candidate of being a child of Sam Greenwood.
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