Page 329 - Just another English family (Sep 2019)

The third divorce case is in 1947 and is shown as “Dorothy Vereulen (formerly Semmons, born Soothill) versus Dirk Johannes.” So it seems that Dorothy, originally a Soothill, married again after her 1939 divorce and is now back in the divorce courts again.
The final divorce case of the series occurred in 1960 is a bit more puzzling. It is shown as “Howard Soothill Semmons versus Jeannetta Jacoba (born Human)” and then again in 1961 as “Jeanetta Jacoba Semmons (formerly Coldwell) (born Human) versus Howard Soothill”. The puzzle is that the surnames are the same as those engaged in the 1939 divorce case twenty years earlier. Is Howard Soothill a progeny of Benjamin and Dorothy Semmons with Dorothy – and Howard - reverting to her Soothill name after her divorce. Howard seems to have married a divorcee who was originally Jeanetta Human who then became Mrs Coldwell before becoming a member of Howard’s family when she became Mrs Semmons – and then went on to marry Howard! The possibilities of what happened seem endless.
In terms of further evidence of Soothills in South Africa, the information is sparse. In 1952 there are immigration papers for ‘Mrs K Soothill’; in 1990/91 there were L G Soothill and M M Soothill living in different addresses in East Rand; in 1989/90, there was S Soothill living in Orange Free State. The material is fragmented.
Recently I have got into contact with Gary and Sonet Soothill which should provide more scope for discovering the contemporary scene and links with the past. Gary and Sonet have two boys – Keagan and Bryn.
There are two other persons recorded as travelling to South Africa on two separate journeys in 1897 and 1952. The first journey involves a male passenger, S G Soothill (shown as born in 1869), travelling from Southampton to the Cape in 1897. This person has not been identified. The second journey involves a female
325