Robert Mitford Bowker^{[1, 2, 3]}

1810 - 1892  (82 years)

• Name	Robert Mitford Bowker
  Birth	30 Aug 1810	Newcastle-On-Tyne, Northumberland, England   [4]
  Gender	Male
  Baptism	4 Oct 1813	Parish Church of Saint Mary, Almer, Dorset, England   [5, 6]
  	Parish of Almer BAPTISMS 1731 - 1879 These records have been transcribed from the Bishop's Transcripts. Parish of Almer BAPTISMS 1731 - 1879 These records have been transcribed from the Bishop's Transcripts.
  1820 Lineage	Yes
  Residence	1816	'Manor Farm', South Newton, Wiltshire, England   [2]
  1820 Settler	7 Jan 1820	Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
  	Address: Bowker's Party on the Weymouth
  Settler ID	108
  Name	Robert Mitford Bowker 1820
  Residence	25 Jun 1820	Olive Burn farm, Kleinemonde, Eastern Cape, South Africa
  Residence	Abt 1847	'Craigie Burn', Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa
  Residence	Abt 1847	Craigie Burn farm, Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa
  Death	23 Sep 1892	'Glen Avon', Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa
  	DEPOT KAB SOURCE MOOC TYPE LEER VOLUME_NO 6/9/308 SYSTEM 01 REFERENCE 2005 PART 1 DESCRIPTION BOWKER, ROBERT MILFORD. DEATH NOTICE. STARTING 18920000 ENDING 18920000 DEATH NOTICE: MOOC 6/9/308 R2995 Name of the Deceased: Robert Mitford BOWKER Place of Birth of Deceased: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland Names of Parents of Deceased: Father: Miles BOWKER Mother: Anna Maria MITFORD Age of the Deceased: 82 years Widower Name of pre-deceased Spouse: Sarah Elizabeth HART Date of Death: 23 September 1892 Place of Death: 'Glen Avon', Somerset East Names of Children and whether major or minor: Ellen BOWKER married Robert HART (deceased) Ann Stretch BOWKER married James Scott PRINGLE James Frederick Fleischer BOWKER Robert Mitford BOWKER Effie Mitford BOWKER (deceased) married John Ward STEVENS Septimus Bouchier BOWKER William Henry BOWKER Sara Elizabeth BOWKER married John Mitford BOWKER Robert Hart BOWKER Oliver Osbaldiston BOWKER Miles Egerton BOWKER Signed J.F.F. BOWKER, Son
  Burial	Craigie Burn farm, Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa
  Person ID	I1004	Bourchiers
  Last Modified	12 Apr 2020

  
  

  Father	(8) Miles Bowker,   b. Abt 1758, Deckhams Hall, Gateshead, Durham, England d. 25 Mar 1839, Tharfield farm, Kleinemonde, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 81 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Mother	Anna Maria Mitford,   b. 1782, Mitford Manor, Mitford, Northumberland, England d. 8 Jul 1868, 'Kruisfontein', Alexandria, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 86 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Marriage	8 Mar 1800	Morpeth, Northumberland, England   [7, 8, 9]
  Family ID	F253	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Sarah Elizabeth Hart,   b. 16 Jun 1820, Somerset Farm, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 25 Aug 1875, 'Craigie Burn', Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 55 years)
  Marriage	19 Dec 1838	'Glen Avon', Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa
  Children	+ 1. Oliver Osbaldiston Bowker,   b. 29 Sep 1857, Craigie Burn farm, Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 2 Aug 1951, Glen Craig farm, Somerset East, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 93 years)
  Family ID	F465	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	12 Apr 2020

  
  

• Photos

  Bowker, Robert Mitford Keywords: Picture

  
  

• Notes

  Initially thought that Robert was born at Morpeth in Northumberland, but then discovered that Miles and Anna and their sons must have moved to Charborough Park in Devon sometime in 1810, as I discovered that Miles was paying 'Land Tax' for rented lands at Lythchett Matravers from a William Trenchard, Esq. from 1811 through to at least 1816. Miles also paid £32 tax for the tithing of Charborough on 3rd May 1811, owned by the Earl Drax Grosvenor, Esq. When we found a transcription Robert's Death Notice, it stated that he was born in Newcastle, ie Deckhams Hall, which means that Miles and family would have only 'gone south' in the latter part of 1810. Robert married Sarah Elizabeth Hart of the farm Glen Avon, Somerset East. He farmed at Craigie Burn, Somerset East, which was formerly a part of Glen Avon. Craigie Burn was up in the Bosberg mountains above Glen Avon, and as it was isolated it remained unmolested throughout the many Kaffir Wars. It was used as a place of refuge for the rest of the family, and Robert's brothers often brought their stock, wives, families and left them there while they went to the wars. On our (Janet & Paul TT) trip to South Africa in May 2014, we stayed at Glen Avon, and managed to get up the pass to Craigie Burn. The original house was in the process of being renovated by the current owners, Petri and Suzanne Snyman. We had parked our hire car, a VW Polo, at the entrance gate to the farm, and walked down to the house, as the humps and gulleys on the drive would have left our car high and dry. We met Suzanne briefly, and she advised that any non-4wd vehicle would not get further up the road towards Glen Craig! Robert took part in the campaign against the M'fecani in 1828, and served in the war of 1850-1853. . Member of the House of Assembly from 1854 - 1873 and Member of the Legislative Council from 1879 to 1883. [10]

  
  

• Sources

  [S12] M D Nash, "The Settler Handbook", (Chameleon Press ISBM 0 620 10940 8), 11 Feb 2003, p 47. [S418] Tanner - Tremaine, Paul, BOWKER 1820 GEDCOM, (http://www.geocities.com/settlers1820). [S12] M D Nash, "The Settler Handbook", (Chameleon Press ISBM 0 620 10940 8). [S226] Baptism Records - 1813, Parish of Almer, Dorset. [S1898] Parish of Almer baptisms. [S1899] Baptisms - Parish of Almer, Dorset. [S503] Shuttleworth, Stanley G, "1820 Settler Women". [S369] Grahamstown Methodist - Commemoration Chapel, Register 29/3/1822 -1860, (CORY MS 15 899/1). [S18] Ivan Mitford-Barberton & Violet White, "Some Frontier Families", (1968, Human & Rousseau Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa). [S1891] South African Genealogies Vol 02, page 267+ (Reliability: 3).