Hearing from my mother's cousin

William Argyle, Mom's maternal grandfather

I have been intrigued by how little we know of Mom's side of the family, she created the amazing Wedderburn Book but left us with nothing about herself and her family.

Out of the blue I had a contact from Bertie Cornell, he had been researching his family and came across my blogging. He is Mom's cousin, lives in Pietermaritzburg and we have been corresponding.

I have been able to piece together some of my Nan's family through Bertie's photos and memories:

'William Argyle as a younger version when he worked for the S.A.R. as a cabinet maker and he played in the railways band, my mother always told me that he played the picolo but that looks like a cornet/trumpet to me.'   

Family photos taken at 107 Vos Street, Pretoria
Back row from l: Nan and Pa (Nellie and Bill van der Veen), Edith (my godmother) and Nan's stepmother Fanny
Front row from l: Kathleen (Nan's half sister) Mom and her brother Gus.

'William & Fanny got married at Grahamstown on the 30th March 1904 and started of their married life with Nellie.'

Bertie is not sure whether Nan's mother Kathleen (nee Gustar or Guster) had died or was divorced, but either way Nan grew up with her father, his wife Fanny and their 3 girls, Elsie, Edith and Kathleen. 

Bertie even remembers the dog was named Nuts.

'At this stage I don't know Nellie's birthdate but could have been around 1900. My mothers birthdate date was 3rd August 1915. William died when he was 36 years old!!'

Time for me to relook at Nan's letters.

Argyle family photo at 107 Vos Street, Pretoria
Back row from l: Fanny, Carlyn and Kathleen (Bertie's parents), Nellie (Nan van der Veen)
Front: Mom seated on Elsie's lap and Mom's brother Gus.

Hello Sharon & Fred,

Thankyou for coming back so quickly,  I was surfing looking for Selwyn van der Veen and came across your family (and mine).

My mother was Kathleen Cornell (nee Argyle) Her sisters were your gran, Elsie Wicks (nee) Argyle) and Edith Argyle a spinster. My brother Kingsley Cornell and I were brought up with our cousins and we met at various times of the year for family occasions.

I do have a few photo's of the family and was delighted to view some of the pics. of your mother who I last saw walking down one of our pavements nearly 30 years ago. My mother used to spend time in Van der Bijl Park with both Edith, Nellie and Bill. As for your Dad my Mother held him in high regard as in her words " he is such a nice chap"

I was born in Pretoria on the 5th October 1940 which now puts me on the list!  We moved to Johannesburg and and parents divorced and I attended the Technical College in Smit Steet and became a radiotricean working in Hillbrow until I moved to Pietermaritzburg to work at a radio shop as an apprentice, somewhere along the line I started my own shop which I had for forty years. I married my wife Barbara in 1967 and we had two children Trevor Alma who was killed in a motor accident in 1992 and a daughter  Carmen Bridget who is married to a Wayne Mayer.

Barbara has had a rough medical time over the past four years and it was decided to move in to their property which had a large cottage waiting for us, just round the corner from the University. My son- in- law has two SPAR'S, a garage and a couple of bottle stores so Carmen did pretty well for herself, I nearly forgot to mention that they have three children Hannah Jane 17,Trent Calvin 14, and the apple of my eye Paige Kate 12. Both the girls go to St John's and Trent is at Maritzburg College. 

I am going to get a selection of photographs together but in the mean time I will send one with this e-mail.

I hope that you will not be too bored with all the above but I am keen to find out more about  the old Argyle's. If you do have anything about them it would speed up my chore of finding more details.

This has been most unexpected finding you chaps, we are so lucky to have been part of the digital age!

Looking forward to hear from you,

Bertie.