My Two Grandfathers, Henry Whittal and Dave Randall

John Henry Whittal       14.6.1855 – 12.4.1941

            He was the 16th child of Francis Whittal, the 1820 Settler, and was known as 'Henry'.   Like all of his siblings he was born and grew up at Cuylerville near the Great Fish River mouth.   He was eighteen years old when their father died and with many brothers already farming he would have had to go out and look for work.   He did some transport riding with his brothers, Frank and Dave, in a wagon train of four wagons between the Eastern Cape, Kimberley and Johannesburg.   He and Dave were excellent drivers, having been trained by their big brother, Frank.

A number of years later his older brother, James William Whittal, who was known as Jim, was farming in the Stutterheim district near Bolo Reserve, so this was where he headed.   Jim had married Eleanor Jane Futter and, most probably because of this, Henry met and married her sister, Sarah Ann Futter, in 1887.   These girls were the daughters of William Futter who had a very big family of 20 children.   William Futter was the son of the 1820 Settler, George Futter.   Henry was the last of the 1820 Settler's children to marry, when he and Sarah were both 32.  They firstly farmed in the Kei Road area, and after the birth of their second child he bought "Inverbolo", sized 1081 morgan, during 1890/91, from his brother, Jim, who, in turn, had bought this remote farm from a black man, and John Henry farmed there until after his wife's death in 1913.   However, from old maps of that area, it can be seen that the farm, Inverbolo, had belonged to W Futter in 1889.

There was no house on that farm, so he had to make and burn the bricks and build a house himself (This old farm house is still standing after more than 100 years).   The farm is situated down on the Kei River and he farmed there with cattle, sheep and oranges.   My late father, Bert Whittal, used to say that it was a growing boy's paradise.   Henry was fluent in isiXhosa and so were all of his children.   He was a tough man, as strong as an ox, and he was known by the Xhosas as 'Mbolambi'.   He was given this name because he used to burn in the sun and had a very red complexion.   Mbola is the red clay the Xhosas use on their faces and imbi is ugly so they called him an ugly man with a red face - Mbolambi ! (This according to Gordon Whittal who was told by Aunty May).

When he was younger he took part in the Frontier Wars, and once, with a Cavalry Regiment, he was so engrossed in the fight that he didn’t hear the retreat signal, and found himself surrounded by the Xhosa.   He wheeled his horse around and, with his sword waving at their heads, charged through their ranks to safety.   This sort of courage and determination can only be admired and brings home the hardships experienced by these early pioneers.

The only transport they had in those days were ox wagons and they also rode on horseback.   I understand that he did buy a motorcar at some stage, but never drove it himself.   He never married again after the death of his wife in 1913, but moved to the Free State with some of his children where he leased farmlands for many years.   He and his wife had eight children, five sons and three daughters.   His wife was a very small woman, with the result that not one of his sons was a very big man like himself, or his brothers.   He was a strict father, according to my dad, but he loved and spoilt his grandchildren.   When he was in his eighties he eventually went back to "Inverbolo" where he was looked after by his daughter, May, until his death as a result of cancer at the age of eighty five.

Two of his sons, Charles and George, farmed on "Inverbolo", while the others farmed in the Free State and the Transvaal.   His five sons inherited "Inverbolo" after his death and Charlie and George, who were farming there, paid out their other three brothers.   Charlie's son, Gordon, still farms there to this day.  Inverbolo was only sub-divided when George wanted to sell his half.   Grandpa has many descendants of whom I am proud to be one.    He was in the farm house on "Maizefield", in the Bothaville district, the night that I was born.   I am told that he held me shortly after my birth and introduced me to my sisters.   He was also there five years later when my brother, Les, was born in Bothaville, and he kept me occupied when my mother had to care for her new baby who became very ill after his birth.   Oh, what wonderful memories!

Boer War Service Record :-   John Henry WHITTAL    Address: Invu Bolo, Bolo.   Posted to the Division of Stutterheim, Squadron A, Troop 3.    Enlisted:  King William's Town District Mounted Troops at Stutterheim on 25 Apr

1901 -  No. 1772

  (The spelling "Invu Bolo" is on the war records)

David Walter Randall     17.6.1862 – 20.3.1957

            Dave Randall and Henry Whittal knew each other from their childhood days in the Eastern Cape.  They also had mutual relatives.   So it is not surprising that they visited each other in the Free State.

            He was born and grew up on the coastal farm "Hogsback" in the Peddie district.  This was the farm granted to his father for services rendered in the frontier wars.   He was the fifth child of John Randall and Elizabeth Flanegan and was only six years old when his father died.   His mother married Alfred Usher from whom she had a daughter.   Dave was only eleven years old when his mother died.  His stepfather died the same year as his mother so he must have been reared by his older sisters and brothers after that.

His mother had left "Hogsback" to her sons in quarter shares when she died and at a later date they sold the farm and he must have been paid out his share and moved to the Free State where he lived in several areas.   He was still unmarried at that time and I believe that he firstly went to Rhodesia where he joined the Rhodesian Police Force.   It is said that he was a very good looking young man.

He must have come back to the Free State from Rhodesia as he got married to Ellen Martha Marshall in Lindley in 1890.  He owned the farm "Sansoucie" in the Heilbron district as five of their children were born there, but he lost the farm after 1906 and never recovered financially again.   After this they lived for a great part of their lives on his brother-in-law, George Hodgman's farm "Zwartkuil" in the Kroonstad district.

During the Anglo/Boer war he remained neutral, as far as I know, and was a transport rider.   There are, however, stories told that he was involved with Lord Kitchener and the Jameson Raid in 1895.   He and Ellen had seven children, four sons and three daughters.  Ellen died on "Zwartkuil" farm, Kroonstad, and was buried there.   He lived for another twenty seven years after her death and is also buried on "Zwartkuil".  He was in his nineties when he rode one of his son's horses on a show, the horse was however led around as he was a very old man and no one wanted him to get hurt.  Three of his sons were great horse lovers.  He died at the age of ninety four.  His grand-daughter, Ellen Ambrose, tells me that Dave Randall had a very nice singing voice.   I regret that I never really got to know my Oupa Dave as he could have told me many stories.   His sister, Sarah Jane Foxcroft, was the mother of Uncle Willy Foxcroft