De Beer Family Crest

NOTES FOR PHOTO'S IN PREVIOUS POST

The first photograph on the left top is that of my grandfather, Carel Johannes De Beer and his sister Mali. Carel was written with a "C" and was only later changed to "K". Karel is a German name which means "man".

The second (group) photograph on the top right displays the owner of the original De Beer family farm, INHOEK, Abe Retief, at the original De Beer's familiy farm graveyard (circa 1870) near the little Free State town of Petrusburg. (Interesting to know that the Voortrekker leader , Piet Retief, who lost his life when Zulu warriers murdered him and his fellow Voortrekkers negotiaters during a peace treaty in Dingaan's Kraal, Natal, was also married to a De Beer lady, Debora.) My own father, Barend Petrus De Beer, in the blue shirt , is standing next to Abe Retief. The name of his great grand father, Barent Petrus De Beer is spelt with a "t" at the end while the inscriptions on the graves are in German. This may be linked to the De Beer family routes to the town of Wase in Germany (circa 1720). The tomb stones are very battered by the harsh weather conditions of the South West Free State and it is difficult to read the names of his first and second wives. One of the maiden names "Steenkamp" can be deciphered. Barent P. De Beer was a cousin of the De Beer brothers who owned the original farm in Kimberley which Sir Cecil John Rhodes bought to establish the DE BEERS Diamond Company.

My own mother, Sussanna Wilhelmina (nee Pelser) stands next to my father. Pelser (read Pelzer) also stems from German family ties. Marieta Retief, Abe's wive is standing behind my wife, Christina Catharinha, Wilhelmina (nee Van Wyk) who is squating next to the graves. The Van Wyks originates from the Netherlands. Christa (nick name) is a swimming instructor, artist and mother of our two boys, Johan Barend and Christo and one daugther, Sanmarie.

On the third photograph, my father in the blue shirt, is standing next to the grave of his grand father, Barend Petrus De Beer in the Petrusburg graveyard. This graveyard was established round about the Anglo Boer War where some British soldiers were also burried who lost their lives in skirmishes with the Boer militia (circa 1899-1901). Petrusburg is on route to Kimberley from Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State province. The big Anglo Boer War battle of Perdeberg (horses mountain in English) took place about 40 kilometers from Petrusburg, however, the soldiers who died during that battle were buried near the battle field site. A little museum next to the railwayline on route to Kimberley displays some artefacts and photographs of the battle which the British had won over General Cronje who had to surrender. Also interesting to know that an air balloon was used as an observation aid for the British artillary.

The fourth and fifth photographs show the ruins of the original De Beer's homestead in Kimberley from where the notorious name of the DE BEERS DIAMOND COMPANY originates from. I am standing in front of the ancient homestead which was very unfortunately demolished. A replica of the bedroom of the original De Beers homestead was reconstructed in the Kimberley Diamond Museum next to the second biggest open mine dug by hand in the world. (The deepest open diamond mine is at Jagersfontein in the Southern Free State). Another photo of the original homestead can be viewed at the De Beers archives of John Cecil Rhodes at the De Beers open mine site in Kimberley.

The single photograph of a grave in the Petrusburg graveyard is that of Barend Petrus De Beer's wife, Johanna Petronella (nee Brits). BP De Beer was the last ownwer of INHOEK. The rest of the tombstones are again of the INHOEK graveyard which was used before the establishment of Petrusburg. The tall Oom(uncle) Fanie Du Toit stands in front of a house in Petrusburg who was the third owner of INHOEK. Du Toit told me the story of the De Beer's graves on INHOEK. Interesting to know that they were very rich and nearly owned all the farms which now surrounds Petrusburg. However , they were heavily struck by the Anglo Boer War and had to recover during a very harsh economic depression immediately after the war. Unfortunately they could not financially survive and had to sell their farm to Du Toit's father who was a teacher from the Cape Province. They were not battered by the war due to the fact that the Cape and Natal colonies were already governed by the British. The Du toits and later the Retiefs who bought the farm from Fanie, farmed with sheep and mined salt from the salt pans on INHOEK.

The young man in the right bottom corner is my eldest son, Johan Barend De Beer, an Engineering Technologist at the ESKOM electricity company in Polokwane, the capital of the Limpopo province adjacent to Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mosambique. Johan holds a National Diploma in Strong Current Engineering of the Central University of Technology,Free State, of which I was a founder member. (More about this event later on.) Johan is married to Henriette Reinders and fathers our grandson Reinhardt and grand daugther , Kalista.