MY DAD'S GRAND PARENTS

This picture is also published elsewhere in my Blog, but for grouping of the latest
family pictures of my cousin Nellie, I thought it would fit nice together. The
graves in Petrusburg of Barend Petrus De Beer and Petronella (Jacobs nèè Britz) are still in good shape while the inscription on Bared's tombstone reminds one of their Christian religion. (Rust mijn ziel uv God is Koning Dutch for : Rest my soul your God is King). It was one of the very first graves in the Petrusburg graveyard where British and Canadian soldiers were also laid to rest. My great- great grand father was a friendly man, so it is told, and was a Boer soldier in the Anglo Boer War. The photographer took this photo where a Mauser rifle slings over his shoulder, however, removed it later on when it became too dangerous for such photo's regarding the British war intelligence! One can detect the dark stripe over his Petrusburg. He died before his wive, Petronella, who married again
with Oupa Jacobs. Her maiden name was Britz. When her second
husband died, she use to live in a house that my grandfather, Karel Johannes,
build with some Rhodesian Sweep Stakes money that he has won, in Petrusburg. He planted a vegatable garden with fruit trees and lovely grape arch. He also dug a water well and developed the acres of fruitful red soil to grow lusern for his milking cows in the town's municipal camp. My grand mother, Ouma Annatjie, grew sour with this situation when Ouma Jacobs refused her children to pick some of the lovely
fruits at their new homestead. She fought for her children's rights to be
nearer to the school as well as to enjoy the comfort of a better home. She eventually won the family dispute and my father's grandmother had to move to another house in town. Their house still stands in Petrusburg, however, the well was filled up in the sixties when my grand father who lived alone in the house, got attacked by robbers in the night and eventually died in the National Hospital in Bloemfontein due to this tragic event. The robbers/murderers were never arrested, while the family still thinks the assault weopens were thrown into the well.