Sir Harry Smith Defends Eliza Esdaile's Son, William Green

At the Cape of Good Hope everything is going on peacefully and promisingly under the government of Sir Harry Smith. His Excellency left Graham's Town on the 22nd of February, previously issuing the following General Orders:--

 "Head Quarters, Graham's Town

21 February 1848

...."2. A War arising from the sudden and unexpected inroad of hordes of barbarians, is the author of various irregularities and errors, attributable to exciting and peculiar causes frequently not to be avoided, or resulting from an ill-directed zeal or timid apprehension on the part of those in some degree empowered to authorize issues; which at the time the Commissariat has no power to refuse, and the expenditure is thus augmented for the moment.

     With this knowledge, derived from experience, the Commander-in-Chief desires to express to the Commissary-General Palmer, and the Deputy-Commissary General Green, his marked approbation of their conduct, and that of the great department under their control; and they may rest assured that it will ever afford His Excellency great happiness to report on the method which obtains in this department; reflection as much honour and credit upon these officers, as conspicuous bravery in the field does upon the soldier."

The excerpt above is from

The United service magazine, Volume 57, Page 2 (Google e-book)

 By Arthur William Alsager Pollock.

The "unexpected inroad" would be the 7th Xhosa War, 1846-1847. The Xhosa were such "barbarians" that British forces fought nearly two years to temporarily subdue them. The Xhosa wars are also called Africa's 100 Years War 1779-1879.

Using Google books and search term "commissariat Green" I was able to to outline some of William Goodall Green's career in the Army as various editions of the Army List came up.

16 March 1813 appointed Deputy Assistant Commissary General
10 September 1830 appointed Assistant Commissary General
16 December 1845 appointed Deputy Commissary General

1821 & 1827 on half pay
1829 Canada
1841 Nova Scotia
1845 Newfoundland
1847 Cape of Good Hope
1850 Cape of Good Hope

Slender Link to the Titanic Disaster

HMS Conway Training Ship

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic reminds me that I have a record of Eliza Esdaile's great-grandson's merchant navy service that may interest some cousins.

Louis Albert Thomas (1862-1948) began his naval career  on the HMS Conway, a training ship for merchant navy officers, followed by a first job on the beautiful iron clipper ship Cedric the Saxon. These first two steps were followed exactly by Arthur Rostron, the hero of the Titanic disaster, when he began his naval career just seven years later.

The records for the HMS Conway Training Ship are at the Merseyside Maritime Museum.
Louis Albert Thomas
Born: 3rd January 1862
Parent/Guardian: George Thomas Esq, 2 Maidstone Villas, The Grove, Bedford
Mrs. Henry, Elm Cottage, Belgrave, Leicester
Last School: Bedford Grammar School
Admitted: November 1876 for February 1877
Terms of Admission: Fees 42 pounds, Clothing 6-10 pounds, extras 4 pounds
Left: Christmas 1878
Remarks: sailed Cedric the Saxon, Messrs. Williamson & Milligan

His school report and naval report are included in this record of his two-year training period. He was evaluated four times. His conduct was considered very good, his application and ability marks ranged from fair to very good.

We know the merchant navy didn't work out for Louis Thomas, and by 1912 when the Titanic sunk he was a practicing physician in Red Oak, Iowa. Meanwhile, Arthur Rostron was captain of the Carpathian, which he commanded into icebergy waters at top speed and rescued more than 700 Titanic passengers and crew members.

Unexplained Fondness for Bagpipe Music?

With an ancestor named Grant, we MUST have Scots blood, but do any of us have any records that link us to Scotland and the Scottish Grant clan? Our cousin the equestrian sculptor Lynn Fraley sends us one clue. It's a bible inscription that places our ancestor Katharine Eliza Grant (granddaughter of Eliza Esdaile) in Edinburgh in December 1844. If anyone can decipher the donor's name please let us know. And raise a glass of single malt to Lynn.