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Archiver > SOUTH-AFRICA > 1998-03 > 0889386087-01


From: "Pat Straughan" <>
Subject: Newbie Question
Date: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 19:41:27 -0000


I'm not a true newbie, having been researching for about 14 years but I am
a newbie to this list. I have some very vague information and hope that
someone can point me in the right direction, or at least tell me if I'm
wasting my time looking.

My mother's uncle had a ranch "somewhere in South Africa" in the early part
of this Century. It seems that he kept up contact with his family in
Reading, Berkshire.

In 1932, when she was 15, my mother's father died. Her mother was already
dead and it was decided to send mother, her sister and brother to the uncle
in SA. The relatives wrote to him but the letter was returned unopened and
there was never any further contact.

Some time in the following 5 years, one of the relatives saw a "To Whom it
May Concern" notice in a British newspaper. The details fitted mother's
uncle and suggested that he had died intestate in SA. Naturally the
relatives tried to make a claim but for some reason (probably they could
not afford a solicitor) they could not establish any claim on the estate.

My question is this: is this all too vague to find out what happened to my
great uncle and whether he did leave property in SA? I know his name and
approximate date of birth but nothing else.

I am visiting SA in a few weeks and could do some research if someone would
point me in the right direction.

Thanks for reading this.

Pat

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