SOUTH-AFRICA-L Archives

Archiver > SOUTH-AFRICA > 1999-10 > 0938967925


From: Adelbert Semmelink <>
Subject: Death Notice Indexes Cape Masters Office
Date: Sun, 3 Oct 1999 18:25:25 +0200


What can we do to save what is left of the Death Notice Indexes at
the Cape Masters Office?

I went to look at the Death Notice Indexes at the Cape Masters Office
after last having been there a few years ago.

The Death Notice indexes for the period 1950 (last part of the year)
to relatively recently are kept in an unattended reading room at the
entrance to the Masters Office/Cape High Court. I did not see what
exactly the building is called. People have free access to these
indexes.

The indexes are in total disaray scattered all over the reading room
tables.

Most of the indexes are the original handwritten files. For the
period 1978 to 1989 the indexes are typewritten bound in A4 size.
The Handwritten files are in large ledger files.

Two of the typewritten indexes, 1981 and 1988 seem to be colpletely
missing. When I was there in Dec 1996 those two indexes were still
there. In 1996 the 1953 and 1962 indexes were already coming apart
and were missing pages. At that time the room was much better
organised but I also only found one loose page (handwritten) for 1972.

The published computerised Cape Death Notice index only goes to 1935.

1. Have the indexes at the Cape Masters Office been filmed?
2. Have they been captured on computer anywhere?
3. Are there any backups of the books kept in the reading room?

In Dec 1996 I spoke to a lady who holds some responsibility there.
She just said that they did not have enough people or funds to look
after the indexes. Is it not crucial that these indexes be brought
to the Archives as soon as possible?

The GSSA could start capturing these indexes if we were allowed to.
That would help everyone concerned. I would be willing to organise
it but who can one get to authorise it? I did not get very far when
I was at the Masters Office last week but will also try to find out
from them. I could even try to organise a computer for them to hold
the captured database. For lack of a better idea I would use a
public domain spreadsheet.

If these records have been preserved as microfilm or some other way
it would just be a great pity to lose these original documents. If
thee are none I should imagine that creating new indexes will be a
massive job. Perhaps working from the original documents would be
more accurate but a much greater job.


--
Adelbert Semmelink

Researching families: BASSON and SEMMELINK worldwide

This thread: