Page 4 - Bulletin 15 2011

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THE FINDLAY FAMILY - ENTREPRENEURIAL PIONEERS AT THE CAPE

AND RESIDENTS OF ST. JAMES FOR 127 YEARS

Derek Stuart-Findlay

The Findlay family was one of the earliest to be involved in entrepreneurial activities at the
Cape and can trace its ancestry in this country back to the pioneering days of the Second

British Occupation. It is a complicated story, but an interesting one.

Captain John Findlay

Our first forebear with links to South Africa was my great-great-grandfather’s uncle, Captain

John Findlay. (Figs. 1.1 & 1.2.) He was born in Cullen on the north-east coast of Scotland in
1777. (Fig. 1.3.) The surname Findlay is apparently derived from the Norse, ‘fionn’ meaning

‘fair’ and ‘laoch’ meaning ‘hero’, and the name ‘fair hero’ indicates the influence of the

Viking invasions of northern Scotland around the year AD 800. At the age of 19 John began a
three-year apprenticeship as a sailor, choosing a fortunate if hazardous calling. Seamen were

in great demand during the Napoleonic Wars and in 1806 he was press-ganged into the Royal

Navy and became Master of the sloop-of-war Bonetta with orders to capture French vessels.
He did well, and from the prize money earned he bought his own vessel the Alacrity in 1810

and set up as a ship-owner and merchant, moving his family to London. He carried general
cargoes for his own account and stores for military purposes, including a service to St. Helena

during the time of Napoleon’s captivity on the island. He also sailed to Tristan da Cunha in
1815 to supply the new settlement there. (Fig. 1.4.)

In 1821 having passed through the port many times, he settled in Cape Town with his Scottish
wife Margaret and two daughters, leaving his young son George in London to be educated.

John set up a ships’ chandlers business on the Heerengracht, appointing his nephew George
(my great-great-grandfather) as Captain to carry on trade in the Alacrity.

It is worthwhile documenting the rest of John’s life, as he and his family were involved in

many interesting aspects of South African history.