Marriage in Durban 1903

Due to the wonderful assistance of Deryn on the British-Genealogy South African Genealogy Forums, an image of the marriage record for Emily Griffith and Hugh Owen was located in Family Search.  

This is the search path, starting by clicking on the location "Africa":

South Africa, Church of the Parish of South Africa Registers, 1850-2004 > South Africa > Natal > Natal, Durban, St Paul > Marriages 1849-1923

Now that I think of it, I'm not sure how  Deryn located the marriage, as there does not appear to be an index, but with 1902 as a starting point, the marriage turned up in the records of St Paul's Parish Church, Durban, Natal on 2 June 1903.

The groom was Hugh Owens, of full age, Bachelor, Carpenter, residing at Potchefstroom, Transvaal.  The bride was Emily Francis (sic) Griffith, of full age, Spinster, residing at Durban. 

The marriage was by Banns, which indicates that they were not rushing into the marriage after Emily arrived.  

A good perusal of the wedding photo indicates that the wedding was not a grand affair.  None of the attendants were wearing matching outfits.  There were flowers, ribbons and button-holes, but the bouquets are not elaborate. Emily is not wearing a wedding gown, but a good frock which will see her through many Sundays at church. 

The witnesses do not strike me as being family members of the Griffith family, so they are possibly friends or family of Hugh Owen.  One of the witnesses is H Thomas, and the other is less easy to read.  There is a flourish of squiggles at the beginning, but I am inclined to read the name as H Thompson, with possibly a middle initial.

If anyone would like to have a go at deciphering the first signature, please get in touch, or leave a comment.  Especially so if you know either witness.

Emily Griffith's South African Adventure

I'm going to take a break from New Zealand research for the moment, and take a side trip to South Africa.  The wedding portrait above, a rather battered photo from the family collection, was unexpectedly identified by someone I met at a genie talk I was giving to a group visiting from Sydney.  This group included the grand-daughter of the happy couple, Emily Frances Griffith and Hugh Owens.  This was said to have taken place in Durban, South Africa, which I found rather astounding.  Any wonder I couldn't find what became of George Griffith's daughter Emily in Victoria!  After returning from South Africa they settled in New South Wales, which again tended to obscure what had happened to Emily.

So the next few posts are going to be looking at what Emily got up to in South Africa.  I will be asking the question, how and where did she come to meet and marry Hugh Owens?  I am not sure I will be answering the question, but it will be fun trying.  South African research is reputed to be difficult, so others may find it of interest just what records can be accessed.