Don’t Look Back

But Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt

Genesis 19 verse 26

Despite the stark warning in Luke 17:32 to “remember Lot’s wife”, I have been looking back. I have been spending a lot of time in the 19^th Century, trying to imagine what life was like for all my ancestors who left their homelands to sail rough seas in sailing vessels and make a new life in South Africa.

My great-great-grandfather’s name was Meindert Noomé. He was born in the Dutch town of Zaandam in 1813.  He married his sweet-heart, Grietje, when he was 21 and she was just 19. They lived very happily in Zaandam and brought 6 children into the world. When he was 38 he responded to a call from the Dutch Missionary Society for teachers in South Africa. In May 1851, the couple with their 6 children set sail in a ship called “Klein Kapitein”.

They were housed in a cabin that measured 4.4m x 4.9m and was only 2m high. There were 10 “roomy” bunks and the space was shared with two other families, bringing the total occupants to 6 adults and 11 children. Despite the fact that the journey was filled with misadventure, Meindert retained his sense of humour and his enjoyment of the natural world. Both his wife and their youngest son, Simon, who was under a year old, were unwell.  One of the other wives suffered a miscarriage and was desperately ill. The eldest daughter in one of the other families fell on the stairs carrying a kettle of boiling water and burnt herself badly.  The seas were rough and most of the passengers succumbed to sea-sickness. Because the passageway outside the cabin was reserved for the crew, they had to climb a ladder to the skylight and clamber up onto the deck that way. It became unbearably hot in the cabin when they reached the tropics. Poor Grietje, who had not been well since leaving Holland, now became seriously ill and requested to sleep on the floor because it was cooler. Despite the attention of the doctor, she sadly died on 11 July. Meindert’s tribute to his beloved wife in his diary makes moving reading. He describes in detail how she was sewn up in a sail cloth with weights inserted into the bag before being lowered into the sea. He writes that “in the afternoon at 3 o’clock as tears were flowing copiously, with all present, the tragic burial ceremony took place”. After a eulogy delivered by the Captain and a few words spoken by a minister, he writes that “the ship’s bell was rung and the body of my dear and unforgettable wife was committed to the waves”. He had little time to indulge his grief, but had to get on with looking after his motherless children, including the very sick Simon.

Simon died soon after their arrival in Cape Town in September. His burial took place in Cape Town before the family went on to Graaff-Reinet where Meindert was to run the school. He doesn’t go into any details about the hardships endured when they first got there, but one can read between the lines that life was tough. They were given a very small house for which they had to pay high rent. Many of their possessions were broken or destroyed during the journey.

Something that did survive was a chocolate kettle, which found its way down to me.  According to my grandmother’s wishes, I donated it to museum in Graaff- Reinet. As far as I know, the kettle is still there on display. More tragedy struck the family when one of his daughters took seriously ill and died on 27 January 1952. Meindert reports that no pen can write how good the town’s people were to him. Possibly one of the folk who supported him was a spinster of 34 called Anna Maria.

I’m quite sure that she took cooked meals round for the family. Despite his sadness at losing Grietje, it wasn’t long before he proposed to her and they were happily married on 5 April 1852. Things certainly looked up after the marriage and they managed to buy a house and farm. He ended his contract with the Dutch Mission and became a wine farmer. Meindert and Anna Maria went on to have six children, the youngest son being my great-grandfather. Although I have copies of lots of documents, they are difficult to decipher. It seems that, for some unknown reason, he travelled north in his wagon with his youngest son. Very sadly he died in his wagon in Beaconsfield, Kimberley in 1871. Anna Maria continued to live in Graaff-Reinet until she died in 1892.  Despite the years that separate us, I feel a strange connection with Meindert and Anna.

• Meindert and I share a birthday
• I was also a teacher
• Anna and I were about the same age when we got married
• Did I win Tom’s heart when I took him a cooked dinner when he was ill?
• I went to high school in Kimberley and worshipped at Beaconsfield Methodist Church
• Anna managed to lead an active life after Meindert died so unexpectedly

I hope that I can also show that same determination to carry on with life, to be thankful for the folk around me and to appreciate the beauty of the world.  If Meindert had looked back with regret and had returned to his homeland, he would not have married Anna Maria and I would not be here today.