Inhabitants of the CapeFrom the 1815 a list of principal Inhabitants of the Cape were included in the African Court Calendars.

As the city grew and the population increased more names were added to this list. It must be noted that generally only heads of households were listed.

First names, surnames, initials, titles, occupations and address’s of individuals can be found. In some instance as early as 1813 slaves and Muslims are listed including occupations such as fisherman, Malay priests and washerwoman.

Only people in the city centre were included initially and over time the surrounding suburbs as far away and Stellenbosch and Simonstown were added. Full addresses were not always given and it is unsure some of the time whether the address’ given was that of the abode or place or work. In later editions such as 1849 inhabitants of Port Elizabeth were included. In 1813, 1304 people were listed in the African Court Calendar which was not a considerable amount of people. By 1822 the list had risen to 1341.

Using these inhabitants’ lists is a wonderful resource for tracking down those illusive relatives that have no documentation of their existence. This is sometimes the only proof of someone who resided at the Cape. One can browse over a period of years and see the migration patterns in the city and as to how and where these people lived. Mr. Smith would appear in 4 of the Almanacs and in the 5th year a widow would appear at the last known address – we would then be able to establish that the spouse had died since the last year’s book was recorded.

Occurrences with strange entries which appear to be abbreviations such as Van Breda M. (Hs) which would mean a person (generally male) with the initial of H – means he is the son of H. van Breda. This is also very useful in finding unknown parents. The Dutch equivalent would be “H zoon”

Wonderful analyses of address and occupations have been made as some fascinating findings discovered.

Did you have an ancestor that lived at number 23½ Heerengracht Street? Or ancestors whose occupations were collectors of curiosities or gingerbread maker?

In 1827 there were two dentists, 5 gunsmiths, 34 seamstresses and 39 Laundress’s – which makes us think that the people of the Cape were very concerned about their dress and were definitely a bunch of finely dressed inhabitants. By 1835 Wagon makers, tinsmith’s, tobacconists were on the increase and tailors were in abundance. Silversmiths and shoemakers were very prominent as well as painters, glazier’s, carpenters and masons. The latter explains the increase in building construction during that time.

As 1851 arrived wine merchants, servants, millers, mariners, shipwright’s, hairdressers, grocers, dealers in liquors, coopers, compositors, carpenters & butchers were the preferred trades. In 1871 occupations such as window blind + picture frame makers, straw bonnet cleaners, bell hangers, sign writers, proof reader, mattress maker, perfumers, elocutionists, candle maker and basket makers were just some of the other professions mentioned.