In
his book Foe the great South African author J.M. Coetzee alludes
to the writer of a biography bringing the dead back to life. This idea has fascinated
me ever since I read the book. When researching the story of the Flemmers in South
Africa I realised that it was what I, in an amateurish way was attempting. I was
trying in a sense to bring them back to life - what were they like, what were
the times they lived in like. If only photographs could speak! What was there
in these Flemmer ancestors of ours that continues in all of us today?
Originally
I intended that this book was going to cover the Danish children and their descendants
up until about 1914 but this proved to be impractical. Instead you will find that
the early generations are dealt with in detail while more recent descendants are
recorded with briefer entries. An enormous effort has gone into trying to make
sure the facts are accurate but inevitably there will be mistakes for which I
apologise in advance.
Some of the information has come from archives and
newspapers. Much has come from the many people I would like to thank for telling
me old family stories. I have included some of these stories and in some cases
my own interpretation of them. It seems quite likely that different people have
different versions of the same family story. Where there is no information about
a branch of the family it's because despite our best efforts it wasn't available.
Lastly, we have included family trees - a vast collection of information which
again we have been at pains to verify as far as possible. By the very nature of
a large family, the tree will change almost day by day.
I hope you enjoy
reading this book as much as I have enjoyed putting it together. I have met wonderful
people who have helped enormously. In particular the end result would not have
been possible without the help and encouragement of Fay Lea, who has done so much
to preserve photos and documents and collate family trees. My brother Terry has
been invaluable in proofing and checking the final draft. My wife Judy has been
patience itself over the last 10 years of Flemmer research and writing, and it's
much appreciated.
Steve Herbert
Kalk Bay
Cape Town
February 2006
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