13 wives and 30 children!!?

Paul Kruger was the President of South Africa during the British-South African War (Boer War). He was born on the 10th October and in the "old" South Africa, this day was always a public holiday. I was on a hiking trip in the Transkei. Read here about my hiking trip in the Transkei..and here more ...... Anyway..uncle Mauritz ....... took us to the most beautiful and interesting places in the Transkei...and he also took us to a lady...a black lady...she lived about 50m from the beach! We were tired and thirsty when we reached her home and she had the coldest cool drink ready for us. This lady...(will never remember her name!), was the 13th wife(!!!) of the attendant of Paul Kruger!! Now, you would think that with 13 wives there would be zillions of children...no! only about 30! that brings you with an average of 2-3 children per wife, which is really a small number...if you know what I mean...anyway...she had a bed of her husband with artifacts of Paul Kruger. I took photos of it. Paul Kruger's photo was also on the bed. Her husband was the last attendant of Paul Kruger. She told us...very interesting!! ...that every year on the 10th October...she and all the other wives, come together near Potgietersrus/Pietersburg and celebrate Paul Kruger's day!! I wonder if they are still alive and how many of them and if they still do it!! That was really an amazing day on that trip...I can still picture about 20 geese walking around her house and everything was so tidy and neat and she had really a lovely house on the beach...

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Kruger was born at Bulhoek, his grandfather's farm in the Steynsburg district near the town of Cradock, and grew up on the farm Vaalbank. He received only three months' formal education, his master being one Tielman Roos, but supposedly became knowledgeable from life on the veld. His father, Casper Kruger, joined the trek party of Hendrik Potgieter when the Great Trek started in 1836.
The trekkers crossed the Vaal River in 1838, and at first stayed in the area that is known today as Potchefstroom. Kruger's father later decided to settle in the district now known as Rustenburg. At the age of 16, Kruger was entitled to choose a farm for himself at the foot of the Magaliesberg, where he settled in 1841.
The following year he married Maria du Plessis, and the young couple accompanied his father to live in the Eastern Transvaal for a while. After the family had returned to Rustenburg, Kruger's wife and infant son died, probably from malaria. He then married Gezina du Plessis, who was his constant and devoted companion until her death in 1901. Seven daughters and nine sons were born of the marriage, some dying in infancy

Read more HERE ..... Wikipedia...

Great Grandad

On my Wordpress-blog HERE you can read about him, who he was and about the Boer War and lots of other links to follow up too.

My Great Grandad

Read on THIS LINK more about him.

Paul Kruger at the Kruger National Park

Paul Kruger

This monument is just outside the Paul Kruger gate to the Kruger National Park.
The Kruger National Park was established in 1926.
The surface area of Kruger National Park is 19,633 km².

The park was first proclaimed in 1898 as the Sabie Game Reserve by the then president of the Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger.

He first proposed the need to protect the animals of the Lowveld in 1884, but his revolutionary vision took another 12 years to be realised when the area between the Sabie and Crocodile Rivers was set aside for restricted hunting.


He received only three months' formal education, his master being one Tielman Roos, but became knowledgeable from life on the veld.On 30 December 1880, at the age of 55, Kruger was elected President of the Transvaal.

In 1898, Kruger was elected President for the fourth and last time.Kruger was a large squarely built man, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. In later years his hair went snowy white. He wore a beard, but never a moustache. He mostly went dressed in a black frock coat with a top hat. Never far from his pipe, he was a chain smoker.

The image of Kruger in his top hat and frock coat, smoking his pipe was used to great effect in the Anglo-Boer war by British cartoonists.