Miemie de Wit (nee du Plessis)
about 1891 – 1978
Names
- Called
- Miemie
- Given
- Miemie
- Surname
- du Plessis
The formal baptismal name and the name a person was actually called are both kept, and neither is derived from the other. Spelling drift between records is evidence, not noise.
Immediate family
A life in the record
- about 1891 born Born
- 1978 died Died
Stories
- subject The war reaches the Koup
What we don't know
- Neither parent is recorded, so this person is not attached to the tree above them.
- No dated record ties this person to a specific piece of ground.
A sourced gap beats an unsourced fill. These are the open questions on this person, stated rather than papered over.
Research notes
IDENTIFIED 7 Sep 2026, closing the second half of LEAD-0336. SRC-172, Helena MarincowitzM, *Prince Albert and the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902)*, Fransie Pienaar Museum, 1999, p.34: she gave the interview at 85 in 1977, 'passed away in 1978', and 'was married to Christiaan de Wit (Kraffie) of Scholtzkloof' (PER-002069, UNI-000359). HER ACCOUNT IS SRC-632 AND IT IS THE SOURCE OF EVERYTHING ELSE. She is the reason this project can say what happened in that house: 'I was a ten year old girl at the time of the Boer War and lived on the farm Remhoogte.' The red waistcoat, the address in its pocket, the night burial, and Kleu's parents answering 'Let him rest' are hers and are found nowhere earlier. THE TWO STATEMENTS OF HER AGE DISAGREE BY A YEAR AND BOTH ARE KEPT. Ten years old 'at the time of the Boer War' points at 1891 if she meant February 1901, which is what her story is about; 85 in 1977 points at 1891 or 1892 depending on the month. birth_edtf stays 1891~ rather than being sharpened, because neither statement is a record and 3 forbids inventing the precision. [TO VERIFY] MIEMIE IS A NOEMNAAM AND HER DOOPNAAM IS NOT KNOWN. 5b: it is the everyday form of Maria, and this project already holds a Miemie for Maria Susanna Jacoba. Nothing here says which Maria she was, so the doopnaam field stays empty rather than carrying a guess.
These are working notes, not finished prose: they carry the reasoning, the corrections and the things still marked to verify. They are kept here so the page itself can read as what is known.
Open questions
-
Who asked the Kleu family at Aberdeen in 1948, and who answered?
priority P1 · LEAD-0335
Rose Willis: 'Years later, in 1948, Johannes KleuM's family in Aberdeen were asked if they wanted his remains to be moved to a more suitable graveyard. They refused, saying that he should be allowed to rest in peace.' WHO WAS ASKED, AND BY WHOM? A named correspondent in 1948 identifies the family this project cannot reach through genealogy.
What would settle it Any 1948 letter, form or minute naming the Kleu next of kin at Aberdeen. One name and one address closes both this lead and LEAD-0332.
-
Identify R du Plessis of Remhoogte and his daughter Miemie
priority P2 · LEAD-0336
Which du Plessis owned Reim Hoogte 167 in February 1901, and who was the ten-year-old Miemie whose memory carries the whole story? Neither is identified and both are one degree from the only war grave in this district.
What would settle it A transfer or a valuation roll naming the holder of Reim Hoogte 167 in 1901.