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Love at first sight wrote history

Privacy Level: Open (White)
Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: South Africamap
Surname/tag: Cato, Allsopp
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A transcript of a newspaper article about the joint wedding of George Joseph Cato jnr., and Rev. John Allsopp

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT WROTE HISTORY

By Janie Malherbe

The sun shone brightly, and a light breeze rippled the waters of Durban Bay into frisky wavelets on July 20, 1864, the day on which the double wedding was celebrated of two well-known Natal people, George Joseph Cato, jnr,. nephew of the city's first Mayor, George Christopher Cato, and young Rev. John Allsopp. Mr. W. Allsopp of Donington, Cato Ridge, a son of the latter bridgegroom, is a living link with that happy occasion.

His father came to Natal as a young missionary, and was well known for the fine work he did among the Pondos, and later at Georgedale. When he came to South Africa, he left behind him his young fiancée, Miss Elizabeth Selby, of Girton, Nottinghamshire. On his arrival in Durban he struck up a friendship with George Cato, jnr., and when the latter soon afterwards left on a visit to the Old Country, he carried with him an introduction from John Allsopp to Elizabeth Selby.

To his delight he discovered that Elizabeth had a sweet and pretty foster sister, Hannah Maria Bousfield. It was a case of love at first sight for these two young people, who became engaged soon afterwards.

London was in a very festive mood at the time, for Edward, Prince of Wales, was soon to be married to lovely young Princess Alexandra, of Denmark. George Cato escorted the two young ladies to London to see the fairy


princess arrive by ship, and they were thrilled to see with what gallant eagerness the royal bridegroom hastened on board to greet his bride.

ROYAL WEDDING

For the wedding day George Cato and the two young girls managed to get a fine position in the window of a shoe shop near the mansion house, for which they had to pay two guineas each, with 6 inches of width allowed for each person. What a blessing it was that they were all three slim!

When George Cato returned to Natal, he was accompanied by Elizabeth Selby and Hannah Maria Bousfield, for it had not taken the eager and ardent young man long to persuade them that a double wedding in Durban would be a grand idea.

In due course, therefore, there appeared a news item under "Shipping Intelligence" in "The Natal Mercury" to say that Miss E. Selby, Miss H. M. Bousield, and George Joseph Cato, Esq. had arrived in Durban on Thursday, July 7, 1864, in the Prince Alfred, which had sailed from London on April 19.

SALUTE OF GUNS

Later it was reported that "To-day, July 20th, is the marriage day of George J. Cato Jnr., and the Rev. John Allsopp, and many of the flagstaffs in town are gaily decorated with flags, and from an early hour guns have been fired."

What a strange experience it must have been for the two young girls in their lovely, shimmering white frocks and filmy wedding veils to arrive with their retinue in ox-wagons for the ceremony in the little Wesleyan Church in West Street.

The double ceremony was con-ducted by the Rev. J. Pilcher, assisted by the Rev. R. Stott, and afterwards the bridal parties, and the many guests set out in ox-wagons, wagonettes, on horse-back, and on foot for the hospit-able home of Mr. George Christopher Cato on the banks of Cato's Creek, at the present-day Stanger Street at its Bay end.


POINSETTIA TRIBUTE

The reception was held under the big shady trees of Mr. George Christopher Cato's large garden, and long tables covered with white cloths were piled with de-licious refreshments. Behind the bridal table a huge white calico panel, tightly stretched carried the words in gay letters: "How Happy I could be With Either." The banner was handiwork of friends of the Cato and Allsopp families, who had worked out the words beautifully with red poin-settia leaves, and Mr. Henrique Shepstone took the wedding photographs.

Mr and Mrs. Allsopp initially settled in Pondoland, where he succeeded, in the face of determined opposition, to put an end to the heathenish practice which demanded that, when a chief died, all his wives had to be clubbed to death and buried with him.

Later the Allsopps joined their friends the Cato's at the place later named Cato's Ridge, which had been given to George Joseph Cato jnr., by his father, and of which the Rev. John Allsopp was made joint trustee. Here he built the first European Methodist Church.

AT CORONATION

The Rev. Mr. Allsopp and his wife visited London again in 1902, and were very proud to receive an invitation to the Abbey for the coronation of King Edward VII, whose wedding they had seen nearly 40 years earlier. Traffic control was, however, not all it should be in those days, and they could not get through the crowds to the Abbey.

The Rev, John Allsopp was in London at the time of the marriage of King George V as well, and for this, too, he had an invitation, and also the honour of tasting the royal wedding cake.

John Allsopp and his bride, Hannah Maria Bousfield [should be Elizabeth Selby], had a long and happy life together, and lived to celebrate their diamond wedding day on July 20, 1924. One of their sons was the well-known bank manager, Mr. Ernest Allsopp, who died not so long ago. Their surviving son, Mr. Allsopp, of Donington, Cato Ridge, has also reached a ripe old age, and thinks back nostal-gically to the days of early beginnings in which he himself played not an unimportant part.


Double Wedding of :

Groom: George Joseph Cato, 27 years, bachelor, Planter, son of George C Cato - Gentleman
Bride: Hannah Maria Bousfield, 25 years, spinster, daughter of William Bousfield.;

and

Groom: John Allsopp, 27 years, bachelor, Wesleyan minister, son of John Allsopp
Bride: Elizabeth Selby, 25 years, spinster, daughter of William Selby, deceased
Date: 20 July 1864
Place: Wesleyan Chapel, D'Urban[1]
Double wedding at the Wesleyan Chapel, D'Urban, July 20th 1864.




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