John White or Whyte

My great-grandfather, John White, was baptised in St Michael's Church, Limerick on 21/01/1836. His father was Michael
White and his mother Mary Hayes. He had at least 4 siblings viz. James (26/07/1833), Michael (05/12/1839), Catherine
(14/06/1843) and Johanna (24/11/1849). Dates shown are dates of baptism.

Catherine married James Conway in Limerick on 28/08/1865 but I have not yet found any other marriages or baptisms of
children.

John White married Margaret O'Connell from Cahirconlish on 01/03/1859 in St Michael's Church, Limerick. Margaret had been
baptised on 21/04/1841 in the parish of Pallasgreen and Templebredin. Their first child, Johanna Jane Francis White,
was baptised on 28/11/1859 in St John's Cathedral, Limerick.

When Johanna was 4 or 5 in 1864, the family left Ireland for Cape Town, South Africa. In Cape Town, two further children
were born viz. Margaret Mary White (bap. 01/11/1865) and my grandfather Joseph Michael White (bap. 27/09/1867).
Surprisingly, two witnesses at Margaret Mary's baptism in Rondebosch, Cape Town were John White's sister Johanna, now 
nearly 18, and his brother-in-law, John O'Connell.

All three of John White's children became teachers. In her teenage years, Johanna joined the Dominicans and became Sr Mary 
Raymond White. She spent most of her life thereafter as a teacher in Kingwilliamstown, Eastern Cape.

John White was the first station master of Rondebosch, a suburb of Cape Town. In 1867, he wrote to the Colonial Secretary 
requesting a change of occupation. It appears from this letter that John had been appointed to his position in Rondebosch
immediately or soon after his arrival in Cape Town. He had met with the Colonial Secretary who had given him the impression
that an improvement in his situation could be forthcoming. My father told me that John White went to India where he died of
the plague not long after his arrival. I have no documentary evidence of his move to India. He had left his family in Cape Town.
Johanna was probably 9, Margaret was 3 and Joseph 1 if he left within a few months of his letter to the Colonial Secretary.

It is interesting to note that a) he was appointed to his position in Rondebosch immediately or soon after his arrival in Cape
Town indicating that he was probably a railwayman in Ireland and b) in his letter he signed his name John Whyte.

If your surname is White (or Whyte), Hayes, O'Connell or Conway, I would love to hear from my Irish relatives even if the 
relationship is distant. I would like to fill the huge gap in my family history.

Kevin Whyte
14 March 2021