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Biodiversity Explorers >
Cronwright-Schreiner, Samuel Cron (1863-1936)
Farmer, husband of Olive Schreiner, occasional collector of insects and
arachnids.
Chronology
Date |
Age |
Event |
26 Jan 1863 |
|
Born on his father's sheep-farm Gideon's Hoek
in the Bedford district, Cape. |
1865 |
2 |
Family moved to Grahamstown. Educated at St
Andrew's College. |
1884 |
21 |
Became a farmer. After 10 months on his
uncle's farm near Graaff-Reinet, he took charge of E. Wood's farm Krantz
Plaats, near Cradock. |
1890 |
27 |
Deeply moved by The story of an African farm
by Olive Schreiner and two and a half years later met her on a neighbouring
farm and corresponded with her in the months following. |
Feb 1894 |
31 |
Married Olive Schreiner in Middelburg (Cape).
Changed his surname to Cronwright-Schreiner. Moved from Krantz Plaats to
Kimberley because of Olive's asma problems. Lost their only child a day
after its birth. They became involved in politics. |
1898-1899 |
35-36 |
Dwindling funds forced him to work for a firm
of attorneys in Johannesburg but after a year they had to leave because of
Olive's asma. |
1900 |
37 |
Spent six months in England campaigning
against British military action in the Second Anglo-Boer War. Later became
an estate and insurance agent in Hanover (Cape). |
1902 |
39 |
Elected to the Cape legislative assembly and
remained member until Union in 1910.. |
1907 |
44 |
They settled in De Aar. Separated from 1913
to 1920 when Olive was in Europe. |
1919 |
56 |
Sold his business and joined Olive in
England. Saw each other for only a month before she moved back to South
Africa where she died in Cape Town in 1920. |
1921 |
58 |
Returned to Cape Town, South Africa. Had
Olive reburied, according to her wish, on Buffels Kop on Krantz Plaats.
Wrote up his wife's biography The life of Olive Schreiner (1924) and edited
her remaining manuscripts for publication (1923-1929). |
1924 |
61 |
Dropped the 'Schreiner' from his surname and
married Leonora Gann, born Bush, in England. |
1925 |
62 |
Daughter, Cronlyn, born. He spent his
remaining years in Cape Town and the Strand. |
8 Sep 1936 |
73 |
Died in Rondebosch, Cape Town. |
Specimens collected
Ants in Albany Museum collected in 1913 from De Aar.
Publications
His biologically-oriented publications included The migratory springbucks of
South Africa (1925); and Some arachnids at Hanover (pamphlet).
References
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Beeton, D.R. 1968. Cronwright (Cronwright-Schreiner), Samuel Cron. In
Dictionary of South African Biography (ed. W.J. de Kock). Nasionale Boekhandel,
Cape Town, pp. 191-192.
Text by Hamish G. Robertson
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