South Africa Archives and Libraries

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South Africa

Archives and Libraries

National Archives and Record Service

The National Archives and Records Service (NARS) provides for the management and care of the government records and for the preservation and use of a national archival heritage.

This online resource provides a National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System which contains records of genealogical value.

How to Use the National Archives Website

To learn how to use National Archives, try out the "How to" Guide! First, read through the Instruction. Then test your knowledge with the short Assignment - the Answer Key is provided to check your answers!

University of Cape Town Archival and Special Collections

The UCT Archives preserves paper records in two sets of collections: Administrative Archives and the University Libraries’ Special Collections.

University of Pretoria Archives

The Archives of the University of Pretoria serves as the memory bank of the institution. It preserves and maintains access to records from all sectors of the University, as well as associated institutions and communities. It strives to reflect the spirit of the University and to support the University’s teaching, research and community service mission.

Western Cape Archives and Records Service

The Western Cape Archives and Records Service provides public access to government records and private collections that are 20 or more years old. The archive is used for academic, government and private research. Genealogical research is the most popular use of the archives.

Independent Archives

Historical Papers is one of the largest and most comprehensive independent archives in Southern Africa. Over 3300 collections of historical, political and cultural importance, encompassing the mid 17th Century to the Present

Libraries

National Library of South Africa

Pretoria Campus
228 Johannes Ramokhoase St
Pretoria 0001
South Africa
Telephone: 27 012 401 9700
Email: infodesk@nlsa.ac.za

Cape Town Campus
5 Queen Victoria Street
Cape Town 8000
South Africa
Telephone: 27 021 424 6320
Email: info@nlsa.ac.za
Website: National Library of South Africa

University College London

The University College London contains the following database: Legacies of British Slave-ownership. It is a database of those paid after being forced to free slaves in 1833. Although the site refers to "British Slave Ownership", searching the database shows all claims by residents of the South Africa cape colony.

Cory Library

The Cory Library is located on Rhodes University campus in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. The library has a large collection of genealogical materials, including the following:

• Complete set of the Graham's Town Journal from 1831 to 1920, all in hardcopy with the exception of 1853-1857 which is available on microfilm. After 1920 the Grahamstown Journal was incorporated in the variously titled Grocott's Penny/Daily Mail.
  
• The newspaper Grocott's Mail is still published in Grahamstown twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays. The Cody Library holds the archival hardcopy set of the Grocott's Mail from its inception in 1872 to date as well as sets of other Grahamstown and district newspapers.
  
• Archives (including church registers) of, inter alia, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, the Diocese of Grahamstown (Church of the Province of Southern Africa) and the Eastern Cape Presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa.
  
• Registers for some Congregational, Roman Catholic and Baptist Churches as well as marriage registers for the Grahamstown Hebrew Congregation.