From Soho to Knapdaar

From Soho to Knapdaar

The Kolbe family in South Africa was founded by the 1820 Settlers George Augustus Kolbe and his wife Margaret [Georgina] Downing. The couple arrived on board the ‘Nautilus’ in Algoa Bay on 14 April 1820 as members of Thomas Owen’s party. In the ship’s list George Kolbe was described as a ‘chemist’.

George Augustus Kolbe was the son of Johan (John) Gottlob Kolbe, who hailed from Württemberg in Germany and plied the trade of tailor in Londen, and Mary Larman. He was born in Soho, London on 07.12.1802 and baptised at St. Anne’s, Westminster on 02.02.1803

George Kolbe’s wife, Margaret Downing, was born in London on 23.02.1803, parents unknown. They were married in the St. Leonard Church, Shoreditch, County Middlesex on 20.01.1819.