East Cape Branch

The Eastern Cape Branch of the Genealogical Society of South Africa officially joined the fold during 1982. The first general meeting of the Branch at which minutes were taken was on 13 January 1982. The East Cape Branch of the GSSA is located in Port Elizabeth. The branch serves the Eastern Cape and surrounding areas.

Port Elizabeth has a history going back many years before the arrival of the 1820 British Settlers.
In 1799 a fort was built by the British and soldiers garrisoned there for the protection of Algoa Bay from attack from the sea. Even before that Frederick Korsten lived on his beautiful manorial estate which was a haven to all weary travellers. The committee for 2014 was elected during the March 2014 meeting and can be seen here.

An interesting development in the Eastern Cape is the number of separate groups which have sprung up in a number of small towns around the Eastern Cape, which are not affiliated with GSSA. A regular monthly meeting is being held with a group of researchers from Grahamstown, not all of whom are members of GSSA. Visits are also planned for Port Alfred and Uitenhage and any other town that contacts us.

An English group specialising in the United Kingdom, for which the the contact person is Liz Eshmade, who may be contacted by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Our meetings are open to the public and are conducted every third Monday of the month in the Lolly Shtein Hall at the Laubscher Park West Retirement Complex in Villiers Road, Greenshields Park. Meetings start at 19h30. A variety of speakers address the meetings on a wide range of the aspects of life surrounding our families and the era in which they lived and also on specific surnames.

East Cape Branch publishes a quarterly journal called "Chronicles." Should one wish to contact the Branch per snail mail, the postal address of the branch is P.O.Box 1183, Port Elizabeth 6000.