Hi Rory,
You have a very interesting family genealogy.
I have taken a keen interest in the medals and early military service of the Victorian Officers who served with the Dukes for many years.
I have always assumed that Captain J. Muirison was the son of Captain James Murison who was born in Peterhead in Scotland in early 1816. Captain James senior came to the Cape Colony as mate on the brig Sir William Heathcote in 1838 and settled in Sea Point in Cape Town. He was a business man and in later life became a Member of the Cape Legislature before his death in 1885. There is much published about him on the Web which you should easily be able to locate. I have noted that you have affirmed that your grandfather was James Jacobus Muirson. Clearly the medal awarded to this Captain J. Murison was therefore not his father, nor was it likely awarded to James senior. To put the ages of the various Captains in the Dukes at that time in perspective Captains Daniell and Dickson were born in 1838 and 1842 respectively.
I have used the word “assumed” as there is another James Murison of a similar age who lived in Cape Town, a cousin named James Mckay Drummond Murison whose father was Alexander Murison the brother of Captain James Murison (senior). He might also have been the Dukes Captain.
During those early days during the 1860’s to the 1890’s many gentlemen were attracted to the military, not only because of a sense of duty, but also for the social camaraderie that volunteer military life offered. This was particularly the case for officers who enjoyed the pomp and ceremony, the fancy uniforms which they would have been in a position to pay for, the regular target shooting, the music provided by the regimental bands and of course the regular occasions when they could dress for dinner and tip the elbow for a glass or two. It was of course largely a man’s world in those days!
The Dukes, as the Cape Town Rifles has been called ever since that title was given to them by Prince Alfred in the mid 1860’s, was Cape Town’s leading volunteer Regiment. Their officers included many of the leading men of society in Cape Town and perhaps not surprisingly many of their close relatives numbered amongst their colleagues. Following the Murison genealogy, it is interesting to note that Captain James (Junior) Murison’s sister Elizabeth was married to Colonel Zacheray Bayly, CMG who was the senior Colonial Officer and at one time was briefly Officer Commanding the Dukes before being given even greater responsibilities. Another sister Annie married the well known Sir John James Graham. Yet another sister of the “cousin” James married a Spence – not only were the members of the Murison and Spence families Business partners but Lieut. Colonel William Spence commanded the Dukes and was killed at Faber’s Put during the Anglo Boer War.
I would expect that you could have an enormous amount of fun putting together a detailed genealogical tree of your family, however I suspect that if your grandfather was indeed James Jacobus Muirson that the “Basutoland” Cape of Good Hope Service Medal to which refer (presumably it is not a QSA medal as no Captain Muirson is listed on those medal rolls) was not awarded to one of your direct forebears but rather to a brother or cousin of your great grandfather who would have been born in about 1840.
I am always happy to correspond further through the PM system.
RobM
Cape Town
Collecting Victorian medals to Officers of the Dukes.
