Woodward brothers
Encyclopedia
The Woodward brothers were Richard Blake (1848 - c.1905, Tugela River?) and John Deverell Stewart Woodward (1849 - c.1905), who were English missionaries and ornithologists. They were born in Bathford
, England to Richard and Mary Woodward. Through their field expeditions, specimen collecting and publications, they, along with Arthur Stark
, established a basis for 20th century ornithology in the southern African region.
in the early 1870s. Here they initially started farming sheep in the Amersfoort
district, before moving to Ifafa
, Natal
, to run a plantation.
They also attended to the nearby St Luke mission at Harding
, where they assisted archdeacon
Joseph Barker. They were ordained into the Anglican Church in 1881 at Pietermaritzburg
, and by 1883 they were assistant priests at St Luke. From 1884 they associated with the American Board of Foreign Missions
which had stations at Hlatikulu
, Zululand
, and at the Adams mission, Amanzimtoti. Their consequent missionary activities and expeditions were undertaken from these missions.
s, Baboon
s and Leopard
s in The Zoologist
and The Natal Mercury
. Their observations were catalogued and controlled experiments were performed on some animals. From 1880 onwards much of their interest was focussed on the birds of the region. The brothers undertook exploratory expeditions to the Lebombo Mountains
and Ngoye Forest in Zululand
.
For the first time species like Eastern Nicator
and Livingstone's Turaco
were found to occur south of the Zambezi. In addition they discovered the isolated southern population of the Green Barbet
at Ngoye forest, which Captain Shelley
named for them in 1895, Stactolaema woodwardi. In 1900 their other discovery, Woodward's Batis, was also named for them by Shelley, B. fratrum referring to the brothers. Many of their bird specimens were sent to R.B. Sharpe
at the British Museum
, who assisted them with identifications.
, the Colony of Natal
and the eastern Cape Colony
. Through their efforts the early specimen collection of G. Hutchinson was preserved, and interest in regional conservation was increased. The brothers are besides known from many letters, as well as articles written for The Natal Mercury
, Ibis
and other overseas natural history
magazines.
.
Bathford
Bathford is a village and civil parish east of Bath, England. The parish, which includes Warleigh has a population of 1,753, and extends over .-History:...
, England to Richard and Mary Woodward. Through their field expeditions, specimen collecting and publications, they, along with Arthur Stark
Arthur Stark
Arthur Cowell Stark was a medical doctor and naturalist. He emigrated from Torquay, England to Cape Town, South Africa in 1892. He lived in South Africa during the last 7 years of his life and died during the Siege of Ladysmith at the age of 53...
, established a basis for 20th century ornithology in the southern African region.
Missionary activities
The brothers were trained as Anglican missionaries. Their first mission was in the Americas, at an unknown location. They published on missionary work in the Americas before they moved to TransvaalSouth African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
in the early 1870s. Here they initially started farming sheep in the Amersfoort
Amersfoort, Mpumalanga
Amersfoort is a small sheep farming town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town was established in 1888 around a Dutch Reformed Church which was built in 1876. Lying at 1,664m above sea level in the upper reached of the Vaal river basin on the banks of the Schulpspruit, the area was first...
district, before moving to Ifafa
Ifafa Beach, KwaZulu-Natal
Ifafa Beach is a small coastal resort on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It is situated on the lagoon of the Fafa River mouth. The river's name is derived from the Zulu word "iFafa" which means ....
, Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
, to run a plantation.
They also attended to the nearby St Luke mission at Harding
Harding, KwaZulu-Natal
Harding is a town situated in the Mzimkulwana River valley, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Harding was established as a military outpost following the United Kingdom's annexation of East Griqualand in 1874 and was named after the first chief of justice for Natal, Sir Walter Harding.Timber and dairy...
, where they assisted archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
Joseph Barker. They were ordained into the Anglican Church in 1881 at Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
, and by 1883 they were assistant priests at St Luke. From 1884 they associated with the American Board of Foreign Missions
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
which had stations at Hlatikulu
Hlatikulu
Hlatikulu is a town located in the Shiselweni district of southern Swaziland.Alternate Spelling: Hlatikhuluzasdeas...
, Zululand
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
, and at the Adams mission, Amanzimtoti. Their consequent missionary activities and expeditions were undertaken from these missions.
Field expeditions
The brothers had a keen interest in the animal life of the region, which was poorly described in the 1870's. Within a decade of their arrival they started publishing observations concerning CrocodileNile crocodile
The Nile crocodile or Common crocodile is an African crocodile which is common in Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Gabon, South Africa, Malawi, Sudan, Botswana, and Cameroon...
s, Baboon
Chacma Baboon
The Chacma baboon , also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. With a body length of up to 115 cm and a weight from 15 to 31 kg, it is among the largest and heaviest baboon species. The Chacma is generally dark brown to gray in color,...
s and Leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
s in The Zoologist
The Zoologist
The Zoologist was a monthly natural history journal founded in 1843 by the publisher Edward Newman, published in London. Newman acted as editor until his death in 1876, when he was succeeded by James Edmund Harting and William Lucas Distant .Originating from an enlargement of The Entomologist...
and The Natal Mercury
The Mercury (South Africa)
The Mercury is an upmarket English language newspaper owned by Independent News & Media and published in Durban, South Africa.As the most popular English morning newspaper in the region, The Mercury has 269 000 readers .-Content:...
. Their observations were catalogued and controlled experiments were performed on some animals. From 1880 onwards much of their interest was focussed on the birds of the region. The brothers undertook exploratory expeditions to the Lebombo Mountains
Lebombo Mountains
The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains, are an 800km long, narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa stretching from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in the north. Part of the mountains are found in South Africa,...
and Ngoye Forest in Zululand
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
.
For the first time species like Eastern Nicator
Eastern Nicator
The Eastern Nicator is a species of songbird in the Pycnonotidae family.It is found in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe....
and Livingstone's Turaco
Livingstone's Turaco
The Livingstone's Turaco is a species of bird in the Musophagidae family, which was named for Charles Livingstone, the brother of David Livingstone.It is distributed through the subtropical lowlands of southeastern Africa....
were found to occur south of the Zambezi. In addition they discovered the isolated southern population of the Green Barbet
Green Barbet
The Green Barbet is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family. It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa....
at Ngoye forest, which Captain Shelley
George Ernest Shelley
Captain George Ernest Shelley was an English geologist and ornithologist. He was a nephew of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley....
named for them in 1895, Stactolaema woodwardi. In 1900 their other discovery, Woodward's Batis, was also named for them by Shelley, B. fratrum referring to the brothers. Many of their bird specimens were sent to R.B. Sharpe
Richard Bowdler Sharpe
Richard Bowdler Sharpe was an English zoologist.-Biography:Sharpe was born in London and studied at Brighton College, The King's School, Peterborough and Loughborough Grammar School. At the age of sixteen he went to work for Smith & Sons in London...
at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, who assisted them with identifications.
Publications
Their well-known ornithological publication, Natal Birds of 1899, introduced 386 bird species of ZululandZulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
, the Colony of Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
and the eastern Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
. Through their efforts the early specimen collection of G. Hutchinson was preserved, and interest in regional conservation was increased. The brothers are besides known from many letters, as well as articles written for The Natal Mercury
The Mercury (South Africa)
The Mercury is an upmarket English language newspaper owned by Independent News & Media and published in Durban, South Africa.As the most popular English morning newspaper in the region, The Mercury has 269 000 readers .-Content:...
, Ibis
Ibis (journal)
Ibis, subtitled the International Journal of Avian Science, is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the British Ornithologists' Union. Topics covered include ecology, conservation, behaviour, palaeontology, and taxonomy of birds. The editor-in-chief is Paul F. Donald. The journal is published by...
and other overseas natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
magazines.
Unknowns
It is not yet known where the brothers were buried, and their publication Wanderings in America has not been traced. By some accounts one of the brothers drowned in the Tugela RiverTugela River
The Tugela River is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The river originates in the Drakensberg Mountains, Mont-aux-Sources, and plunges 947 metres down the Tugela Falls...
.