Have you ever wondered about your own heritage, or that of your great grandparents? Heritage Month is the perfect time to explore your family’s own history. Your heritage is what makes you unique. Everyday we live with traditions that were passed on from the previous generation, and will hopefully continue to be passed on to future generations.
Tracing your family history (genealogy) isn’t only an exciting opportunity to know more about the past, it can also help you access estate papers that are issued after death. These papers include wills and death notices. If you’re curious about your family’s past, you can:
- find out about your family’s origins - slave descendants can also use the slavery era records to learn more,
- gain useful information about your family’s medical history and causes of death, this can help you determine your risk of getting a disease,
- use these records for research and academic purposes, and
- determine the truth about land claims by using estate papers and wills.
Cape Town Archives
Our Archives Service gives you the opportunity to view historical documents. Whether you need to know more about your family history or access documents for research, our archives is the place to go.
Situated in Roeland Street in Cape Town, they store some of the oldest documents in our country that date back to 1651. Records are available and classified as:
- printed paper
- written manuscripts
- maps and plans
- photographic images
- sound and electronic data
Visit the archives
If you’re interested in using this service you can visit the archives at:
72 Roeland Street, Cape Town
Office hours:
Mondays to Fridays: 8am to 4pm
Thursdays: 8am to 7pm (reading room)
First Saturday of each month: 9am to 1pm (reading room)
Disclaimer: Any views expressed by individuals and organisations are their own and do not in any way represent the views of The Heritage Portal.