What a coincidence. I have just written a short biography about Thomas's brother George.
George Wagstaff Sheffield was born in Kidderminster in Worcestershire on 10 February 1849. He was the son the John Sheffield and Jane Stokes who were born in 1820 and 1821 respectively. They were married in Kiderminster in November 1842. George had an elder brother Thomas (born 1847) and three sisters, Mary Jane (born 1844), Harriett (born 1846) and Emma (born 1852).
George’s parents, John and Jane and their 5 children came out to the Cape Colony in 1860 and settled in Grahamstown. From a young age George farmed in the Port Elizabeth disrtrict until 1876, whereafter he joined his elder brother Thomas in Grahamstown as a printer and publisher.
Besides the well known Grahamstown newspaper founded by Thomas Henry Grocott in 1870 the Irishman J.V. O’Brien established a small newspaper in Grahamstown. At first O’Brien employed Thomas as a journeyman printer and subsequently took both brothers into partnership, Thomas assisting in the works while George ran the stationary shop. O’Brien soon left the partnership in order to start The Frontier Guardian in Dordrecht and the Grahamstown paper, renamed The Eastern Star, passed with the business into the hands of the two Sheffield brothers. Their office was at 85 High Street and in accordance with the spirit of the times they proudly called themselves T. & G. Sheffield Steam Printers. For a time the paper received financial support from Dr F.G. Williams, the Dean of Grahamstown, who wanted a mouthpiece through which to voice support for the controversial Bishop Colenso and the paper, although circulating only a few hundred copies per issue, attained an influence out of all proportion to its sales. The death of the Dean in 1885 coupled with a trade depression induced the Sheffield brothers to look elsewhere for business.
Recognising the opportunities in the Transvaal following the discovery of gold the brothers moved to the Witwatersrand in 1887. To facilitate the move they split their Grahamstown business selling the stationary shop and packing the newspaper plant and they travelled by train to the railhead at Kimberley and from there loading all their equipment they travelled to Johannesburg in three wagons where the Eastern Star resumed publication changing its title on 1 April 1889 to The Star. Initially the two brothers occupied a modest brick and iron shack in President Street from which the Eastern Star reappeared on Monday 17 October 1887. At that time there were about 3500 people living in “The Camp” as Johannesburg was then known. Two years later their firm of T & G Sheffield amalgamated with that of the Argus Printing and Publishing Company to establish the foremost newspaper business in Southern Africa. His brother Thomas became the resident director of the Argus Company in Johannesburg and later effectively Chairman from 1895 until his death in 1904.
After Thomas’ death George resigned his position as Secretary of the Argus in order to enter politics in 1907. He was an ardent Churchman and played an important part in Church life in Johannesburg.
George married Julie Radburn on 13 February 1878/1877 and their marriage produced two children, a son named Thomas and a daughter Mabel. He died in Johannesburg on 20 September 1916 aged 67 years.
I will try to post a photograph of the two brothers.
RobM
