Lieutenant H. Rivers/Kiver NNC, killed at Isandlwana

Hello all,

Some time ago I came across the following death notice from the Western Gazette 30 May 1879:

Jan.22, killed at the battle of Isandula, Lieut. H. KIVER, 3rd Battalion N.N.C., eldest son of Mr. R. KIVER, Wimborne, aged 25

I have always assumed that this is the individual identified in the various casualty/medal roles as Lt. H.O. Rivers of the NNC.

Looking at the 1871 census for Wimborne (Dorset), there are the following details:

KIVER, Richard (head) aged 46 (Accountant)
KIVER, Catherine (wife) aged 38
KIVER, Chas W (son) aged 17
KIVER, Henry (son) aged 16 [this fits with him dying in 1879 aged 25]

I've done a little research and found that Charles W died in Kensington in 1874 aged 20, supporting the death notice's assertion that Henry was (in 1879) Richard & Catherine's eldest son.

Therefore, is it possible that Lt. 'H.O. Rivers' & 'H. Kiver' are one and the same, the former being a simple transcription error from the original casualty/medal rolls?

Regards,

Tim

Tim
What a clever chap you are! Well done! I believe that that the O stands for Oldfield but I have to check on this. It seems to have been an inherited 'family' name.

Julian,

I can't find any mention of a middle name or initial for Henry (born Bath 1854) - there do however appear to be a number of Kivers born in the Hackney district with the middle name of Oldfield.

Regards,

Tim

Tim
But they are connected. The Henry Kiver who died in Hackney on 20.10.1867 and had gave his children the middle name of Oldfield was born in Wimborne on 24.5.1829.
I'll get back to you with more info when I've exhausted the sources (and myself!)

Tim,

I’m including a lot of detail here, not all of which is relevant to the Zulu War, but may be useful in the future to anyone picking up this thread and wanting to explore further.

There were four Kiver brothers born in Wimborne, Dorset, three of whom re-located to Hackney and elsewhere in London.  One of those three was Henry (1829-67) who married Jane Mary Ann Oldfield in 1850.  She came from an all-girl family and to perpetuate the surname six of her seven children received the middle name Oldfield.  In 1857 there was a court case Kiver v. Oldfield over inheritance (TNA, Cause No. 1857 K19).  

The fourth (eldest) brother who stayed in Wimborne was Richard (born 1824).  He seems to have moved about a fair bit, from Wimborne to Bristol, Bath, Tiverton and back to Wimborne.  He married twice.  His first wife was a widow, Elizabeth York née Brown (married 1852 Bristol) by whom he had three children: Charles William (1853-74), HENRY (born Dec Quarter 1854 Bath 5c 655, baptized 24th June 1855 in Bath) and Mary Ann Elizabeth.  His mother died in 1859 in Bath and the same year Richard re-married in Bristol Catherine Matthews by whom he had three girls and two boys Alfred Edward and Walter John.  None of his children have the middle name Oldfield (why would they?) so the ‘O’ in H.O. Rivers was a red herring.

General Orders No. 213, 3rd December 1878 and the Times of Natal 6th December 1878 state that H.O. Rivers was appointed lieutenant in the 2/3rd N.N.C.  The Isandhlwana Casualty List also included a Lieut. H. O. Rivers.

However the death notice in the Western Gazette 30th May 1879 as per your initial post seems to me conclusive.  While it is possible that BOTH men existed and Henry Kiver’s appointment to the N.N.C. and his death were not recorded, it is more likely that a misreading of his name resulted in H. Kiver being mangled into H. O. Rivers.

The four brothers' parents were Charles Kiver and Ann Spurrier of Wimborne and their grandfather was Richard Kiver of Wimborne who left a Will in the TNA (Will 28.3.1812, PROB 11/1531/432).

I’m pursuing one further line of inquiry which I fear will be a lengthy one.  I’ll report back if anything comes of it.

Julian

Thanks Julian,

I have been trying to locate a Kiver family memorial or gravestone which may mention Henry, however:

Charles Wm (brother of Henry who died Kensington 1874) was buried in Brompton Cemetery in a common grave (therefore no headstone).

Richard (father - died 1907 aged 82) was buried in Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey, again in a common grave.

Emily Jane (half sister of Henry, died 1890 aged 19), buried Wimborne Cemetery (section 7) - neither the cemetery or the Dorset History Centre seem to have records which would pinpoint exactly where the grave is, although the cemetery clerk has offered to have a look for a possible headstone for me.

Regards,

Tim

For info if it will help, his sister and half-siblings names were:
Mary Ann Elizabeth born 1856/7 Bath
Julia Fanny born 1861 Tiverton
Louisa Kate born 1864 Cheltenham
Alfred Edward born Mar Quarter 1866 Wimborne bp. 13.3.1866 Wimborne
Walter John born 1868 Wimborne
Emily Jane born 1870 Wimborne bp. 24.7.1875 Wimborne