Open to public research.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the William F. Lye South African manuscripts must be obtained from the
The materials in this collection were donated to USU Special Collections & Archives by William F. Lye in several batches during the 1990s.
William F. Lye South African manuscripts, 1834-1972. (COLL MSS 260). Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Department.
William F. Lye was born February 19, 1930 in Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada. After graduating from his local high school, Lye served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upon his return, Lye married Velda, a woman he had met while serving his LDS mission. Thereafter, Lye applied to Rick College (now BYU Idaho) and studied history. After two years at Ricks, the Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University) offered Lye a scholarship, which Lye accepted, and later graduated from the USAC with a BA in history. Shortly after his graduation, Lye was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley. Two years later, Lye graduated with an MA in British imperial history.
Following his graduation from the University of California, Lye was offered a teaching job at Ricks College. After teaching at Ricks College for four years, the college granted Lye a sabbatical leave to pursue a PhD Lye enrolled at UCLA and studied African history before colonial rule. After graduating from ULCA, Lye returned to Ricks for one year, but then he accepted a position to teach African history at USAC, where he taught until his retirement.
Source: "Biographical Sketch," by William F. Lye.
This collection contains the papers of William F. Lye (a former USU history teacher who specialized in African history), including Lye's PhD notes, and primary source material connected to Andrew Smith and Captain R. S. Webb, providing a wealth of information on South African history. This collection consists of nine boxes of material and five ledgers. The materials in this collection have been arranged topically.
Andrew Smith was a government physician of the Cape Colony, South Africa that led an exploratory expedition into the frontier around Cape Colony from 1834-1836. This collection contains Smith's papers (Box 1).
Captain R. S. Webb was born Feb 13, 1892 in London, England. In 1910 he relocated to South Africa, where he taught himself topographical and hydrographical surveying between 1910 and 1915. In 1914 he was called to serve in the war effort in France. He returned to South Africa in 1919, damaged by chlorine mustard gas from which he suffered to end of his life. Continuing his career in mapping South Africa, he worked in the Orange Free State, made a reconnaissance in Basutoland, prepared his gazetteer for which he was honored by the Queen, and awarded a prize by the Royal Geographical Society. Webb also fought to verify the traditional lands claims of the Basotho people who lived near the Orange Free State, the Eastern Cape Colony, and Southern Transvaal. In 1955 he was evicted from his home, and 89 percent of his property was appropriated by the state. This collection contains some of his maps, surveys, papers, and record ledgers.
In addition to the materials found in this collection, U.S.U. Special Collections & Archives also houses a collection of African books donated by William F. Lye catalogued as Book Collection 55; William F. Lye African Collection. Lye's
The materials in this collections have been arranged topically.
Photocopy of manuscript. Vol. 1, 272 leaves. 35cm. Vol. 2, 333 leaves. 35cm.
Includes portions concerning Basuto tribe. 14, 2 leaves: 38cm. Photostat in paper binder.
Includes copy of article from The Cape of Good Hope Library Gazette, 23d. Dec. 1834. Pp. 13,14.
Reprinted from Annals of the South African Museum, Vol.36, Part 1. 26 p. : port., ill.; 25cm.
The Journal is annotated with additional notes by R. S. Webb; and with mounted photographs; and a copy of a sketch map of "Our Village Families." Vol. 2 is a scrapbook of newspaper clippings in the Sesotho language and manuscript notes by R. S. Webb. Letter of presentation from Webb to W. F. Lye laid in v. 2. Printed at Paarl, C.P. South Africa, By Fischer and Sons (Pty) Ltd. for R. S. Webb ... 1967. 2 v. : 24cm
Handwritten copy from the original pencilled diary by R. Webb, September 1951
[concerning] Inspector J. M. Grant's diary of the Langalibalele Expedition of 1873, by Ronald Webb, April, 1951. 56 leaves (carbon copy in bound letterbook)
with inked in photostat [of sketch map] from file CO 2828.2 of 1845. 28 leaves : 38cm. Plus map 37x57 cm. Folded [photostat copy]
Evidence taken at Bloemhof before the Commission appointed to investigate the Claims of the South African Republic, Captain N. Waterboer, Chief of the West Griqualand, and certainother Native Chiefs, to portions on the Vaal River, now Known as the Diamond Fields. 392 leaves : photocopy; 36cm.
Photocopy of 6th ed. Tiger Kloof, Cape of Good Hope: London Missionary Society, 1938. 90 p., [45] p. : 35cm. In Tswana? language
Copies can be found in Box 8, folder 6.
Contains maps and materials with explanation by Webb. Letters not necessarily in chronological order(dates unknown).
Pt. 1: Notes for R. S. Webb's Gazetteer for Basutoland prepared as a Supplement to copy No. 27 of the Gazetteer issued in July 1960. Pt. 2: A Note Book from 2nd December 1960 to [?] by R. Webb. "A Miscellaney of details taken from the manuscripts and scarce books collected here during the past 20 years."1. Autobiographical Memoir, 1910-1950. Pp. 2-11. Pt. 3: On the Lihoja Tribe. December, 1960. Introduction by Webb, followed by a Memoir of his ancestry by Sgt. Frederick Serame Ramakabane. Transcribed with marginal notes by R. S. Webb. 40 leaves plus 3 l. name index. Pt. 4: A Summary or Transcription of the "Chieftainship among the Bakubung Lihoja." This is followed by Webb's Notes with sketch maps on the book by Arbrussih, T. et Dauma, F. Relation d'un Voyage d' Exploration" ... Paris, 1842. 20 leaves, July 11, 1961.
The Place Names of Basutoland. A list of names relating to the History of Basutoland to 1880, together with derivations and meanings. R.S.W. The entries are numerous and are in alphabetical order with a thumb index to alphabetical sections. 314 p.
Pt. 1 This volume comprises extensive extracts for various published and unpublished works and diaries which relate to Basutoland. The first is from Borcherd's Autobiographical Memoir, published in Cape Town in 1861. What interested Webb was the account of the expedition of Truter and Somerville to Lattakoo in 1801 in which Borcherd took part. From this Webb extracts extensive notes. P. 2-78. There follow notes on Gordon's travels; extracts from the History of Basutos of S.A. by the Special Commission of the Cape Argus, 1857; Notes extracted from a manuscript diary written by the French Missionary Cachet during the period 1857, January 1, to April 22, 1868. Pt. 2 "Notes et Souvenirs, per Janv. 1857 au 20 Janv. 1862. Leaf 80 to 136 in French, leaf 138, Oct 6, 1858 begins a transcription in English and French to leaf 162 January 1863. Leaf 162 to leaf 174 are selected entries. Beginning page 75-178, April 20, 1957 Webb inserts his personal opinion about the fate of the tribes. The ledger ends with Sebotsa's history of Sekonyela's people.
Notes on Geodesy extracted from various publications [Webbs Table of Contents follows] Monthly Notices. R.A.S. from p. 1 onwards. [Royal Astronomical Society] Geophysical Supplements. 101 The Observatory, 51 The Geogrphical Journal 211 "Nature" 301 [The Weekly Journal of Science - "Nature"] [p. 360-455 missing, or removed] Bulletin Geodesique 451 Travaux 481 [The notes cover about half the pages in this volume.]
A Collection of Notes on Geographical Surveying. R. S. Webb. Aug 1921. This comprises 211 pages numbered by Webb of detailed technical writing on such subjects as Spherical Excess, The Marine Chronometer, Mathematical Interpolation, The Zenith Telescope, Elimination of Error, etc. Compiled during the period after World War I, when he was concerned with Geodesy, mapping South Africa, the Orange Free State and Basutoland.
Maps used by William F. Lye to prepare his Gazeteer For Basutoland. ASL 916.861 W384. Maps are annotated with route marked in ink. Maps are official section maps listed alphabetically.
(This map usually appears in six sheets contained in a folding case with a key on the upper cover.)
Degree Sheets, Printed on linen. Colored. Drawn in the Surveyor General's Office and Photo-Lithographed at the Government Printing Works, Pretoria. Cloth covers. Transvaal (Major Jackson's Series) Sheet 42 Wakerstroom. Photo-lithographed-Pretoria-April 1901. Revised and completed Feb. 1902. Yellow cloth covers. Transvaal (Revised series. Degree Sheet). Drawn in the Surveyor General's Office and Photo-lithographed in the Government Printing Works, Pretoria. Printed on linen. Cloth covers.
(These come with a key, which was probably made by Captain Webb).
Orange River Colony, Degree Sheet Series. Compiled from Orange Free State farm surveys and micrographed in the S.G. Office.
Union of South Africa, Province of Transvaal Official Maps. Degree sheet series. Printed on linen in color. Photo-lithographed at the Government Printing Works, Pretoria. (One is Helio-Zincographed)