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He was twenty three years her senior, she was a young school girl of 15, but the attraction was immediate when Elizabeth met her future husband, Lincoln Schoeman, younger son of the founder of Hartbeespoort, Johan  Schoeman. He was the handsome scion of the founding family of Hartbeespoort in his thirties who had lived in Europe while the young Elizabeth was still a teenage schoolgirl. Residents of Hartbeespoort have been wondering what happened to the well loved Elizabeth after the couple moved away and Lincoln died on 30 July 2003. The Schoemans lived for many years below the cross on Saartjies Nek which was erected by Lincoln’s father Johan in memory of his father Generaal Hendrik Schoeman. (The family owned the land east and part of the north and south of Hartbeespoort Dam which was exchanged by the government of the day for the Schoeman farmland on which the Dam was built.)
“My mother and I got sick of my father raving about Lincoln..”
I reconnected with Elizabeth Schoeman when researching the history of the musical talent of the Schoemans and wanted to know about her late husband Lincoln. Not only could Elizabeth tell us much about his musical talent and career, but she also gave us the story of their romance and filled us in about what had happened since the couple left Hartbeespoort. “I was 15 years old and my father was building a dam on the farm near Badplaas owned by Lincoln and his elder brother Tolstoy. The two brothers had been given this farm by their father, and were busy getting it going. Lincoln was persuaded by his father to relinquish his musical career in Europe to come and farm in South Africa. Johan Schoeman had bought a farm for his sons for £60 000, a gift that couldn’t be ignored, but Lincoln was able to repay his father in three years. “My mother and I got heartily sick of hearing my father rave about this wonderful young friend of his who was so interesting, and that they got on so well together. One evening the rain really came down and my father got stuck on his way home, so Lincoln gave him a lift back to our house. “It was late when they finally arrived back, sopping wet, so I made them coffee and sandwiches, and then I finally met this ‘very interesting’ friend of my father’s. He was 23 years older than I was. Well, we ended up chatting far into the night, as a matter of fact it was three o’ clock in the morning before he went home. Afterwards I asked my father whether Lincoln was married and he saidno. I clearly remember the date, it was 14 November 1964. He came to spend the day with us on Boxing Day a month later but we went out for five years before we got married!”
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Lincoln Schoeman (left) and Brother Tolstoy On The Original Schoeman Farm In Hartbeespoort |
“Japanese said to add a naught at the end”
The unassuming Lincoln and his wife Elizabeth spent many happy years in Hartbeespoort with their two children.Elizabeth became well known as an artist with her sculpting, pottery and painting as well as for her culinary talents in the restaurant the couple ran on the property. As a matter of fact, as an artist she was invited by the Japanese government to exhibit her work in Japan together with Barry Dibbs. “When I asked one of the Japanese representatives how I should price my work for the Japanese market, he said: “What is your price? -Then just add a naught at the end!” Unfortunately the monetary fortunes of the Schoemans did not go well and their money ended up in the hands of the unscrupulous. “We were destitute. When Lincoln got really ill with pneumonia in 2003, we went to the government hospital in Krugersdorp where we had to wait for a bed from 15:00 till 21:00. There we waited for another two hours for the doctor. When Lincoln eventually died, he actually stopped breathing in my arms.”
After all this time, Elizabeth has found a “new love”
“I became very reclusive after Lincoln died, I didn’t want to meet anybody, go anywhere. It took a long time before my daughter in law Ursula stepped in and found me some interesting friends. “I was very fortunate, I have found a
new love and we live in Durban for part of the year and then in New York where his daughter lives. We have bought a property in Venice, Florida and may move there.” Elizabeth was well known in Hartbeespoort not only for her gentle and sunny nature and artistic talents, but also for her culinary skill. I reminded her of this and she laughingly admits to still enjoy tempting the taste buds of her new friends and family.
As for the farm near Badplaas belonging to Tolstoy and Lincoln, Elizabeth says the farm has been sold to the government on a land claim with Tolstoy retaining a small portion round his house. One wonders, if Lincoln and Elizabeth would have met had the rain not come pelting down on the road that night back in 1964. |
