Hugh Arturo Henry Trannack
6- Why did my great great grandparents come to Argentina?
Because he had inherited a big fortune from his father, Richard Hoskin. He was an only son, a medical doctor in Harley street and of a very venturous spirit.
7- How did he inherit this big fortune?
His father had three ships in Hong Kong, farms in South Africa and a farm property in Cornwall.
8- In what ship did they travel to Argentina?
In one of the three ships he inherited, the others were sold in Hong Kong, keeping the sailors and the captain of the Senobio ship.
9- When did they arrive and where did they dock?
They landed in 1892 on the coast of Quilmes, Arg.
10- How long were they in Quilmes?
About a year.
11- Why so long?
Because they were making three big waggons to travel to Zapala, province of Neuquen.
12- Why to Zapala?
Because great great grandfather had bought, in a sale in England, a camp of 27.000 hec. in Argentina Province of Neuquen.
13- How were the waggons drawn?
By oxen, six to ten oxen per waggon, depending on the weight they were pulling.
14- How far did they travel per day?
About five hours per day and sometimes much less.
15- How far did they have to travel to get Zapala?
Over a thousand nine hundred kilometers, with practically no roads in more than half their journey.
16- How long did it take them to arrive to destination?
Seven years
17- What did the family do during this long journey?
They all helped to drive the oxen, feed them, keep harneses in good conditions, find wood and water, hunt for food, and drive the big herd of cattle of about 1000 heads plus 400 herses, and about 40 oxen.
18- Why did they take so long to do this trip to Zapala.
They were delayed about a year at the crossing of the huge river "Rio Colorado".
19- Why, what happened?
On the map it looked like a stream, but they found a very deep and wide river, like the Mississippi, and no brigde, so they had to desmantle the waggons and make barges to float all their belongings across the Colorado. Having crossed to the other side, they had to reconstruct their waggons again, finding what they needed, lots of spare partsthat were missing, such us belts, screws nails, etc. And they had to ride over 300 kilometers back to the nearest city which was Bahia Blanca, were they could buy all the necesary spare parts. While waiting for the two eldest sons with the spare parts, there was a big flood, that carried many of the oxen, tools, wheels and other important belongings.
20- Did they meet any important people on their trip?
Yes, many, but the most important was General Roca with two officers who were returning to Buenos Aires after their defeat with the Indians in Chelfors. My great great grandparents invited them to their encampment for dinner, and after dinner treated him with music played by flute, trumpet, clarinette, vio- lin and piano. Marie had to buy her mini piano in her wagon and all the instruments that her children played and made them practice each evening.
21- Did they have any other episode?
Yes, near Chelfors, she was having (Marie) tea with her two daughters when they were surrounded by Indians.
22- What happened?
Marie told her daughters, to stay by her not to be frightened then she slowly backed to reach the piano and started to tinkle some notes and finally slowly turned round and played for the life of her children and herself.
23- What did the Indians do?
They seemed fascinated and some came into the wagon and kept pointing to the piano when she stopped playing, so that she would continue.
24- Did they go peacefully?
Yes, some of the Indians gave them a Warning that people were coming, and they all disappeared. But, for the rest of the journey, whenever Marie was alo- ne, the Indians would return and point to the piano for her to play, and they never did her or their family any harm.
25- What year did they arrive to Zapala?
In 1899 (end of the yeat).
26- What did they do first on their arrival to Zapala?
They settled in their wagons through the months they took to make their house. Thr eldest boy, Tom, was in charge of his job, Arturo and Lois cared for the cattle, Marie and Maud were in charge of cooking, mending, washing, preparing a vegetable garden and flower bed. The two smaller boys had a tutor brought from England to give them lessons.
27- When did my great great grandparents die?
Richard Hoskin died on the farm on the 20th of September 1906. Marie Harlette Louise on 25th May 1906.
28- What became of my great grandfather Arturo after his parents died?
He and his eldest brother Tom, formed a company and worked together to mantain the rest of their younger brothers and sisters.
29- How did my great grandfather meet his wife, my grandmother Mercedes?
He met her in Chile, Los Angeles, when he taking payments for the English engineers working on the railway line, between Neuquen and Zapala.
30- When did they marry?
In the year 1910
31- Where did they live?
In the farm wich was divided between the family. Arturo was given 12,000 hec. which he named "El Manzano".
32- What were my great grandparents like?
Great grandfather Arturo was tall, a well built man, fair, blue eyes with a very penetrating look, very hard worker. He always spoke to his children in English, and chose them very good books to read from his huge library. My great grandmo- ther, had black wavy hair, dark eyes, she was petit in build, a wonderful wife, it was extremely hard for her to live away from all help and civilization, always hospitable, a wonderful cook and great gardener, she made an English style ]garden and a vegetable garden, she rode side saddle helping her husband with camp work, she was a good seamstress, making her own clothes and of her children.
33- How many children did they have?
Four children, Veronica, who died , drowned at the age of one and half year old, a son (Dick) Richard Henry born in the year 1916, Marie Estela born in 1919 and Lois Isabel Nora in 1925. Their son Dick died at the of 44 of a severe heart attack.
34- When did my granny Lois marry?
She married in 1955.
35- How many children did she have?
Three girls, Veronica born in 1960, Nora born in 1961 and Mercedes in 1964. My mother is Veronica and she married my father Juan Carlos Kreiter. I have two others brothers, Diego and Juan Manuel. We live in the farm that belonged to my great grandparents Arturo and Mercedes when they died, Mercedes in the year 1968 and Arturo in 1975. My granny Lois inhereted the old farm "El Manzano".
My granny, my aunt Nora and my familly live in the farm, in three different homes close by.
This historical project has been written with the true historical events and dates of four generations of the Trannack family.
I want to thank my granny Lois and my aunt Marie for having kindly answered all the questions I asked them, concerning the history of the family.