Seeking American in Johannesburg, South Africa

There are two sets of records that you may have already checked on familysearch.org (not in the indexed section, but in the records by location section), but I will mention them just in case you have not checked them.

https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/128171?availability=Family%20History%20Library

Civil Registration death notices 1869-1939:  roll 918691 is an index to deaths 1873-1910 and then there are additional rolls containing the death records

https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/188051?availability=Family%20History%20Library

Probate records Transvaal, South Africa 1869 -1958: same roll serves as the index & there are 5 rolls with probate from 1901

Dear Ms. Newman,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series United States Consular Records for Capetown, South Africa, 1835 - 1939 in the Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the Department of State (Record Group 84) that may contain information about your relative if he was a US Citizen and needed assistance.  For access to these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

We searched the Library of Congress catalog and found 53 online South African newspapers between 1800-1899 that may contain information about your relative.  We also suggest that you contact South Africa Archives and Libraries to request records about your relative during the time of his residence overseas. 

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!