Nicolas Smit
Nicolaas Jacobus Smit was a Boer general and politician. During the First Boer War, he led Boer force to victory during the Battle of Majuba Hill. Signatory to the London Convention he was elected VicePresident South African Republic in 1886.
The son of Nicolaas Jacobus Smit and Elizabeth Magdalena Van der Merwe , the young Nicolaas was born at Doornbos, near Graaf Reinet. The family could trace their descent from the first Dutch calvinist settlers who arrived at The Cape before 1688, the Van der Merwe and De klerk families were among the very first white settlers on the continent. Aged twentyfive he trekked across the veldt to Natal with his parents. They lived at Durban for a while, but disliked the genteel English society of tearooms and promenades. Nicolaas decided to join the army, which he eventually achieved by going into the wild veldt with a group of comrades.
Source: Wikipedia