Molly of Top Hill Pen


The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Top Hill Pen lists six individuals whose mother's name was Molly: William Girdwood, also known as Palmer (1790-1830), Joseph Thomas, also known as Ned (b. 1792), William Eccleston, also known as Quashie (b. 1793), Princess (1799-1826), Betty (b. 1802) and Fanny (b. 1810). In addition, the mother of Linda (b. 1802) was named as Moll.


No woman named as Moll was listed in the register, so she may have died before it was compiled. Alternatively, Linda could have been another daughter of Molly.

Molly, who was referred to as Old Molly later in her life, was born in Africa in about 1764 and died in Top Hill Pen in Jamaica in 1823.  

Molly's daughter Princess had three children: Hellena (b. 1822), George, who was born and died in 1823, and Molly (b. 1824). Hellena and George were described as Sambo, and since there is no indication that Princess had any European ancestry, it may have been their father who did. Little Molly was born the year after her grandmother died, and was presumably named after her. 

Princess died in 1826, leaving Hellena (4) and little Molly (2) without a mother.

Linda also had three children who might have been Old Molly's grandchildren: Moll (b. 1819), Daniel (b. 1821) and Anthony (1825-1826). It's possible that little Moll was named after Linda's mother Moll, and the consistency of this form of the name in this branch strengthens the possibility that Linda did not belong to Old Molly's family.


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