Four women called Jenny on Good Hope

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope estate included six children with a mother called Jenny: Sarah Oldham (b. 1799), Eliza (b. 1803), Charlotte (b. 1805), Caesar (b. 1811), Daniel (b. 1814) and Beck (f) (1815-1824). Later returns add Jacob (b. 20th of January 1818),* George (b. and d. 1823) and George (b. 1824). Sarah Oldham, Eliza and Charlotte were described as Mulatto.

The register includes four women called Jenny:

1. A 56-year-old Jeny [sic] (b. 1761), who could have been the mother of Sarah Oldham, Eliza and Charlotte. She'd have been 50 when Caesar was born, 53 when Daniel was born and 54 when Beck was born, none of which is entirely impossible, but they are progressively less likely to have been her children.
2. A 36-year-old Jenny (b. 1781), who was the daughter of Binah (see 'Binah of Good Hope'). This Jenny would have been 24 when Sarah Oldham was born and 43 when the younger George was. It's tempting to assume that Beck (1815-1824) was named after this Jenny's sister.

3. Another 36-year-old Jenny (b. 1781), who could also have been the mother of any of these children.

4. A 26-year-old Jenny Menzies (b. 1791), whose mother was called Plaything (see 'Plaything of Good Hope'). This Jenny was described as Mulatto. She was too young to be the mother of Sarah Oldham, Eliza or Charlotte, and the colour descriptions indicate that she was not the mother of any of the younger children.

The death of a 45-year-old woman called Jenny occurred on the 1st of June 1819,* which would imply a birth year of 1774. It isn't obvious which woman this was.


Going down a generation, Sarah Oldham had two sons, Davey (b. 7th of August 1818)* and William (1822-1823). Davey was described as Mulatto and William as Quadroon. The mother of Ann Moorhouse (b. and d. 1832), who was described as Quadroon, was named as Elizabeth Oldham. It's possible that this was Eliza (b. 1803), who was described as Mulatto.


Possible children for Binah's daughters Beck and Lucretia are discussed in 'Three women called Beck on Good Hope' and 'Cretia and Lucretia of Good Hope'.

Note that the children of another mother with a white father on the Good Hope estate were also given the surname Oldham. See 'Keaty of Good Hope'.


* These births and deaths were recorded in the 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', which is the only one that gives dates.

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