Jane Keith of Good Hope


The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope plantation lists Ann Nott (b. 1816) as the daughter of Jane Keith, and the 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', the only one that gives dates, added Charlotte Nott (b. 12th of February 1818).

Jane Keith was also listed in the 1817 register. She and both of her daughters were described as Mulatto, indicating that all three had a white father. Jane Keith's mother was not named.

The 1823 return records Jane Keith's death at the age of 25.


That is all there is to say about Jane Keith's little family, but three other babies were recorded with the last name Nott on Good Hope:

1. Betsy Nott, whose death was recorded in the 1823 return for Good Hope at the age of two. She was described as Mulatto and her mother was not named, but the birth of a girl called Betsy Nott (b. 24th of September 1820) had been registered on the Potosi estate in the 1820 return, which named her mother as Sarah Keith. Unfortunately, Sarah is a name that was used very frequently, and none of the women with that name on either estate was listed with Keith as their last name.

2. William Nott (1825-1826), who was described as Mulatto. His mother was not named.

3. Mary Nott (b. 1832), who was also described as Mulatto. Her mother was named as Ann Spence, who was not included in the 1817 register under that name. Her possible mothers were Anne (b. 1807), who was described as Mulatto, and whose mother was not named; Ann Nott (b. 1816), who was also described as Mulatto, and was Jane Keith's daughter; Ann (b. 1819), who was described as Sambo, and was Cretia's daughter (see 'Cretia and Lucretia of Good Hope'). She would have been 13 when Mary Nott was born.

Given that the Nott children were all described as Mulatto and shared the same last name, the obvious assumption would be that their shared father was a white name called Nott. If this were the case, however, Jane Keith's children would have been described as Quadroon. 

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