Keaty of Good Hope

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope plantation includes a woman called Keaty, who was born in Jamaica in about 1762. She was also named as the mother of six children on Good Hope: George R. Smith (1782-1823), Rabbe (m) (b. 1784), Nelly Grey (1785-1824), Prue (1786-1823), Quashie (m) (b. 1794) and Molly (b. 1801). 




Nelly Grey was described as Mulatto, and she appears to have had at least eight children in her turn, all of whom were described as Quadroon.[1]  For five of the children, the mother's name was given in full as Nelly Grey: Anne Cowie aka Helen (b. 1811), Sarah Cowie (b. 1814), Margaret Cowie (b. 1817), Elizabeth Cowie (b. 27th of April 1819)[2] and Allick (b. 1822).  Three more children were born to Nelly Mulatto: Mary Oldham (b. 1803), Catherine Oldham (b. 1805) and John Oldham (b. 1808). 

Nelly Grey was the only woman of that name on Good Hope who was described as Mulatto, so the two different surnames, in chronologically distinct periods, suggest two different fathers, both of whom were white.  

The 1808 Almanac for Jamaica lists William Oldham as a lieutenant in Trelawny’s Militia Regiment and G. Oldham as an ensign. The 1817 Almanac refers to William’s heirs, so he had died in the intervening period. John Cowie was listed as the owner of six slaves in Trelawny in the 1823 Almanac. In his will, probated on the 19th of February 1823, Ann Cowie, Sarah Cowie, Elizabeth Cowie and Alexander Cowie were all manumitted with ‘Four Negroes left to be put in their stead’. If these were the individuals of those names on Good Hope, their manumission wasn’t noted in later returns. 

There was another boy described as Quadroon on the Good Hope estate. The mother of George Oldham (1811-1826) was not named, but he may have been another of Nelly Grey's sons.[3] 

The 1820 return for John Tharp's Potosi estate records the death at the age of 3 of a girl called Margaret Lowe (d. 27th of December 1819), who was described as Quadroon. Her mother was named as Nelly Grey, though there was no woman of that name on Potosi estate. Margaret Lowe's age matches that of Nelly's daughter Margaret Cowie, and they may have been the same person, but I can't explain why she would have been moved to a different estate at such a young age.

Going down another generation, Mary Oldham, one of Nelly Grey's daughters, went on to have three children: William Edwards (b. 5th of May 1820), Elizabeth (b. 1824) and Margaret Smith (b. 1832). They were all described as Mustee, indicating that their father or fathers were white.

For a possible son for Prue, see 'Chance of Good Hope'.


[1] Two other children whose mother's name was Nelly are discussed in 'Three women called Nelly on Good Hope'. They were both described as Mulatto, and they could have been Nelly Grey's children with a father who was also of mixed heritage. Because Nelly Grey's full name is consistently given in other records, it seems likely that one of the other women called Nelly was their mother.

[2] The 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases' is the only one that provides dates.

[3] Another baby with a white father on the Good Hope estate was called Sarah Oldham (see 'Binah of Good Hope'). Sarah was described as Mulatto and her mother was Jenny. She is unlikely to have been George Oldham's mother because she was described as Negro and he as Quadroon, but this indicates that the white man called Oldham who fathered these children was not restricted in his access to any of the enslaved women on the estate. George Oldham's mother may have been a third woman.


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