American Bess or Betty of Lansquinet

In the slave lists from John Tharp's Jamaican estates, every individual bar one is listed as either being African or creole (born in Jamaica). The only exception is a woman called American Bess, who was born in about 1746 and died on Lansquinet estate in about 1832. Although the British government abolished the slave trade from Africa in 1807, it was still legal to buy and sell enslaved people within and between established slave colonies.

American Bess was not included in the 1817 slave register by that name or with that birth country, though she appears to have been in Jamaica by that date, since American Betty was listed as the mother of a woman called Dolly (b. 1786), who was described as creole and who also lived on the Lansquinet estate. It is too much of a coincidence that two individuals on this plantation who were born in America (the only two on all ten of John Tharp's plantations) would have such similar names.

The identity of American Bess is unclear. She probably was included in the 1817 register, but may have been one of 'Five women called Bess on Lansquinet', and if that is the case, Dolly belonged to one of several family trees which are difficult to untangle. If she was more usually known as American Betty, which was the name recorded for Dolly's mother, she could instead have been 'Betty of Lansquinet', which would mean that Dolly was one of four sisters.

Going down a generation, Dolly was given as the mother's name for five or possibly six children: George Lowe (b. 1808, and described as Mulatto), Jenny (b. 1811), Peggy (b. 1815), Eliza Cook (b. 19th of January 1818),* Deck (b. 1822), Dick (1822-1823) and John Lyon (b. 1826). Deck's birth was recorded, but not Dick's, who is documented only in the record of his death, suggesting that they may have been the same boy.

Possible (but unlikely) children for Eliza Cook are discussed in 'A muddle of Elizabeths on Lansquinet'.



Peggy may have had a daughter called Margin (1831-1832), whose mother was designated as Peggy Wilson to distinguish her from two other women called Peggy on the same estate: Peggy (b. 1802, see 'Mimba of Lansquinet') and Peggy (b. 1811, see 'Marote of Lansquinet'). Unfortunately, the last name wasn't used when the women were listed in their own right, so it isn't possible on the basis of this evidence to determine which one was Margin's mother.


* Eliza Cook's birth was recorded in the 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', which is the only one that gives dates.


More about Lansquinet

More about sources






Why have I posted this family tree?     

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bessy of Lansquinet

Image
The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Lansquinet plantation includes three individuals with a mother named Bessy: Quashiba (1791-1825), Damsel (b. 1799) and Isaac (b. 1803). The 1826 return records the birth and death of Phama Neilson (f), whose mother was also called Bessy. Four women called Bessy were listed as being on Lansquinet in 1817: 1. Bessy Cook (b. 1744) (see ' Bessy Cook of Lansquinet ') 2. Bessy (b. 1764) 3. Bessy Smart (b. 1789), who was described as  Mulatto and whose mother's name was Phillis (see ' Three women called Phillis on Lansquinet ' )  4. Bessy (b. 1800), whose mother was Rosalinda. Because of her age, this Bessy  could only have been the mother of Phama Neilson. Since none of other other women could have been (the first two were too old and Bessy Smart could not have had a daughter described as Negro), Phama is included in the family tree in ' Rosalinda of Lansquinet '. Assuming the age estimates are accurate, Bessy Cook woul
Read more

Memorial and index to the family trees of people enslaved on John Tharp's estates in Jamaica

How to find what you're looking for, and what it means when you've found it To avoid endless scrolling, use ctrl-s to search  Abba 1788-1821 Covey Abba b. 1801 Covey Abba b. 1808 Chippenham Park Pen. d. of Beneba b. 1777, who was b. in Africa Abbreba b. 1770 Covey Abel b. 1799 Covey Abraham or Henry Philips, b. 1783 Covey Abraham b. 1795 Covey Abraham b. 1811 Chippenham Park Pen   Abram see Abraham Adam 1750-1826  Chippenham Park Pen . b. in Africa  Adam b. 1775 Covey Adam b. 1776  Chippenham Park Pen . b. in Africa Adam b. 1805 Covey Adam Reid b. 1814 Covey Adam b. 1815 Chippenham Park Pen Affen b. 17 Aug. 1817 Top Hill Pen Agnes 1769-1826 Covey Agnes 1771-24th Feb 1820  Chippenham Park Pen . b. in Africa Agnes b. 1805 Covey Agnes 1808-1832 Chippenham Park Pen   Alex b. 1768  Chippenham Park Pen . b. in Africa Alex Campbell b. 1818 Covey Alexander Williams b. 1785 Covey Alexander Shackleton or Natty b. 1786 Covey Alexander McFarlane or Allick 1794-1832 Covey. s. of Maria n.d.
Read more

Introducing the Mysterious Grandmother

Image
She was actually my mum's grandmother, and her name was Christine Cambridge. The mystery is that she never knew who her parents were. Naturally, she told stories, but her grandchildren took them with a pinch of salt.  The problem was that Christine wasn't particularly nice. When her husband died, she made her children promise they wouldn't get married and leave her. When they inevitably did, they had to make it up to her by giving her money every week. None of them realised the others were too -- Christine was living in (relative) luxury while they were struggling to make ends meet.  To the end of her life, my Nanna used to keep tins and packets of food in her bedroom (which, ok, is weird). She started doing it when she came out of hospital after a serious operation and was recuperating upstairs. Her mother-in-law, Christine, would come round 'to help', and instead help herself to anything she fancied from the kitchen. The pattern in these stories is that Christine
Read more