The Mystery of the Mysterious Grandmother

I've talked elsewhere about the Lunacy Commission into Johnny Tharp's sad case. Its judgement confined him to a private asylum for the rest of his life.  Responsibility for Johnny's fortune continued to be split into two parts after he was declared a lunatic. The Jamaican plantations stayed under the control of the two trustees appointed by John Tharp in his will. In theory, those trustees would run the plantations for maximum profit and pay that profit over to the English trustees.  There were three main problems with the continuation of what had been intended as a fixed-term arrangement. The first was that accounting was done on an annual basis, and this meant that every year's profits were transferred to the English trustees, making it necessary to borrow money for the next year's crop . As a result, the plantations became increasingly indebted with every year that passed. Second, as the trustees died and were replaced, they became less interested in running th

You may remember that after he was forced into the marriage with Lady Hannah Hay, Johnny Tharp was trapped   between the competing schemes of his wife and mother (Lady Susan) and ended up suffering a mental breakdown. His uncle rescued him from his in-laws in Scotland and took him back to Lady Susan. She   was so relived to have him back that she pressured him into signing a bond for £2000 ( about £1.8m today, relative to average wages ) to cover the cost of his care. In January 1816, Lady Hannah requested an enquiry into her husband’s mental health by the Court of Chancery. Her doctors reported that he ‘was then a lunatic … and that he had been in the same state of lunacy from the 9th day of July last’.* If he'd been insane eight days earlier, their marriage would have been invalid, so the timing was crucial. John Scott, Lord Eldon by William Owen Source:  Wikipedia Lord Eldon, the Lord Chancellor (shown here), confirmed that Johnny was now insane, though he'd been sane when h

 Well, no, but it might as well have been. John Tharp left the bulk of his fortune to the son of his oldest (and deceased) son. The heir, who was also called John Tharp, was only ten years old, so the money was held in trust and the estates managed by trustees. In the meantime, his uncle, called (can you guess?) John Tharp, was allowed to live at Chippenham Park and wallow in  the conviction that it should all have been his. There is more to tell about Uncle John, but  for now, let's look at the other side of Johnny 's family. John Murray by Joshua Reynolds Source: Wikimedia Johnny's mother was Lady Susan Murray, and her father,  John Murray, was the 4th Earl of Dunmore . Murray's father had been convicted of high treason for supporting Bonny Prince Charlie's claim to the throne, but he'd been pardoned after promising never to do it again.  Dunmore got his own back for the indignity when he was appointed Governor of New York and Virginia. Using his considerabl

  The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Chippenham Park Pen lists two individuals with a mother called Susie: Phillis (b. 1799)* and Christmas (f) (b. 1807). Susie's age was estimated as 42 (b. 1779) and her birthplace given as Africa. The 1823 return records the birth of Stepney (m) and Susie's death, both apparently in that year. The next return, from 1826, notes that Christmas had given birth to London (m) who was, by that time, 8 months old. * Cambridgeshire County Archives hold a list of children on the estate. Their catalogue dates it to 1795/1803, but comparison with the 1817 register suggests it was compiled in around 1803. It includes a one-year-old called Phillis who may have been Susie's daughter, since all age estimates were approximate. More about Chippenham Park Pen More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be convincing? A note about the identity of fathers A note about the ages of mothers A note about desc

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Chippenham Park Pen lists four individuals with a mother called Sidney: Eliza (b. 1799), Cuffee (m) (b. 1801), Quaco (m) (b. 1808) and Hannah (b. 1811). Sidney's age was estimated as 31 (b. 1786), and her place of birth was recorded as Africa. If this was accurate, she had Eliza at the age of 13, when she was already in Jamaica. Although that's not impossible, it would be unusually young. The 1826 return records Hannah's death at the age of 15 and the 1832 return record's Sidney's death at the age of 50. This pushes her birth back to 1776-1782, making her between 17 and 23 when Eliza was born. The dates given for her in the family tree are arbitrary, in that I could have selected any fifty-year period between 1776 and 1832. More about Chippenham Park Pen More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be convincing? A note about the identity of fathers A note about the ages of mothe

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Chippenham Park Pen listed three girls with a mother called Rose: Jenny* (b. 1801), Dorinda (b. 1805) and Lucretia (b. 1812).  Rose was also listed, with her age estimated as 38 (b. 1779) and her place of birth given as Africa. Going down a generation, the 1823 return of 'increases' and 'decreases' recorded the births of one-year-old William, whose mother was Dorinda, and two-month-old Hercules, whose mother was Jenny. The 1826 return recorded the birth of a brother for William in the sixth-month-old Manuel (b. 1826). The 1832 return notes the birth of Lucretia's daughter Signey, and her death at the age of one. Since no dates were given, she could have lived her short life at any point since the previous return of 1826, so 1826/31-1827/32 would be a more accurate, but potentially more confusing, representation of her dates. * This may not be the earliest record for Jenny. A list of children on Chippenham Park Pen survive

The 1817 slave register for Chippenham Park Pen lists three girls with a mother called Polly: Sue [1] (b. 1803), Nancy (b. 1806) and Jane Wallace (b. 1812).  Polly was also listed in the register, where her age was estimated as 41 and her birthplace given as Africa. Later returns of 'increases' and 'decreases' record that Polly died at the age of 50 and Sue at the age of 23, both in 1826. In 1832, Jane Wallace was 'killed by accident' at the age of 20. Going down a generation, Sue was listed as the mother's name for three children: Bessy (b. 1821), Peter (b. 1825) and Sam, [2]  who was born and died in 1826.  [1]  An earlier record survives for Sue, who was included on a list of children on Chippenham Park Pen which is preserved among the Tharp family papers in Cambridgeshire County Archives. Their catalogue dates the list to 1795/1803, but comparison with the 1817 register suggests that it was compiled in 1803.  [2]  Sam's birth and death are listed as

  The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Chippenham Park Pen listed three children with a mother called Molly: Charles* (b. 1800), Rebecca* (b. 1803) and Cupid (b. 1817). Molly was also listed, with her age estimated as 41 (b. 1776), and her birthplace given as Africa. Later returns of 'increases' and 'decreases' on Chippenham Park Pen record that Rebecca  had three sons: John (b. 1823), Thomas (b. 1825) and another John (b. 1826). It is possible that the older John died before the younger one was given his name, although his death wasn't recorded.   Charles and Cupid may also have had children, but only the maternal lines were documented.  * A list of children on Chippenham Park Pen survives among the Tharp family papers in Cambridgeshire County Archives. Their catalogue dates it to 1795/1803, but comparison with the 1817 register suggests it was compiled in 1803. It includes a boy called Charly [sic] and a baby girl called Rebecca. More about Chippenham Park

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Chippenham Park Pen includes two boys with a mother called Luna. Anthony* was sixteen (b. 1801) and Bowman six (b. 1811). The 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases' records the birth of Luna's daughter Lucia on the 13th of December 1819. Luna's age was estimated as 49 in the 1817 register (b. 1768), and her birthplace was given as Africa. * This isn't the earliest record for Anthony, who was included on a list of children on Chippenham Park Pen which is preserved among the Tharp family papers in Cambridgeshire County Archives. Their catalogue dates the list to 1795/1803, but comparison with the 1817 register suggests that it was compiled in 1803. More about Chippenham Park Pen More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be convincing? A note about the identity of fathers A note about the ages of mothers A note about descriptions of colour A note on language and tone

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Chippenham Park estate listed three children with a mother called Lucia: Billy (b. 1800),* Polly (b. 1808) and Adam (b. 1815).  The register also listed Lucia, estimating her age as 40 (b. 1777), and giving her birth place as Africa. The 1820 return from Chippenham Park recorded the birth of another daughter for Lucia, called Lucy (b. 19th Sept 1817). The 1823 return noted the death of a son called Dick at the age of one. * This isn't the earliest record for Billy, who was included on a list of children on Chippenham Park Pen which survives among the Tharp family papers in Cambridgeshire County Archives. They date the list to 1795/1803, but comparison with the 1817 register indicates that it was compiled in 1803.  More about Chippenham Park Pen More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be convincing? A note about the identity of fathers A note about the ages of mothers A note about descriptio

The 1823 return of 'increases' and 'decreases' on John Tharp's Chippenham Park Pen records the birth of a girl called Mary (b. 1822) to a mother called Hardtimes. The 1826 return records Mary's death at the age of two, and the births of James (b. 1825) and Juliet (b. 1826). Hardtimes is listed in the 1817 slave register, where her age was estimated as 11 (b. 1806), making her 16 when Mary was born. Hardtime's mother was named as Kitty. Kitty was also included in the 1817 register, where age was estimated as 40 (b. 1777), and her birthplace was given as Africa. More about Chippenham Park Pen More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be convincing? A note about the identity of fathers A note about the ages of mothers A note about descriptions of colour A note on language and tone Why have I posted this family tree?          Want occasional email updates on John Tharp & his family? Want daily updates with family

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Chippenham Park Pen lists two children with a mother called Fanny: Rochester (b. 1803) and Moll (b. 1807). Later returns of 'increases' and 'decreases' add Roger (b. 4th Apr 1820) and Isaac (b. 1823).  The 1817 register includes a woman called Fanny who had been born in Africa in about 1781.  Another Fanny is included as a one-year-old in a list of children on Chippenham Park Pen which survives among the Tharp family papers in Cambridgeshire County Archives. It is dated in their catalogue to 1795/1803, but comparison with the 1817 register suggests that it was compiled in 1803. The younger Fanny was too young to be the mother of Rochester or Moll. Unless she was recorded under a different name, she is not listed in the 1817 register, suggesting that she had died before it was compiled. The older Fanny would have been between the ages of 22 and 42 when these children were born and could have been the mother of all four. This i

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Chippenham Park Pen listed six children with a mother called Diana: Prince (b. 1801)*, Princess (1805-1823), Isabella (b. 1807), William (b. 1810) and Sarah (b. 1817). The 1823 return of 'increases' and 'decreases' added a new child to this family: Jonny (b. 1822).  The register also included Diana, whose age was estimated as 38 (b. 1779). Diana was described as African (born in Africa). The 1823 return noted Princess's death at the age of 15. The 1832 return noted the birth of Diana's first grandchild, Patrick, in 1830. His mother was Isabella. When George was born in 1831, his mother's name was given as Sarah Mckenzie. Diana's daughter was the only Sarah listed on Chippenham Park Pen in the slave registers for this period, and it had a very small population, so I've assumed that George was also Diana's grandson. * This isn't the earliest record for Prince. He was also included in a list of childr

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Chippenham Park Pen lists two little girls whose mother was called Cynthia: 10-year-old Catalina (b. 1807) and nine-year-old Minerva (b. 1808). Cynthia's age was estimated as 43 (b. 1774), and her birthplace was given as Africa. More about Chippenham Park Pen More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be convincing? A note about the identity of fathers A note about the ages of mothers A note about descriptions of colour A note on language and tone Why have I posted this family tree?          Want occasional email updates on John Tharp & his family? Want daily updates with family trees of the people he enslaved?

  The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Chippenham Park Pen lists two children with a mother called Catalina: ten-year-old Henry (b. 1807) and  seven-year-old Maria (b. 1810).  Catalina's age was estimated as 37 (b. 1807), and her birthplace was recorded as Africa. She would have been 20 when she gave birth to Henry in Jamaica. The 1826 return of 'increases' and 'decreases notes the birth of a boy called William, who was 8 months old by the time the return was compiled. His mother was Maria, who was 16 years old when he was born. More about Chippenham Park Pen More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be convincing? A note about the identity of fathers A note about the ages of mothers A note about descriptions of colour A note on language and tone Why have I posted this family tree?