The Mystery of the Mysterious Grandmother

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope estate lists four individuals with a mother called Binah or Bina: Beck (f) (b. 1770), Harry (b. 1773), Jenny (b. 1781) and Lucretia (b. 1783). Binah was also listed in her own right, estimated to be 75 years old (b. 1742), and described as creole (born in Jamaica). The 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', the only one to include dates, recorded the death of a woman called Jenny at the age of 45 (d. 1st of June 1819). This may have been Binah's daughter, but it's impossible to be certain. Binah's own death at the age of 78 was recorded in the 1823 return. For possible children for Binah's daughters, see ' Three women called Beck on Good Hope ', ' Four women called Jenny on Good Hope ' and ' Cretia and Lucretia of Good Hope '. 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

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope estate lists six individuals whose mother was called Beck:  Ben (b. 1787), Tamar (f) (b. 1793), Northside (m) (b. 1794), Yorkshire (m) (b. 1795), Diana (1798-1822) and Castena (b. 1803). In 1817, when he was 30 years old, Ben was described as 'little', to distinguish him from other men of the same name. The oldest Beck was born in 1765 in Africa, and would have been about 22 when Ben was born. By the time Castena was born, she would have been about 38, so she could have been the mother of all six. The next oldest Beck was born in Jamaica in 1770 and her mother was Binah (see ' Binah of Good Hope '). This Beck would have been 17 when Ben was born and 33 when Castena was, so she could also have been the mother of any of these children. The third woman called Beck was born in about 1778 in Africa and died on Good Hope estate in 1823, at the age of about 45. She could only have given birth to Castena, at the age of 15. 

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope estate lists fie individuals with a mother called Diana:  Bob (b. 1797), Edward (b. 1800), Allick (b. 1805), William (b. 1809) and Cuffee (b. 1811). There were four women called Diana on the estate: 1. The first Diana was born in 1762 in Africa. She would have been 35 when Bob was born and 49 when Cuffee was.  2. The second Diana was born in Africa in 1774 and died on Good Hope in 1832, at the age of about 58. She would have been 23 when Bob was born and 37 when Cuffee was.  3. The third Diana was born in Africa in about 1779 and died on Good Hope in 1823. She would have been 18 when Bob was born and 33 when Cuffee was. 4. The youngest Diana was born on Good Hope in 1798 and died there in 1822, at the age of about 24. Her family tree is discussed in a post called ' Three women called Beck on Good Hope '. Although this Diana could not have been the mother of Bob, Edward, Allick or William, she could possibly have given birth

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope plantation includes two women with a mother called Princess: City (b. 1765) and Norah (b. 1769). City's mother was named as O. Princess, which may be short for Old and, even if it isn't, the presence of the qualification implies that there was or had been another woman on the plantation with the same name.  However, the 1817 register lists only one woman called Princess, who was estimated to be 65 years old (b. 1752).  She is described as African (born in Africa).   The 1817 register also records that City had a son called Wiltshire (b. 1789). Princess's death was recorded in the 1823 return, when her age at death was estimated as 69.  More about Good Hope 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 t

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope plantation lists four children with a mother called Parthenia: Scipio (b. 1802), Obing aka Oben (b. 1804), Peggy (b. 1808) and Joe (b. 1813).  Parthenia was also listed in the 1817 register, where she was estimated to be 42 years old (b. 1775). Like her children, she was described as creole (born in Jamaica) and Negro (of entirely African heritage). More about Good Hope 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?

Six daughters are listed in the slave lists for John Tharp's Good Hope estate with a mother called Madam. They were: Nelly (b. 1802), Grace (b. 1807), Hagar (1810-1830), Diana (b. 1813), Rebecca (b. 11th of May 1818)* and Jenny (b. 1821). Madam was listed in the 1817 register as having been born in Africa in about 1778. Even allowing for imprecise age estimates, this makes her an unlikely mother for another individual whose mother was named as Madam: Napier (b. 1778). It is possible that there had been another woman called Madam on the estate who had died before the first list was drawn up in 1817. It may also be possible that Napier was the father of some or all of these children and that Madam is named not as his mother but as the matriarch of the family he belonged to. * The 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases' is the only one that provides dates. More about Good Hope More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope plantation lists two children with a mother called Lettice (from the Latin name Letitia): Mary Ann (b. 1809) and Cupid (b. 1813).  There was only one woman called Lettice on Good Hope. Her age was estimated as 49 (b. 1768) and her birthplace was given as Africa. The 1826 return of 'increases' and 'decreases' recorded her death at the age of 56. More about Good Hope 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 Good Hope plantation includes two individuals with a mother called Leah: Ned (b. 1793) and James (b. 1804).  The only woman of that name on the estate was born in Africa and her age was estimated as 47 (b. 1770). She would have been 23 when Ned was born and 34 when James was. More about Good Hope 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 Good Hope plantation lists two individuals with a mother called June: Liverpool aka Sampson (b. 1778) and Tweed (b. 1808). In addition, the mother of Barrington (b. 1796) was named as Jane (or June).  There was one woman called June in the 1817 register. She was estimated to be 53 years old (b. 1764) and was described as African (born in Africa). No other women called June are listed, and although there were ten women called Jane, they were all younger than Barrington. For this reason, it seems safe to assume that June was also his mother. Assuming that the age estimates are correct, June would have given birth to Liverpool when she was about 14, Barrington when she was about 32 and Tweed when she was about 44. What seem like long gaps between her sons may have been filled by other children who did not live long enough to be registered in 1817. It's also possible that she was older than her estimated age and that Liverpool/Sampson was yo

Two children on the Good Hope estate were listed as having a mother called Lavinia: Patience (b. 1814) and William Joseph (b. 1819). Lavinia was also listed, with her age estimated as 36 (b. 1781) and her birthplace given as Africa. In the 1832 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', the death of a woman called Lavinia who was born in Africa was noted, but at this point her age was estimated as 70, which would give a birth year of about 1762. There are two possible interpretations: first, that there were two women called Lavinia on the estate, but that the older one was omitted from the 1817 register; second, that both records referred to the same woman. If the second possibility is correct, Lavinia would have been 51 when she died in 1832. She would have lived a life of back-breaking labour, physical constraint and punishment, poor nutrition, limited access to healthcare and continued exposure to the full heat of the sun, all of which would have aged her prematurely.  T

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope estate lists three children with a mother called Lucinda: Patience (b. 1803), Venus (b. 1811) and Sarah (b. 1816). Later returns for the estate add Dorking (m) (b. 28th of May 1819)* and Harry (b. 1824). Lucinda's age was estimated as 34 (b. 1783), and her mother's name was given as Juliet. Juliet was also listed in the 1817 register. Her age was estimated as 60 (b. 1757) and she was described as creole (born in Jamaica). Going down a generation, Lucinda's Patience gave birth to another Juliet who was born and died in 1832 and may have been  named after her great-grandmother . This Juliet was at least the fifth enslaved generation of her family. * Dorking's birth was recorded in the 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', which is the only one that gives dates. More about Good Hope More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be convincing? A note about

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope estate lists three children with a mother called Esther: Palmer (m) (b. 1800), Hannibal (b. 1809) and Olive (b. 1814).  The 1817 register also listed a 37-year-old woman called Esther (b. 1780), who was described as creole (born in Jamaica), though her mother was not named. The 1832 return of 'increases' and 'decreases' noted Palmer's death at the age of 31. More about Good Hope 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 Good Hope estate lists three children with a mother called Juba: Rachael (b. 1804), Friday (m) (b. 1810) and Ismina (b. 1815). The 1820 return, the only one that gives dates, adds Patrick (b. 28th of April 1819). The register also lists two women called Juba: 46-year-old Juba (b. 1785) 24-year-old Juba (b. 1793), whose mother was called Elsey (b. 1764 in Africa).  The younger Juba was only 11 when Rachael was born, but she could have had Friday at the age of 17. The older Juba was between 19 and 34 when these children were born, so she could have been the mother of all four. Friday's mother was named as 'Juba or Venus', which would have been a useful way of distinguishing between the two women at the time. The 1823 return recorded the birth and death, at the age of one, of Rachael's son, James Fraser, who was described as Mulatto. The 1826 return recorded the birth of Racheal's daughter Frances, who was described as Negro

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope estate lists four children with a mother called Eliza: Rutherford (b. 1803), Wallace (b. 1805), Lilly (b. 1809) and Celia (b. 1816). Although Eliza was quite a popular name, only one Eliza was listed who was old enough to be the mother of the first three children. She was estimated to be 36 years old (b. 1781) and described as African (born in Africa). Another Eliza was born in 1803 who would have been just about old enough to be Celia's mother, but she was described as Mulatto, indicating that her father was white, while Celia was described as Negro (of entirely African heritage). More about Good Hope 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 &

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Good Hope plantation lists two children with a mother called Duchess: Amasie (b. 1805) and Nimrod (b. 1807). It also lists Dutchess [sic], who was born in Africa and estimated to be 39 years old (b. 1778).  The 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', the only one that gives dates, records Nimrod's death at the age of eleven,  on the 8th of January 1818 . More about Good Hope 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?

Returns from John Tharp's Good Hope plantation list two children with a mother called Damsel: Scotland (m) (b. 1822) and Biney (f) (b. 1825). The 1817 slave register estimated Damsel's age as 13 (b. 1804) and described her as creole (born in Jamaica), but her mother's name was not provided.  More about Good Hope 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?

Returns from John Tharp's Good Hope estate list five children born to a mother called Lemon: Hamlet (b. 19th of June 1820),* London (m) (b. 1822), Harry (b. 1824), John Haddington (b. 1830) and Mary Williams (b. 1832). Since they were all born after 1817, their names were registered shortly after they were born, and it's not unusual that the children born later had last names -- as the abolition of slavery drew closer, the proportion of babies with two names increased. The 1817 slave register records that Lemon was born in about 1803 to a mother called Castile.  Castile isn't listed under that name, and she may have died by 1817, but not before giving birth to  another daughter, called Mary (b. 1811).   * Hamlet's birth was recorded in the 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', which is the only one that gives dates. More about Good Hope More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be convincing? A note abo

A woman whose age was estimated as 70 in 1817 (b. 1747) had been captured in Africa, transported to Jamaica and given the name Candice. She must have been on the Good Hope estate by about 1772, when she gave birth to a daughter called Hagar (1772-1830). Candice's age at death was estimated as 75 in the 1726 return, giving a death date in 1824. Three individuals were born to a mother called Hagar on the estate: Sally Jeffery (b. 1795), Farry (m) and Christmas (f) (1812-7th of February 1819).*  Sally Jeffery was described as Mulatto, indicating that her father was white. Sally Jeffery was named as the mother of four children: Mary (1816-1822), Elizabeth Gibbs (2nd of October 1819-1822),* William (b. 1822) and Lewis (b. 1826). Mary and Elizabeth were described as Quadroon, indicating that their father was white, while William and Lewis had a father of African heritage.  Elizabeth Gibb's birth was registered on the Potosi estate, but her death was recorded in the return for Good Ho

This is not so much a family tree as a selection of records which seem to be linked, but not in any coherent way. The slave lists from the Good Hope estate include nine individuals with a mother called Amelia or Amey: Sally (b. 1763) , whose mother was Amey George (1780-1829) , whose mother was Amelia Tom (b. 1783) , whose mother was Amelia Appia (b. 1786), whose mother was Amelia Rose (b. 1820) , whose mother was Amelia Amelia (b. 1824), who was described as Mulatto, and whose mother was Amey Eliza Partridge (b. 1829) , whose mother was Amelia John Partridge (b. 1829) , whose mother was Amelia Tom Tharp (b. 1831), who was described as Mulatto, and whose mother was Amelia Tharp The same lists include two women called Amelia and one called Amey. One (I'll call her Amelia A) was born in 1757 in Africa and the other (Amelia B) is included in the list above. Amey was also born in 1757 in Africa and died in 1824 in Jamaica.  Sally (b. 1763) had a mother called Amey.  The Amey who was bo