The Mystery of the Mysterious Grandmother

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Lansquinet plantation includes two women called Beneba, both born in Jamaica and both estimated to be 63 years old (b. 1754). Four individuals are listed in the 1817 register and in updates to it with a mother called Beneba: Tom (1770-1832), Prince (b. 1784), Matilda (b. 1787) and Robert (b. 1792). If the age estimates are accurate, either woman called Beneba would have been 16 when Tom was born and 38 when Robert was. For possible children for Matilda, see ' Two women called Matilda on Lansquinet '. More about Lansquinet 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 Lansquinet estate includes thirteen individuals with a mother called Nancy: Sukey (b. 1769), Virgil (b. 1780), Hanover (b. 1791), Aberdeen (b. 1794),* Lucia (b. 1794), William (b. 1795), *  Andrew (b. 1801), *  Jane (b. 1801), * Ann (b. 1802),*  Sally (b. 1805), Patty (b. 1807), Milly (b. 1811) and Mary (b. 1814).  It also lists four individuals with a mother called Nanny: Ben (b. 1779), Billy (b. 1786), Castello (b. 1789) and Coomba (b. 1810). For reasons that may become clear below, it appears that the names Nanny and Nancy were not always kept distinct. The 1817 register lists four women called Nancy and four women called Nanny, which both originated as variants of the name Ann, and which are not always clearly distinct from one another written down. The facts are far from clear, but in the interests of what clarity I can achieve, I'm using letters to distinguish between the records. These letters were not used in the slave lists: - 7

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Lansquinet plantation lists three children with a mother called Lucia: Kitty (b. 1808), Hamlet (b. 1810) and Caesar (b. 1815). The 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', the only one that provides dates, add Pompey (b. 31st of December 1817). The register listed two women called Lucia, both described as creole (born in Jamaica): - 30-year-old Lucia (b. 1787), who would have been between 18 and 30 when these children were born and could therefore have been the mother of any or all of them. - 23-year-old Lucia (b. 1794), the daughter of Nancy, who would have been between 14 and 23 when these children were born, and could also have given birth to any or all of them, but is more likely to have given birth to Caesar and Pompey than to the older ones. See ' A confusion of women called Nancy and Nanny on Lansquinet ' for her mother's family. More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this

The 1832 slave list from John Tharp's Lansquinet estate notes the birth of Frances Lyon three years earlier. Frances's mother's name was noted as Mary Halkin, and this illustrates several of the challenges of using the slave lists for genealogical research. 1. Some names, like Mary, were very frequently used 2. Last names didn't yet function as we might assume Not everybody had one Even where parents had them, they didn't necessarily pass on the same last name to their children Children of the same mother didn't necessarily share the same last name Some individuals adopted last names later in life Some individuals used more than one last name  In some contexts last names were used to distinguish between two individuals with the same first name (e.g. Sam, the son of Mary is distinguished from Sam, the son of June. This tells us which Sam is meant, but not which Mary or June, though this would have been obvious to people who knew them) 3. How names were recorded i

Returns from John Tharp's Lansquinet plantation from 1826 and 1832 record the births of four children with a mother called Kitty: 1. John (b. 1825), who was described as Mulatto. His mother was named as Kitty Smith. 2. Joseph (1831-1832) , who was also described as Mulatto and was also the son of Kitty Smith. 3. Mary Downer (1829-1832). She was described as Negro and her mother was named only as Kitty. 4. Amelia Brown (b. 1830). Her mother was named as Kitty Brown, and she was also described as Negro. There were three women on the estate called Kitty whose ages make them possible mothers: A. Kitty (b. 1808), who was the daughter of Lucia (see ' Two women called Lucia on Lansquinet '). She would have been between 17 and 23 when these children were born. B. Kitty (b. 1810), who was the daughter of Rosanna (see ' Rosanna of Lansquinet '). She would have been between 15 and 21 when the children were born. C. Christmas aka Kitty (b. 1811), who was the daughter of Hagar (

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Lansquinet plantation listed four children with a mother called Hagar: Amonetta (b. 1808), Christmas aka Kitty (b. 1811), Susannah (b. 1814) and Jackey (b. 1817). The 1826 return of 'increases' and 'decreases' recorded the addition of Saric (f) (b. 1824). Hagar was estimated to be 38 when the 1817 register was compiled (b. 1779). She was described as creole (born in Jamaica) and Negro (of entirely African ancestry). Possible children for Christmas/Kitty are discussed in ' Three women called Kitty on Lansquinet '. 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 Lansquinet plantation lists a one-year-old called Charlotte (b. 1816), whose mother was called Tamar. Charlotte was described as Mulatto. The register also records that Tamar was eighteen years old, and although she was described as creole (born in Jamaica), her own mother wasn't named. An unofficial list of children born on the estate between 1795 and the 1st of June 1803 survives among John Tharp's papers in the Cambridgeshire County Archives in Ely, and this includes a girl called Tamar. It therefore seems likely that she was born on the plantation.  The 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', which is the only one that gives dates, notes the birth of Tamar's son,  William (b. 30th of July 1819). William was also described as Mulatto. The next return was in 1823, and it recorded the birth of another daughter, Quashiba (b. 1822), who was also described as  Mulatto .  The 1823 return also records William'

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Lansquinet estate includes a woman called Ruthy (b. 1778) and two children with a mother of that name: Eleanor (b. 1806) and John Thomas (b. 1815). The 1820 update adds another son, called Davey (b. 30th of April 1818),* and the 1823 update notes the death of Ruthy's son Davy, at the age of two and a half. There are two possible explanations. First, Ruthy lost Davey in 1820 or 1821 and his death wasn't recorded. She named her next son after him (whose birth also wasn't recorded). That second Davey died in 1823. Second, the Davy whose death was recorded in the 1823 update is the Davey whose birth was recorded in 1820. For the estimated ages to match, he must have died shortly after the 1820 list was compiled. This is the simplest explanation and it's supported by the fact that his is only the second death in the list for males. Presumably, the deaths were noted as they occurred and are therefore in chronological order. This ex

The slave lists for John Tharp's Lansquinet estate include three children whose mother's name was Polly: W. Guy Leard (m) (b. 19th of November 1819),* Fanny (b. 1822) and Tom Brown (b. 1825). It also lists a woman called Polly, who was estimated to be 25 years old (b. 1792). Polly, Fanny and Tom Brown were all listed of being of wholly African heritage, but W. Guy Leard was described as  Sambo , suggesting that his father was of mixed African/white ancestry. * W. Guy Leard'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 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 updat

The 1817 slave list for John Tharp's Lansquinet estate includes three generations of the same family. The youngest was a six-year-old boy called Scotland, whose mother's name was given as Candace. Candace's age was estimated as 38, and her mother's name appeared to be Plass. Any doubts were eliminated by the inclusion of Plass in her own right between Phoebe and Polly (in a reasonably well alphabetised list). Plass was estimated to be 58 years old, and like her daughter and grandson, she was described as creole (born in Jamaica). Plass was also named as the mother of Parthenia, who was about 27 years of age. I've found no evidence that Parthenia had children. More about Lansquinet 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 occ

The 1823, 1826 and 1832 returns for John Tharp's Lansquinet estate between them include four children with a mother called Patience: Peggy (b. 1821), Phillicina (b. 1823), Alexander Murray (b. 1826) and Thomas (b. 1829).  Peggy and Phillicina were described as  Sambo, indicating that one parent was of mixed African and European heritage and the other wholly African. Patience was listed in the 1817 slave register, where her age was estimated as 17 (b. 1800) and her place of birth given as Jamaica. She was described as Negro, and this  probably indicates that it was Peggy and Phillicina's paternal grandfather who was white. This isn't the earliest record for Patience. She was also included in a list of children born on the estate between 1795 and 1803 which is preserved among the Tharp family papers in Cambridgeshire County Archives. Unfortunately, neither that list nor the 1817 register gives the name of her mother. More about Lansquinet More about sources What are the limit

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Lansquinet estate includes two boys whose mother's name was Pastora: Prince (b. 1814) and Scipio (b. 1817). Pastora was also listed among the enslaved women on the estate, with her age estimated as 27 (b. 1790). She was described as creole (born in Jamaica) and Negro (of entirely African ancestry). Subsequent updates charted the 'increases' and 'decreases' in this family. The birth of Pastora's daughter, Phillis, was noted in the 1820 return, which gave her birth date as the 15th of July 1819.* The 1823 return noted not only the death of Scipio (aged about 5), but also the birth and death of a daughter called Hannah. The 1826 return recorded the birth of another son, Levant, who was estimated to be two years old when the list was compiled. * The 1820 return is the only one that gives dates. More about Lansquinet More about sources What are the limitations of the evidence? Isn't this too neat to be convincing? A no

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Lansquinet estate includes two children whose mother's name was given as Moll. They were Tryall [1] aka Richard (b. 1811) and Grace (b. 1814). The register also lists one woman called Moll, who was born in about 1788. Subsequent updates present a sad story for this little family. Tryall's death was recorded on the 4th of March 1820 [2] and Grace's in 1826, when their ages were estimated as 8 and 9. [1] There is now a holiday resort called Tryall in Montego Bay in Jamaica, so this may have been a placename used as a personal name. More common examples include London, Liverpool and Scotland. [2] Tryall's death was included in the 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases', which is the only one that records dates. More about Lansquinet 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

The 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Lansquinet estate includes four individuals with a mother called Maria: Daphne (b. 1776), Oliver (b. 1776), Bannister (b. 1777) and Celia (b. 1788). Maria had been born in Jamaica in 1759, but her mother's name wasn't noted, presumably because she was no longer alive. Maria's  own death was recorded in the 1832 return, where her age was estimated as 70 (d. 1829). Going down another generation, Celia's son Henry Hodgson (b. 1810) was described as  Mulatto . The death of a woman called Daphnie was recorded in the 1820 return of 'increases' and 'decreases, the only one that gives dates. This Daphnie died on the 3rd of March 1819, and her age was estimated as 49, giving a birth year of about 1770, which is reasonably close to that of Maria's Daphne. However, the birth place of the Daphnie who died was given as Africa, which suggests that this was a different woman who had not been included in the 1817 register. It

The 1817 slave register and later returns for John Tharp's Lansquient plantation list three children with a mother called Kate: Amelia (b. 1806), Abby (b. 20th of July 1818)* and Abel (b. 1822). Kate was also listed in her own right in the 1817 register, which notes that she was born in Jamaica and was about 38 years old (b. 1779), making her 27 when Amelia was born and 43 when Abel was. Kate's mother's name was not noted. Given the twelve-year gap, there may have been other children born between Amelia and Abby who had died before the register was compiled. * Abby'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 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 fa

There are seven individuals in the 1817 slave register for John Tharp's Lansquinet estate whose mother's name is given as Jenny: Neptune (b. 1788), Africa (m) (1801-28th of July 1817),* Cato (1804-1821), Venus (b. 1807), Mimba (b. 1809), Sligo (b. 1810), Beneba (b. 1815) and Bean Green (b. 1817). Two women called Jenny were listed, both born in Jamaica of entirely African heritage, one in 1774 and one in 1777. Venus's mother was named as E. Jenny, where E usually stands for Ebo, indicating that she was from the Igbo people of  Nigeria . Unless the places of birth of one of the other women is incorrect, there may have been a third woman called Jenny who had died before the 1817 register was compiled. If the estimated ages are correct, Jenny (b. 1774) would have been 14 when Neptune was born and 43 when Bean Green was, so she could have given birth to any or all of these children. The younger Jenny would only have been 11 when Neptune was born, but she could have given birth

This is an unsatisfactory collection of evidence which doesn't quite coalesce into a coherent narrative. I'm providing it in case these are your ancestors and this is a useful supplement to information available to you from other sources. Three children on the Lansquinet estate had a mother called Jean: Isabella (b. 1811), Joseph (30th of September 1817-30th of June 1818)* and Walter (b. 1821). Isabella and Walter were described as  Mulatto , indicating that their father or fathers were white. Joseph was described as  Negro . The 1817 slave register for the Lansquinet estate does not list a woman called Jean, but there were various women called Jane, Joan and Jenny with whom her name could have become confused.  Isabella's mother was named more specifically as 'Jean B. Palmer', and if B. Palmer was an alternative first and last name, any woman with a first name beginning with B. could be an additional possible candidate as the mother of these children. When the inde