Jamaica, West Indies Family Genealogy SCOTTISH JAMAICA TESTAMENTS By David Dobson The Scottish connection with Jamaica dates from 1656 when Oliver Cromwell banished 1200 Scots prisoners-of-war to the recently acquired English colony there. Subsequently the island attracted a growing number of Scottish immigrants who generally arrived as indentured servants. At the same time the government in Scotland was exiling criminals and Covenanters to Jamaica. The last group of Scots to arrive in Jamaica during the seventeenth century, comprised a number of refugees from the failed colony at Darien. Jamaica seems to have had a special attraction for Scots, as an observer in 1763 reckoned that one-third of the white population there were Scots or of Scottish origin. Little evidence survives to identify the majority of these Scottish emigrants – however, amongst the documents in the Island Record Office in Kingston, are a number of testaments which seem to be those of early Scottish settlers. Regrettably, in the majority of cases the documents contain little or no reference to Scotland, and only refer to friends and relatives in Jamaica. An exception is the testament of John Macfarline, which identifies him as the son of John Macfarline at the Water of Leven, Lennox, Scotland. It also contains reference to his wife, Alice, and their son, John; his sister Eleanor, the wife of Thomas Anderson, carpenter near the Water of Leven; John Cross, a planter in St.Ann’s parish, Jamaica; James Gray; and his executors, William Watson from Aberdeen, a merchant in Port Royal, Jamaica, and Joseph Norris, also there; subscribed on 13th September 1689 and witnessed by John Birch, John Chalkhill and Edward Dendy. Probate given 13th January 1690, Jamaica. The undernoted list of testaments probated in seventeenth century Jamaica is believed to be those of early Scottish immigrants to the colony: Blair, James, merchant, Vere 25.4.1677 Burnside, Andrew, victualler, Port Royal 21.4.1676 Callendar, George, (New England?) 17.5.1694 Campbell, Duncan, gentleman, St.Thomas July 1693 Campbell, John, Port Royal 12.9.1692 Dempster, Edward, sea-captain 2.6.1669 Dunbar, Alexander, St.Elizabeth 30.1.1679 Dunkin, Hector, St.Thomas 30.8.1684 Elliot, John, Port Royal 16.5.1671 Fargar, Thomas, St.David 3.1.1694 Frissell, William 25.6.1677 Gourdon, George, St.John 16.7.1685 Guilchrist, William, St.Andrew 10.12.1677 Innes, John, merchant, Port Royal 16.9.1692 Kathro, Samuel, shipmaster, Port Royal 4.9.1690 McCloude, Mackam 4.2.1681 Macfarline, John 16.1.1690 Mackeath, Mungo, St.Thomas 20.5.1669 Maxwell, John, cleric, Port Royal 17.11.1673 Munroe, William, cordiner, Port Royal 1.12.1697 Murray, Lewis, planter, St.Thomas 9.10.1692 Murray, William, mariner, ship Josiah 14.10.1693 Patterson, John, St.Andrew 3.10.1692 Patton, Andrew, St.Andrew 28.4.1685 Reid, William 26.5.1675 Robertson, Robert, surgeon, ship Lyon 24.5.1692 Ross, William, cooper, Port Royal 7.1.1694 Rutherford, John, gentleman, Port Royal 18.10.1692 Scott, Robert 25.1.1685 Scott, Thomas, St.Elizabeth 12.8.1684 Scott, Thomas, surgeon, Port Royal 25.4.1695 Simpson, George, St.Andrew 13.9.1693 Sinclair, Edward (ex-Barbados) 25.11.1682 Skeen, Andrew, Clarendon 15.11.1692 Smart, Robert, Vere 17.9.1694 Stewart, Adam, planter, St.David 11.11.1696 Swinton, John, joiner, Port Royal 26.2.1678 Watson, James, Port Royal 25.5.1669 This article first appeared in The Scottish Genealogist, March 1988, vol.XXXV No.1, ISSN 0300-337X . UnlikeUnlike · . Seen by 30 You like this. .. Rudolph Murray Priceless. I am interested in Murrays, McLean and Forbes. Just now · Unlike ·
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 13:44:26 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015