{"id":3953,"date":"2023-10-09T08:30:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T08:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/?p=3953"},"modified":"2023-10-06T09:08:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T09:08:59","slug":"say-my-name-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/2023\/10\/09\/say-my-name-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Say My Name (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Friday we published a blog detailing the information from one document held at Dorset History Centre<\/a>. This blog will explore further the history of enslaved individuals in Jamaica and will show how research can be developed using online resources.<\/p>\n

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Extract from the Register of Slaves, 1817<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1817, two years after the sale of Mount Carmel, Jamaica finally complied with the 1815 Bill requiring the registration of slaves. This was an attempt to ensure that the 1807 Abolition of Slavery Act was adhered to. Using access to Ancestry.co.uk in the Family Search room at DHC the 1817, 1823 and 1829 returns for Mount Carmel plantation (originals at The National Archives, Kew) were viewed. On the 1817 return 14 of the enslaved individuals on the schedule (D-PIT\/T\/855<\/a>) cannot be identified. For the identified 101, the table below gives a breakdown of the information given in addition to name and age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nNumber<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Colour (ethnicity)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mulatto<\/p>\n

Negro<\/p>\n

Sambo<\/p>\n

Quadroon<\/td>\n

101<\/strong><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

89<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

African (1st<\/sup> generation enslaved)<\/td>\n41<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Creole (born in Jamaica)<\/td>\n60<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Remark (Mother\u2019s name)<\/td>\n51<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Subsequent Returns of Slaves for Mount Carmel, 1823 and 1829, only listed changes to the original registration, but from this we learn of 11 deaths. In all but one the cause of death was given and for Lavinia\u2019s death, 29 January 1823, an inquest was held with the verdict \u201cdied by the visitation of God<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Extract from the Return of Slaves, 1823<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1819 Edmund Pope, Rector of the parish of Westmoreland, Jamaica, undertook a mass baptism of \u201cslaves belonging to Mount Carmel\u201d. Of the 101 individuals 38 were male and 63 female \u2013 very much what would be expected from the 1817 return. However, only 8 could be conclusively and 22 possibly linked to the schedule. Even this was only possible because this was one of the rare occasions that the Rector recorded the ages, rather than just the baptismal names, which were most likely not the names the individuals had been recorded with previously. Researchers acknowledge that it is difficult to know if a recorded name was the enslaved person’s chosen name, one imposed by their owners or how a baptismal name was selected. To date no other mention of any of these individuals has been identified within the church registers for Westmoreland, with no marriages or burials of enslaved people appearing to be recorded in the church registers (which can be viewed on Family Search).<\/p>\n

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Extract from the church register, Westmoreland, 1819<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The following case study was created by combining all the information found.<\/p>\n

Polly BRODIE was a \u2018Mulatto\u2019 born about 1770 in Jamaica. She worked as midwife and was of very good character, but in 1815 her condition was weakly. The 1823 Return of Slaves recorded that Polly died of old age on\u00a023 October 1822. Polly had at least five children all born in Jamaica:<\/p>\n