A Genealogy Hunt

29 January 2010

Afternoon,

Well sometimes in the search there is always a tip of an iceberg that just may stick its summit out of the reams and reams of papers. The next document from the Grenada Register of Records, in Item 5, may be just one of those tips.

The document dated 17 April 1807 and entered 1 December 1807 presents two, albeit three, hints that there may be some connection. The hints are the name “James Smith” and his written occupation, which I believe is “Mill Carpenter”. I do know that my ggg-grandfather James Smith was a Carpenter but from the information I have and from the communications I have received he lived in the Parish of St. George. The James Smith of the 1807 document is of the Parish of St. Andrew. The location is not a major issue as there are only six Parishes comprising the Island of Grenada and the Parish of St. Andrew borders the Parish of St. George. It is only about 12.7 miles or 20.4 kilometers from St. George’s in St. George to Grenville in St. Andrew. (According to Bing Maps the trip today should take about 22 minutes.)

So is this James Smith the ggg-grandfather James Smith, I’m looking for?

He could not be either of the two Jameses, (I'm sorry I do not know the plural of my name), named in Part 178s, as one appears to have been living in Logie, Scotland and his son, the other one, had passed away sometime prior to 26 December 1797 or 14 years earlier. But without any other clues, the search continues.

And as far as I can see from this document there is no indication of a familial connection to George Smith who is included in the writing.

Here are the two pages; 416 and 417 from the Grenada Register of Records from the microfilm FHL [1563328], 1797 to 1817 (v. G2-R2).

My attempted transcription of the document including the notation in the margin:

416
Entd 1st December 1807
Grenada Know all Men by these Presents that I
James Smith of the Parish of Saint Andrew Mill? Carpenter
for divers good Causes and Considerations me? hereunto moving
Have manumitted, enfranchised and forever made free my
Mulatto Slave named Daniel McLeod purchased by me from
James Drysdal as Attorney of Mrs Hutton as (Bill of Sale dated
the Seventeenth April 1807 and by these Presents do manumit
enfranchise and forever set free and discharged from all and all
Manner of Servitude Bondage and Slavery the said Mulatto Slave
Daniel McLeod so that he may from henceforth be to all
Intents and Purposes as free as if he had not been born in
a State of Slavery or Servitude And I the said James Smith
do hereby for myself my Heirs Executors Administrators or

417
Aʃsigns acknowledge I declare that I and all Persons claiming
or do claim by from or under me them or any of them, and are and
shall be hereby _____ and forever precluded from all Title Claim and
Pretention to the said Daniel McLeod as to this Labour or Service
from the day of the date of these Presents In Witneʃs
whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal this twentieth
Day of June One thousand Eight hundred and Seven.

James Smith LS
Signed Sealed executed and delivered in the Presence of Us?
L Vonweiller and William Lyon
Grenada

Before the Honorable George Smith Esquire Chief
Justice of His Majesty’s Supreme Court of Judicature
for the Island of Grenada and its Dependencies.
Personally appeared Laurence Vonweiller of the Parish of St.
Andrew in the Island aforesaid who being duly sworn on the holy Evangelists
of Almighty God deposeth and saith That he was personally present together
with William Lyon the other subscribing Witneʃs to the annexed Deed
of Manumiʃsion and did see James Smith sign seal and execute
the same as his free and voluntary Act and Deed. And the Deponent
futher saith that the Names Lce Vonweiller and William Lyon set
and subscribed as Witneʃses to the due? Executions thereof, were so
sett and subscribed in the Presence of the said James Smith and of
each other and are the respective hand Writing of the said Wm Lyon as
of him the Deponent.

Lce Vonweiller
Sworn to before me the fourth day of July 1807

George Smith.

Note in margin

Decr 1st 1807 Received of Ousley Rowley Esquire Receiver General of His Majestys Council? Revenue
One hundred Pounds _____ to the directions of an Act entitled “An Act for the better protection &
promoting the natural increase population of Slaves _____ & an Order to undo? the _____ _____ of Manumiʃsion _____

I have enclosed an enlarged image of the note in the margin for your review.

In order to get some of the wording of the note in the margin I conducted a search for relevance and similar association. I was able to get the title of the Law from section 47 Geo. III. from The Laws of The British Colonies, In The West Indies And Other Parts of America Concerning Real and Personal Property and Manumission of Slave; With A View of The Constitution of Each Colony., by John Henry Howard, Volume 1, London 1827.

I am amazed to the account and the history that I am being afforded as I continue my search from my ggg-grandfather James Smith.

Enjoy,

Jim