Can you or anyone you know remember as far back as the mid-1600's ? I am trying to trace ancestors of Thomas James who is a descendent from the sunken Scottish ship in Treasure Beach.

I need help in tracing his parents and forefathers. He is the parent of Zaccheus James
(aka Tooto).

Any help would be appreciated as I am trying to teach my children also myself the history of our family in Treasure Beach.

Clive James.

Clive,
You're related to half of Treasure Beach...

Hi Terry so is the rest of the James...

There was someone on the message board six months or more ago who was doing some academic study. I did a quick search and don't find it, but maybe Eric or Rebecca can help.

Mr James, if you find out the name of the ship, Lloyds of London, the British Admiralty and other bodies may have the crew list from the ship. If you find a date, a ship lost in our part of the S Coast of Ja may turn up at the same date.

It may not have been a Scottish ship but one with Scots on board. Here is an article that may throw light on this:

http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/white_slavery.htm

Your James ancestor may have been an immigrant looking for new possibilities in the New World and have boarded voluntarily.

I believe I had Celtic slaves among my ancestors in North America and Ja. Indentured servant is a euphemism that was/is politically neutral, I like to say it as it is/was.

You may be underestimating there Terry. I'm about 5 generations removed from the James and only found out recently. A lot more people may be in the same boat without knowing.

SCOTTISH SURNAMES

Buchanan; Clarke; Graham; Hamilton; James-on; MacAulay (MacCauley); Findlayson; Munro; Pringle...just a sample of Scottish names heard around these regions.

www.amethyst-night.com/names/scotsurs1.html

Another Link to some Last Names & their meanings:

www.searchforancestors.com/surnames/origin/

Wiggan's also a Scottish name.

The ship that foundered in Treasure Beach bay (on the reef just off the beach and down towards the TB Hotel) carried canon made by the Carron Ironworks Company in Falkirk, Scotland. The particular type of cannon was known as a "carronade" after the name of the manufacturer.

Now I am no expert but I do know that the carronade was not made before 1770 and endured in production for about 100 years.

It would not have been on any ship prior to this year and certainly not on a ship in that sank 1660.

The fact that the cannon was "Scottish" does not mean the ship and crew were of similar origin as the carronade was sold around the world to anyone who had the money to buy.

However, it is may guess that this particular ship did carry a scottish crew and that the survivors had more than an even chance of being responsible for the Scottish names now carried by so many families in Treasure Beach.

Incidentally, there is still one canon left in the remains of the wreck and a lucky snorkeller, in the right conditions, may be able to spot it!

JUST A REMINDER:


http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080331/news/news8.html

Mr. Moxam, I'm glad to see that you monitor this site! FYI, I just emailed your editors suggesting that the topic of the Bicknell Wall might deserve a closer look. Good article on the Scots connection!

Thank you Mr Moxham. As it happens I had an exchange of emails with James Cant on the subject of carronades in'08 and your article has prompted me to regain contact and see how his research is getting along.

I believe I am right in thinking that there was indentured Scottish labour in Jamaica at some time - in the 18th century?

Pieces of the Past: Out of Many Cultures; The People Who Came: the Scottish...From the Jamaica Gleaner

"The Scots arrived in two main waves the first in 1655 when as prisoners of war they were sold as bond (indentured) servants to the English, and in 1745-46 after the failure of the Jacobite Rebellion. (Jacobites were supporters of James II's claim to the English throne).

Others came in between those seeking religious freedom, those from lower-socio-economic levels such as gypsies, criminals and idlers, who were rounded up and shipped off, as well as doctors and lawyers and others from the middle class who were simply in search of a quick fortune.

One of the most significant Scottish settlements occurred in 1700 in St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, a year after the failure of an expedition to Darien, Panama.
Colonel John Campbell, the first in a long line of Campbells (said to be one of Jamaica's most popular surnames) was a captain at Darien before settling in Jamaica, marrying well and becoming one of the island's gentry.

By 1750 the Scots accounted for one-third of Jamaica's white population. Place names such as Culloden (the site of a famous Jacobite battle), Craigie and Aberdeen, reflect strong Scottish ties.

Scots, like the Germans and the Irish, were also encouraged to come to Jamaica in the 19th century following emancipation when the government attempted to establish rural villages/European townships and grow the white population.

The Scots in particular were thought to be well-suited to life in the mountainous regions of Portland, but after a few years, many died as a result of illness. Those who survived melded in with Maroon life in Moore Town and Mill Bank.

Perhaps the most famous or infamous Scottish immigrant is Lewis Hutchison, better known as the Mad Master of Edinburgh Castle.

Born in Scotland in 1733 where he is believed to have studied medicine for a while, he came to Jamaica in the 1760s to run an estate which was crowned by a house known as Edinburgh Castle. Not too long after Hutchison's arrival, cases of travellers disappearing without a trace began to mount in number and suspicions ran rampant but no one could ever have suspected the level of torture they experienced.
Travellers would occasionally stop to rest at Edinburgh Castle, the only inhabited spot for miles on the way from St. Ann's Bay south, not knowing that they would become the target of Hutchison's unerring aim.
Hutchison killed for sport, not money, as travellers of all shapes, sizes and income levels were equal game. Eventually apprehended, Hutchison insolently entered a plea of not guilty and was defended by one of the island's most esteemed lawyers. He was tried, found guilty and condemned to death by hanging in Spanish Town Square. The records of his trial stand in the National Archives.

Other, more positive, forms of Scottish influence can be found in Jamaican dance the scotch reel in Kingston's Scots Kirk Church, as well as in our language as Scottish dialects mingled with English, African languages, German, Irish and Welsh among other influences, to produce Jamaican English" (Senior, 2003, pp. 434-5).

SOURCES: Senior, O.(2003). The Encyclopedia of the Jamaican Heritage. Kingston Twin Guinep Publishers, Sherlock, P.and Bennett, H. (1998). The Story of the Jamaican people. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers.

Hi Roger,
Thanks for the good word. Just to let you know though that I no longer writer for The Gleaner.
All the best.

Earl

Thanks to everyone who given me information with regards to the sunken ship. The links provided have been extremely useful.

To Turey: the link you gave me was invaluable, I never knew anything about that part of history. I am extremely grateful for that.

To Don Noel: Thanks, but I don't know who Eric or Rebecca are. Is it possible to give me a link to them, so i can go back & research.

Thanks to Earl for the JA Gleaner link. To Zed: Thanks for info on JA & Scottish links. To Uncle Peter: Thanks for all the information you have posted. I am also interested in James Cants' research and developments. I would be really grateful if you could post any further findings/links. With regards to registration of births/deaths in JA, how far back you can trace them to eg 17th/18th century? and where would I begin? Is there an online archive site that you can go to? Sorry for all the questions but i'm so intrigued about my family history.

Their loss! Best wishes, Earl.

Clive, Eric and Rebecca are the moderators of the site, aka TBNet. We're both very happy that you're getting some good info here. Its one of the reasons we created the Forum.

In reference Don's comment about finding a past post using the Search, if you have trouble with it let us know at webmaster@treasurebeach.net