Weddescendants - pafc01 - Generated by Personal Ancestral File
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The
Wedderburn Family - 4
jamaica
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More
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(1998 research)
Research
on the Wedderburn family continued on the basis of the following
information
from our previous research:
Robert Wedderburn married Elizabeth Ryan on 5
November 1781 at St Katherine
Creechurch
in London. They had children Robert, Elizabeth, Maria, George and Jabez,
born
between 1786 and 1811. In 1786 Robert was described as a tailor and his parish
of
settlement
was given as 'Kingstown, Jamaica'. He was then 33, giving him an
approximate
birthdate of 1752/3.
Contact with a researcher in Jamaica had
established that research in original sources
there
is at present not practicable, so we were restricted to published and
microfilmed
material.
The microfilmed parish registers of Kingston were examined but
disappointingly
we did not find Robert�s baptism there. We extended the search to
other
parishes and found Wedderburn entries in the parish of Westmor(e)land. Some
of
them related to free coloured people (mostly descendants of marriages between
white
settlers and slaves); two of them were given the description 'esquire'. We
examined
a published collection of monumental inscriptions from Jamaica which
contained
a number of references to the name Wedderburn in Jamaica in the eighteenth
century,
all of them from the parish of Westmoreland.
We
began this phase of research by looking at records of emigration to America
and
the West Indies from Britain. A significant number of Scots made their way to
the
West Indies in the eighteenth century and Robert Wedderburn, the ancestor,
might have been among them.
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We
consulted all the eighteen volumes of the Passenger and Immigration Lists
Index,
which indexes thousands of sources (primary and secondary) relating to
emigration
from Britain to America. We looked for any references to Wedderburns
travelling
to the West Indies, or South Carolina, prior to 1780. All the entries found
were
taken from the works of David Dobson who has compiled a seven volume
Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America 1625-1825.
We therefore consulted this
work,
from which we extracted the following information:
James Wedderburn
Younger
son of Sir P H Wedderburn MP for Fife. Settled in South Carolina during
1733.
Appointed Clerk to the Common Pleas in SC on 30 April 1733. Allocated 1000
acres
in Craven County SC on 12 Feb 1737 and 500 acres in Savannah River SC 12 April
1738.
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James
Wedderburn
Probative
contract between James Wedderburn in Jamaica, son of Sir John Wedderburn
of
Blackness, Bart, dec., in favour of his wife, Isabella Blackburn, Edinburgh, 7
March
1774.
Witnesses: Sir John Wedderburn of Ballindrain [sic] and Alex. Wedderburn of St
Germains
James Wedderburn
Attorney
and proprietor. Died in Jamaica July 1797
Dr James Wedderburn
Court
of Session records 2 Dee 1780
Dr
James Wedderburn in Jamaica, then in Inveresk v Helen Halkerston
John Wedderburn
Eldest
son of James Wedderburn, Inveresk, died in Jamaica 19 May 1799
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This reference to John Wedderburn who died in May 1799
enabled us to identify
the
burial found at Westmoreland in our previous research as the son of Dr James
Wedderburn
and Isabella Blackburn (see pedigree chart).
We examined the probative contract to which Dobson
refers. James Wedderburn
was
described as the second son of the deceased Sir John Wedderburn of Blackness.
By
this deed he vested Isabella Blackburn, his wife, in his portion of the estates
of
Glenisia
and Blewcastle, in the parish of Westmoreland, Jamaica. The witnesses
included
Sir John Wedderburn of Ballindean (his elder brother) and Alexander
Wedderburn
of St Germains, who may have been another brother. We also searched
the
annual indexes to the Register of Deeds in Scotland from 1770 to 1807 but found
no
further mention of any Wedderburns of Jamaica.
We looked now at The Complete Baronetage,
edited by George Edward Cokayne
(6
volumes, 1900) for further details of Sir John Wedderburn, Baronet. We found
that
the
Wedderburn family of Blackness was a Jacobite family who fought at Culloden
in
1746. Sir John Wedderburn, the fifth baronet, was taken prisoner and executed in
London
on 28 November 1746 at the age of 46. His son, John, was with him in the
battle
but escaped and fled to Jamaica. Although the baronetcy was
forfeited with the
execution
of the fifth baronet, the family ignored the forfeiture and eventually, in 1803
Sir
David Wedderburn was created a baronet, thus restoring the title.
Sir John
Wedderburn,
sixth baronet, who escaped to Jamaica, was born in 1729 and died on
13
June 1803, leaving a will proved in 1803.
Cokayne gives only the direct line of descent, so for
more detail of other offspring
(although
sometimes less accuracy, since the Burke publications generally relied
upon
family information) we turned now to Burke's Peerage and Baronetage
for 1894.
This
source, which cannot be photocopied because of its age and size, provided us
with
a detailed history of the Wedderburn family from which we could construct a
simplified
pedigree chart (the basis of the chart appended to this report, to which have
been
added details from the original sources we have examined). Burke traces the
Wedderburn family back to medieval times and the lands
of Wedderburn in
Berwickshire.
Their allegiances to the Stuart cause date back at least to the time of
James VI of Scotland (who became James I of England):
Alexander Wedderburn of
Kingennie
was a favourite of the King and accompanied him to England in 1603. In
1708
the lands of Kingennie were elevated into a Barony, named Wedderburn.
Looking back at the monumental inscriptions and parish
register entries we had
examined
in our last programme of research, we now found that some of these could
be
related to the family of the exiled baronet, particularly the junior branch, the
offspring
of Thomas Wedderburn and Katherine Dunbar.
Another important printed source for Jamaica is
provided by the volumes of the
West
Indian journal Caribbeana, which have been indexed. We
searched the six
volume
index for any references to the name Wedderburn. There were several, which
we
followed up in the original articles:
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Caribbeana
Vol 2 pp 174-177:
�WilIs relating to Jamaica proved in the
Prerogative Court of Canterbury'
1799
Jas Wedderburn 155 Howe
Vol 3 p296: "Blackheath Plantation in the Parish of
Westmoreland'
[Transcript
of deed (at least one sheet missing) relating to Blackheath Plantation which
borders
on the land of Dr James Wedderburn to the south.
Believed
to date 22 December 1774]
Vol 3 Addendum p65: "West Indian
Bookplates'
No
561. 'James 'Wedderburn'
Arms
- Argent, a chevron between three roses
Gules
Crest
- An eagle's head erased
Perhaps
of J[amaica], and will proved 1799
Vol 4 pp 270, 301: 'Marriages
and Deaths from �The Columbian Magazine or
Monthly
Miscellany� published in Kingston, Jamaica in 1796-1800'
July 1797
Died
in Westmorland, James Wedderburn, Esq., Representative in Assembly for that
parish.
June 1799
Died
in Westmoreland, at the Paradise, John Wedderburn, Esq.
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This provided us with more detail to add to our
pedigree of the Wedderburns
of
Blackness. The coat of arms from the bookplate is that of the Wedderburns of
Blackness,
as reproduced in Burke s Peerage and Baronetage. The
editors had suggested
that
this was the James Wedderburn whose will was proved in the Prerogative Court
of
Canterbury (the usual court for testators who died overseas) in 1799 and who we
could
identify as the son of Thomas and Katherine Wedderburn, born 1751, and
buried at Westmorland on 17 July 1797. The date of his
death, as given by The
Columbian
Magazine, tallied with the memorial inscription we had previously noted
(see
our report of April 1997, page 4). We now learned that this James represented
the
parish of Westmoreland in the Jamaican Assembly.
Dr James
Wedderburn, whose land was mentioned in the fragmentary deed of
1774,
was presumably the man who married Isabella Blackburn in 1774 (the date of
the
probative contract, probably a marriage settlement, mentioned by Dobson).
Returning
to our list of entries from the Westmoreland parish registers (see our
report
of April 1997, pp5-6), and leaving aside the entries relating to persons of
colour,
we
found that not all the remaining entries could be related to the Wedderburns of
Blackness.
We were left in particular with James Wedderburn, baptised on 22
December
1767, and a Robert Wedderburn, infant son of James (the same James?),
baptised
on 21 July 1797, followed by Elizabeth Dickinson Wedderburn, perhaps a
sister
to Robert. We had no idea of the status of these individuals, but the name
Robert
was
important to the Wedderburns of London. Perhaps the ancestor Robert was a
brother
to the James baptised in 1767.
Having
thus done what we could to collate the sources examined so far, we
turned
to wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, the superior English
court
where the wills of those who died overseas were usually proved. There are
printed
indexes to the probate records of this court from 1750 to 1800 and from these
we noted
the following references:
Prerogative Court of Canterbury
Wills
1750-1800
1750 Alexander
Wedderburn Pts/London
Feb 63
1780
Henry Wedderburn Esq
Pts
May 294
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There
was no reference to the James Wedderburn who, according to Caribbeana,
had
his will proved in this court in 1799. We checked the original calendars and
found
that Caribbeana was right, and the indexes wrong. The will was proved in
February
1799 and a copy was obtained. The will was a very lengthy one, full of
afterthoughts
and amendments, which has the appearance of a draft that was never
taken
to its final stages, but the main points can be summarised as follows:
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Will of James Wedderburn of Jamaica
Prerogative
Court of Canterbury 1799
James Wedderburn of the parish of Westmorland in
the County of Cornwall and Island
aforesaid
Esquire
unto
my dear mother Katherine Wedderburn �250 sterling to be paid to her
each
and every year during her natural life and for the regular payment thereof
I
hereby subject and make liable all my Estate Real and Personal...
unto
each of my dear sisters Katherine Wedderburn Thomasine Wedderburn
and
Robina Wedderburn �200 ... and an annuity of �55 each
unto
my sister Elizabeth Blyth �200
unto
my dear sister in law Mary Wisdom Wedderburn 100 guineas to purchase
a
mourning ring
unto
my dear niece Elizabeth Susanna Wedderburn �1200 on her day of
marriage
or when twenty...
unto my dear niece Mary Wedderburn �700 as above
unto my cousin Hugh Fraser of the parish of
Westmorland millwright [insert:
an
annuity of �100] my bookcases & books
unto
my cousin Henry Scrymgeour of the parish of Hanover in the said Island
planter
[insert: �1000 & to his eldest son of the present marriage �1000 and the
eldest
daughter �500] my Gold Watch Chain and Seals and a Mourning Ring of
the
value of �100 [�20 deleted]
to
my Cousin James Wedderburn Dunbar the annual sum of �25 until 15, then
�200
to be laid out for his use
unto
my worthy Friends John [�and James� deleted, "Walter Adam"
inserted]
Graham
of Westmoreland Planter a mourning [ring] of the value of �30 & four
of
my best horses
unto
my worthy and esteemed Friends David Lyon and Doctor Andrew
Gairdner
a Mourning Ring each of the value of �30
to
my worthy friends William Arthur John Hatton and James ?Fannin each a
mourning
Ring of the value of �20
to
my cousin Peter Dunbar two new negroes to be purchased by my Executors
for
him
unto
a quadroon child named Lydia supposed to be mine by a Mulatto Woman
named
Hannah [insert: �100 per annum to be paid quarterly] all that piece or
parcel
of Land in Westmoreland adjoining blue Castle Estate known by the
name
of the Chateau together with the Buildings thereon also those two negroe
Girls
named Nancy and Christmas and also eight new Negroes to be purchased
by
my Executors ... during her natural life...
unto
a Mulatto Child daughter of my negro Wench named Fanny four new
Negroes...
during her natural life... and my will is that the said Fanny be made
free
and that she be allowed ten pounds current money of Jamaica per annum
during
her natural life
to
John and Alexander Blyth each two new Negroes...
all
my Madeira Wine which is fine and old ...one pipe each to Hugh Fraser, John
Graham
and James Graham, rest to my dear brother John Wedderburn my
whole
stock of bottled Liquor to John Graham and Hugh Fraser... my old rum
to
be sold... all my Furniture pictures plate horses (except the four given to John
Graham)
and carriages to be sold
my
wearing apparel to John Blyth and Alexander Blyth except some of the
worst
which is to be given to the Mulatto woman named Hannah
�200
to the Academy lately Instituted at Invamess in Scotland
residue
of estate to my nephew James Wedderburn son of my brother John
[personal
property to be collected by my executors, allowing Walter Adam of
Montego
Bay 3 years to pay his debt, to the value of �15,000, this to be laid out
in
the purchase of a Landed property in Scotland of double the value, and a
mortgage
to be granted, to be paid off by the rent & crops of the Mint [estate in
Westmorland]
, this property to be entailed on the nephew & his heirs
according
to the forms used in Scotland] ... [lengthy provisions follow in the
case
of the nephew dying without issue]
Sole
Executor and Trustee to be said Brother John Wedderburn "but I earnestly
recommend
to him to join with himself in the Execution of the Trusts of the said
Will
Henry Scrymgeour Hugh Fraser and John Graham and if Henry
Scrymgeour
shall happen to be in Jamaica at the time of my decease then ... he
shall
be Executor jointly with my said Brother"
dated
6 October 1790
James Wedderburn
Witnesses: Jas Stewart T Stewart Wm Witter
Codicil dated I April 1791 increases certain annuities
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2nd Codicil dated I May 1792 gives further
bequests to family of Henry Scrymgeour
A
short undated fragment follows devising the child Lydia �5000 on her marriage
or
coming
of age. A
further undated partial will follows, apparently a later draft, which makes
bequests
to
his mother Catherine ... sisters Catherine Thomasina and Robina... sister
Elizabeth
Blyth
(�100 if 'her conduct meets with the approbation of my
Executors
... her husband
is to have no connection whatever therewith')... sister
in
law Mary Wisdom Wedderburn ... nieces[sic] Elizabeth Susanna Wedderburn
'and
from the confidence I have in the propriety of her conduct� �5000 to be at
her
own disposal ... niece Mary Wedderburn .... cousin Hugh Eraser ... Henry
Scrymgeour
... cousin James Wedderburn Dunbar ... worthy friends ... �5000 to
Lydia
if she remains in Great Britain and does not return to Jamaica, a choice of
six
of the Negroes she has at present, and the use of the Chateau and Lands
'this
bequest is made under the Idea of the two Children a Boy and Girl sayd to
be
mine residing with her' .... bequests also to John Alexander, Stewart Blyth,
John
Graham, Hugh Eraser and their sisters, John Drummond... [will
unfinished]
proved 20 February 1799
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The irregularities of this will, all the more
surprising in view of the fact that James
was
said to be an attorney, were to cause considerable problems for his executors.
However,
it clearly identifies him as the son of Thomas Wedderburn and Katherine
Dunbar.
The family had evidently profited immensely from the lucrative plantations
of
their exile and it is difficult to imagine a close link between t4fs wealthy
planter and
the
tailor Robert Wedderburn. The relatives he names are chiefly his immediate
family
- his mother, sisters, sister-in-law, nephews and nieces. The Blyths also
benefited
(the family into which his sister Elizabeth married) as did Henry Scrymgeour,
his
first cousin, and his cousin James Wedderburn Dunbar, presumably a son of his
mother's
brother. There is no reference to the senior branch of the family, the issue
of
the executed fifth Baronet, who would seem to have returned to Ballindean,
Perthshire,
although James Wedderburn of Inveresk, as we had already
established,
owned
a part share in estates in Blue Castle and Glenisla and his eldest son John died
there
in 1799.
However, James Wedderburn and brother John had raised a
memorial to their
'cousin
german' Alexander Wedderburn at Blue Castle, Westmoreland, who died in
1771
at the age of thirty. The first son of Sir John Wedderburn, 5th Baronet, was
named
Alexander but he obviously must have died before 1746 when his younger
brother
John assumed the baronetcy. If he died as a young child, there might have
been
another son named Alexander; or the cousin might have been a son of Robert
Wedderburn,
brother of the fifth baronet. However, according to Burke, Robert
Wedderburn's
sons were named John, Charles and David, who all remained firmly
in
Scotland.
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We now looked at the other two wills mentioned above.
Alexander Wedderburn
was described as a mariner 'now of London'; there was
no mention of the West Indies.
Henry
Wedderburn was of Calcutta. Neither of these wills seemed likely to be
relevant.
According to Cokayne, the will of Sir John Wedderburn,
sixth baronet (assumed)
was
proved in 1803. We decided to look for this will in case it mentioned any
humbler
Wedderburn
relatives in Jamaica. The will was found and the main points can be
summarised
as follows:
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Be it known to all Men by these presents that I
Sir John Wedderburn Baronet of
Ballindean
of the County of Perth and kingdom of North Britain considering that I
have
in Marriage Settlements by Bonds of provision and otherways provided for dame
Alicia
Dundas my Wife and younger children or shall hereafter do so ... to enable my
heir
to fulfill and satisfy these provisions and the provisions underwritten I have
and
by
these present do .hereby dispose and convey to myself and after my decease to
David
Wedderburn Esquire Merchant in London my eldest son [and his heirs] whom
failing
to [in succession] James Wedderburn my second Son ... John Wedderburn my
third
Son ... Alexander Wedderburn my youngest son ... whom failing to any other son
to
be born to me .... whom failing to Margaret Wedderburn my eldest daughter ...
Jean
Wedderburn
my second daughter ... Maria Wedderburn my third daughter ... Susan
Wedderburn
my fourth daughter ... Louisa Wedderburn my fifth daughter .. Ann
Wedderburn
my youngest daughter... all and sundry Lands Heritances Hereditaments
and
other real and heritable property .... in Great Britain and Jamaica .... my
Estate of
Ballindean
as purchased by me ... [lists other lands purchased in Scotland] ... all that
my
joint Right and Interest in those Estates or plantations called Blew Castle and
Glenisia
in the parish of Westmorland County of Cornwall and Island of Jamaica with
the
whole Slaves Buildings Stock Crop and every other thing thereon..
son
David Wedderburn to, be executor
...
[estate charged with] ...
bonds and provisions already made for wife and children ....
the expense of educating my two sons John and
Alexander until they attain such an age
as
their Guardians may think proper to put them out to a profession of Business ...
paying
a sum not exceeding �1500 for a house in Edinburgh [for wife and daughters]
dated
20 May 1800
Witnesses:
David Fiffe Esquire John Smyth Esquire advocate and Robert Smyth writer
Proved
29 November 1803
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Unfortunately, only the testator's wife and children
were named.
Turning now to Scottish probate sources, we turned to
the indexes to the
Edinburgh
Commissary Court, where those dying outside Scotland but leaving
moveable
goods in Scotland had to record inventories. We searched the index from
1700
to 1800, looking for any reference to Wedderburns of Jamaica, but no such
reference
was found.
We looked for further information from printed sources
about Wedderburn
families
in Scotland and found a volume by Alexander Wedderburn, The Wedderburn
Book
(2 volumes, published 1898). This volume gave details of the two wills we had
already
examined and also noted that a pedigree of the family is preserved at the
College
of Arms in London. Some further details were provided about the sons of
Thomas
and Katherine Wedderburn:
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Alexander Wedderburn of Westmorland, Jamaica,
eldest son, born 28 August 1741,
died
unmarried 10 February 1770, buried Westmorland
John Wedderburn, later of Clapham, Surrey, born
19 August 1743, died 29 December
1820
in Middlesex. Married Mary Wisdom, dau of George Bedward of Westmorland,
Jamaica.
Three eldest children born in Jamaica, younger ones in England.
James Wedderburn third son, born 23 September 1751, died unmarried 1797.
This told us that the memorial inscription raised at
Blue Castle, Westmoreland,
Jamaica,
by James and John Wedderburn to their brother Alexander (died 1764 aged
25),
their brother Peter (died 1773 aged 37) and their cousin german Alexander (died
1771
aged 30), could not have been raised by the sons of Thomas and Katherine
Wedderburn,
as we had thought. It now became clear that the memorial was raised
by
the sons of Sir John Wedderburn, although there was a discrepancy as to the date
of
birth of their brother Alexander; according to Burke he was born in 1727 but
according
to the transcription, the memorial tells us that he died in 1764 aged 25.
Possibly
the stone reads 35 and has been mistranscribed. The cousin german was thus
Alexander,
eldest son of Thomas Wedderburn and Katherine Dunbar.
Other
information
was provided by the Wedderburn Book about the sons of Sir John
Wedderburn,
the executed 5th Baronet:
Alexander Wedderburn went to Jamaica and died unmarried before 1766
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Peter
Wedderburn went to Westmorland, Jamaica. He was described as a millwright
in
1763. He died unmarried.
John Wedderburn, later Sir John, went to America in 1747 having escaped after
Culloden.
He was described as a medical practitioner in Jamaica and acquired
property
there. He returned to Scotland and died in 1803. His second son, James, born
1782,
by his father's second marriage, was at one time in Scotland and died in France
unmarried.
We searched the catalogues at the Scottish Record
Office for any family papers
relating
to the Wedderburns of Blackness, but no deposit was found, although there
were
some papers for the Wedderburns of Pearsie (Ref: GDI 31) and the Wedderburns
of
Kingenny (GD 137). We searched the index to manuscript genealogies held by the
Scottish
Record Office but found nothing of apparent relevance.
We also considered the possibility that Robert
Wedderburn, the tailor, was in fact
born
in Scotland rather than Jamaica. The surviving parish registers of Scotland have
been
indexed into a single index, which we searched from 1750 to 1755, but found no
entry
for a Robert Wedderburn in any parish.
At this stage research had to come to a halt. We have
been able to extend our
knowledge of the landed Wedderburn family of Jamaica
but unfortunately no link
has been found between this family and the ancestral
one. There were clearly other
Wedderburns in Jamaica, although no evidence has come
to light of any on the island
before
the Battle of Culloden. The ancestral Robert Wedderburn was born there a few
years after the suppression of the rebellion and it is
possible that other rebels might
have
taken the same route as Sir John Wedderburn.
Finally, we consulted the indexes to apprenticeship
records. After 1710, stamp
duty
was payable on apprenticeship indentures and records of the payments
received
were kept between 1710 and 1811, but these records are indexed only up to
1774.
Some guilds or companies maintain their own records, and we were able to
search
the indexes to apprentices, freedoms and masters of the Merchant Taylors'
Company
(1583-1933). There were no Wedderburn items in the indexes.
It is to be hoped at that at some time in the future,
the situation at the Island
Record
Office at Spanish Town in Jamaica might improve and more local records
might
become available. However, we have already searched the baptismal records
of
Kingston without success and we would not be very optimistic of a successful
outcome.
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Sources Consulted
Scottish Sources
Index to persons for the Abridgements to the
Registers of Sasines: Selkirkshire 1781-1840
Indexes
to Edinburgh Commissary Court: searched for Peter Wedderburn (1773); Alexandel
Wedderburn
(1764), John Wedderburn (1799), James Wedderburn (1797), Sir John
Wedderburn
(1803).
Probative
contract 2 December 1802 (RD2/286 fol 468): James Wedderburn
Index to births and baptisms for Scotland:
searched 1750-1755 for Robert Wedderburn
Books of Council and Session (Register of Deeds):
Annual indexes 1770-1810
Probate Sources
Prerogative Court of Canterbury: Indexes to wills
Will
of Alexander Wedderburn
1750
Will
of Henry Wedderburn
1780
James
Wedderburn
1799
Sir
John Wedderburn
1803
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Miscellaneous
Filby, Meyer et al. Passenger and immigration
Lists Index (14 volumes, 1980-1997)
G
E CokByne, The Complete Baronetage (London: 1900)
David
Dobson, Directory of Scottish Settlers in North
America 1625-1825 (7 volumes)
Caribbeana: Indexes to Volumes 1-6
Vol
3pp 295-296, 'Deeds relating to Jamaica'
Vol
3 p 65-66, 'West Indian Bookplates'
Vol
4 pp 269-270, 301, 'Marriages and Deaths from "The Columbian Magazine or
Monthly
Miscellany",
published in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1796-1800'
Alexander
Wedderburn, The Wedderburn Book (2 volumes, 1898)
Indexes
to Apprentices, Freedoms and Masters of the Merchant Taylors' Company, 1583-1933
(Society
of Genealogists; original records are with the Merchant Taylors' Company,
Threadneedle
Street, London EC2)
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