Manumissions

Manumissions

I recently got some very interesting and exciting information which means that I have to rewrite a part of Vaucluse. Ambassador Bobby Morris, who has been very generous to share some of his discoveries with me, dropped a real nugget on me and the date convinced me...
Vaucluse Mortgaged

Vaucluse Mortgaged

I was digging around in the Archives last week looking for manumission records only to find that the tomes (big heavy books) I wanted were closed because they were in such bad condition. I was very frustrated, but I am even more concerned about the loss of history...
The Letters

The Letters

I finally got my hands on the very elusive letters that Henry Peter wrote to The Right Honourable Earl Grey, first Lord of the Treasury in England, from the British Library. The first one, on the subject of West Indian Property, was written on October 30, 1832, the...
Henry Peter and Politics

Henry Peter and Politics

While Parliament in Barbados was established in 1639, the House of Assembly was not confirmed by law until 1660. The members met in various places, such as taverns and shops and, in HP’s time, the Town Hall, until the current Parliament Buildings were built in 1874....
The Barbados Mercury and Bridge-Town Gazette

The Barbados Mercury and Bridge-Town Gazette

I am very grateful to the National Library Service and UWI West Indian Collection for giving me access to their Microfilm Reels and Microfilm reader respectively, to continue my research for Vaucluse. I could hardly contain myself as I sat down last week to read...
Mary Ann Simmons

Mary Ann Simmons

Mary Ann Simmons I’ve been in Liverpool for the last week or so, where I had hoped to find some information to support a reference I found that Henry Peter manumitted some slaves (I believe his sons were among them) in Liverpool before emancipation in August 1834....