Features

Follow the Chimneys

Loyalist-era landmarks lead the way to uncovering plantation ruins.

Story & Photos By Dr. Charlene Kozy, former professor and president of Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee

My Winter 2008 Times of the Islands article, “Hidden History,” gave an introduction to the task of uncovering the mysteries of the Caicos Islands plantations. Yet the maps plotting the plantations on North and Middle Caicos were merely a start in finding the hidden and lost history of the plantation era. Some tracts were sold to other grantees and some were never exercised. The dilemma was how to find and identify the ruins in the heavily overgrown area. Through the hospitality and knowledge of residents of Bambarra on Middle Caicos, I was able to plan field schools with students from Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, where I served as a professor.

Alton Higgs led me and my husband, Steve, through the brush to Haulover (making small fires to mark our way back). Mrs. Constance Hall showed me Ferguson Plantation, where she was born and lived until storms damaged it. Emmanuel Hall (deceased husband of Constance Hall) provided a place for relaxation and sold soft drinks at “the store.” Valerie Hamilton, a young school teacher, gave support and knowledge of the island. And, lastly, Ernest and Elizabeth Forbes opened their home to house the students. Mr. Forbes became my guide throughout the time of investigations and continues to look for ruins that can be identified. His life spans enough time for him to have seen changes and be told of changes by his elders. While matching land grants to actual locations is difficult, he disagreed: “It’s easy, just follow the chimneys.”

The use of chimneys was brought to the Bahamas by the Loyalists. Johann David Schoepf, a German, reported in his work Travels in the Confederation (1783-84) that no chimneys were found in Nassau but cooking was done over round fire pits outside their houses. In the U.S. Colonial South, kitchens were generally built apart from the main residence to minimize the danger of fire. Thus, this is one way to ascertain that plantation ruins did indeed belong to a Southern Loyalist. Haulover has two chimneys still standing – one is in the kitchen just outside the main house and the other is in the secondary residence. Bonaventure’s chimney in the kitchen is the best preserved part of the ruins. The cooking area of the chimney at Increase is the best preserved. Other chimneys on the Caicos Islands reach above the brush, announcing another plantation ruin.

It was logical to investigate the plantations where appraisals, wills, and other documents were found in the Bahama Registry. Two detailed appraisals were selected, Bonaventure and Increase. Local oral history and documents are available for the third plantation, Haulover.

The three plantations chosen on Middle Caicos lie on the northeast coast and spread southward along Whole Grown Creek and Windward Going Through. This area has the best soil on Middle Caicos even today, and there is more rainfall than on other parts of the island, as evidenced by bananas growing there.

The grantees of these three plantations had very little in common in America. Dr. Lorimer was a military surgeon in the British garrisons in Pensacola, Florida;  John Mulryne Tattnall was a large property holder in Georgia and John Bell was referred to in the appraisement as Dr. John Bell from East Florida. None of these grantees were enlisted in the military, although 25% of the grantees served in the military with the King’s Rangers. They were banished from America because of their loyalty to the King, and resumed their life by chance as planter neighbors on Middle Caicos.

The information from appraisals brings the image of real people living on these plantations. While personal  information such as diaries and letters are lost, documents such as wills, appraisals, sales of property, etc. illustrate the daily life of the Loyalists.

We usually give the 1830s as an end to the plantation era; however, letters written by Alice Coweles Harriott (married to Alexis Harriott) in the 1860s from Salt Cay mentions that her children, Missie and Jim, will “be two weeks at Grand Cay (Middle Caicos).” The conclusion is that relatives or friends lived on Middle and entertained visitors at this time. In her letters she gave insight to the shortage of small things like needles, cloth and “any pretty little new novelties,” and asked her mother and aunt to send them to her. She spoke of an abundance of bananas and coconuts but she missed having milk. She wrote of the relentless heat (in December) and mosquitoes, but added a vivid description of oleander flowers that her aunt “would go out of her skin if she could see them . . . the buds open almost like rose buds.” This was written some 30 years after the period of prosperity on the Caicos Islands, but it was probably a fair sample of  life at Bonaventure, Increase, and Haulover Plantations.

bonaventure-chimneyBonaventure Plantation

John Mulryne Tattnall’s outspoken loyalty to the British Crown resulted in his being one of the first Georgians to be banished. He was from a wealthy family (the name Tattnall can be found on street names in Savannah, Georgia today). His first move from Georgia was to British East Florida and he immediately began working for the rights of Loyalists. He petitioned for their aid while in East Florida and became an active member of the Board of Loyalists in the Bahamas. He applied for a position in Nassau as Searcher of Customs, but Governor Maxwell viewed Tattnall as an extremist, “trying to overthrow the government.” A letter from Tattnall was published in the Gazette countering the charge, explaining that he had “sacrificed fortune and dearest connections to the interest of his country and attachment to his Sovereign.” He did not get the appointment.

Two grants were made to John M. Tattnall:  300 acres on North Caicos and 750 on Middle Caicos. The appraisal of his estate made at his death in 1796 and description of the ruins investigated in 1991 places Bonaventure on the land described below in the original grant.

D/1, 155 (reel and page number in the Bahama Gazette)

John Mulryne Tattnall         14 April 1790

750 acres upon the Grand Caicos, bounded northwardly by Whole Grown Creek and Windward Going Through, southerly by a marsh, eastwardly by John Bell’s Land and westwardly by John Dickson’s land.

John McIntosh, Thomas Armstrong and Charles Fox Taylor (all grantees) witnessed  and signed the appraisal on 16 December, 1796 listing his property and “sundry articles.”

Approximately 120 acres were under cultivation of cotton and about 30 in pasture. Stone buildings were equipped with the latest invention to clean cotton, the wind gin. Slave houses with an overseer’s house indicates the organization of labor on Tattnall’s plantation.

His dwelling was a two-story house with a wide entry, dining room, and two parlors on the first floor. A back entry, with furnishings, probably connected the main house to a kitchen to the rear of the house. The house was well furnished with mahogany furniture and silver serving utensils.

The two parlors were furnished with a mahogany dining table with ends to match, round tea table, six mahogany chairs, mahogany secretary with drawers and glass,  mahogany side board, bookcase, white, ivory-handle table knives and forks, a set of tea china and six mahogany chairs with cane backs.

The bedrooms (chambers) were equally well furnished with a mahogany bedstead for two mattresses, chest of drawers, chairs, mahogany basin stand, night table and a bed chair (stuffed). The western chamber also had a bedstead, feather bed-pillows, a small child’s bedstead, a cedar crib, a small chair, a trunk with bed linens and table.

The kitchen was stocked with: silver spoons, fish knives, ladel (sic), butter knife, 14 silver table spoons, 12 teaspoons, 8 cups, 1 tankard, coffee pot, sugar dish, cake holder, candlesticks, snuffer stand, egg frame and cup, toast trays, tureen ladel (sic), rice dish, spice box and 2 pairs of plates.

Personal items listed were a gentleman’s saddle, a pair of silver mounted pistols with holsters, a mahogany gun case and a swinging lamp. Also listed were a thermometer, spy glass, fiddle (Mr. Tattnall’s fiddle), clarinet and a picture of General Woolfe.

Other unusual furniture and items were 14 Iapan’d  (sic) cane sear chairs, 2 mahogany card tables, 2 pair of glasses in good frames, 1 sofa with furniture, 1 printed floor cloth, 1 set tea china, tea urn, tea trays. Also listed were an Iapan’d half circle table and 2 pairs of India shades. (Iapan’d was a popular style which involved painting the furniture black and using gold or white Japanese decoration on it.)

The ruins and the landmark chimney were found with the help of Mr. Forbes. The students scraped dirt from the foundation and using the appraisal description, found the floor plan and additional buildings described. Stone and mortar (sand and crushed shell) held the walls of the kitchen and the chimney. The main house was described as a two-story frame house, but only the foundation survived. Rubble piles, possibly indicating poorly built slave houses, were present on the site. Using careful measurements, a plot of the plantation was made showing distances between buildings and fences.

The appraisal listed farm animals, i.e., 3 horses, a cow and calf,  25 sheep, 30 turkeys, 18 ducks, fowl, hogs and geese. Ten slaves were acknowledged by name. Evidently it was a working plantation at the time of Tattnall’s death in 1796.

We sat and pondered the family and their lifestyle. Although there is no mention of a wife and children, it is clear there were small children living there at the time of Tattnall’s death or that had lived there and grown up. What would it be like to be moved away from “what you call dear” and live in virtual isolation? Even with the obviously expensive and elegant items they brought with them and available labor, it would not be ideal.

Our guide, Mr. Forbes, pondered the hard work of the slaves that built the expansive stone fences, houses and the main house. He imagined the labor involved in carrying, cutting and securing the stone which has stood for over 200 years and we commiserated with him. We all were amazed at the thought of cultivating 120 acres of cotton and  it growing  “in tolerable condition” in the thick brush that now covered the fields, understanding that  hoes were the primary tool used in the Islands at this time.

The appraiser’s conclusions were that the plantation  was “at considerably less in value than it would be otherwise due to the precarious situation in the West Indies.” The “precarious situation” could have been wars, insects, depleted soil or the lower price for cotton.

increase-kitchen-chimney-ruIncrease Plantation

Mr. Forbes knew the exact location of Increase Plantation. It is on the southeastern part of Middle Caicos. It was used as a point to travel by boat to South Caicos before modern transportation, and reached by foot.

A decision to conduct a field school required access to the plantation. With housing in Bambarra, we traveled by truck to Lorimers after which the road became impassable for a vehicle and we went on foot thereafter. I realized we were on the Royal or King’s Road, as it is interchangeably known. The road was lined with stone and easily followed. Scrubby growth had overtaken parts but it can be easily seen how carriages could travel from Haulover, Bonaventure, and other plantations in that area to the last point of the island, Increase. I could imagine the bumpy ride experienced in a Loyalist’s carriage.

In the interest of time lost walking, Mr. Forbes was convincing when he suggested traveling by boat from Bambarra Landing through Windward Going Through to Increase. The investigation was a “go.”

The boat trip itself proved to be an adventure. We traveled with the tides and sometimes had to “lighten up” when we hit sand and wade until deeper water was found. The team left the boat on the southeastern part of the island and walked to the back of the plantation. Although its location is known throughout the island, its isolation and difficulty of access probably made it undesirable to live there after it was abandoned; however, through the ages, the plantation was stripped of any of the original planter’s valuables.

The owner of Increase, John Bell (referred to as Dr. John Bell in the appraisal) was granted over 1,000 acres of land in 1791 on Grand (Middle) Caicos and apparently lived there until his death in early 1800. He established two plantations, Increase and Industry. Dr. Bell was obviously a man of wealth, as he did not depend on the British government for transportation to resettle in the Bahamas. The Bahama Gazette carried a story on January 5, 1789 about ” Dr. John Bell, from East and West Florida” and his troubles at sea. It appears that one of his sloops sprung a leak and was forced to put in port in St. Eustasia “on his way to settle on an island.” The Gazette reported that the sloop carried 180 of his Negroes along with other possessions.

The land grants are as follows: (reel, page numbers in the Bahama Registry)

F/1, 127

12 February 1791    John Bell

720 acres on Grand Caicos, bounded on the north by the Windward Going Through on Grand Caicos, bounded on all sides by marshes and creeks.

F/1, 128

12 February 1791    John Bell

300 acres upon a key or point to the eastward of the Windward Going Through on Grand Caicos, bounded on all sides by marshes and creeks.

F/1, 142

16 February 1791    John Bell

Acres on a key to the westward of the Windward Going Through on Grand Caicos, bounded on all sides by the sea.

E-2, 290

Inventory and appraisement of goods and chattel of Dr. John Bell, deceased, taken at Increase Estate, Middle Caicos in the Bahamas, 26 February 1800.

Increase plantation – about 1,470 acres of land. 300 of which is in cotton, highly cultivated, 200 in pasture, properly subdivided with stone walls remainder in standing woods together with the buildings thereon consisting of a frame dwelling house 28 feet long, with sash and glaze, a hall, two bedrooms, pantry on one floor and cellars under the whole. Cotton house of pitch pine, 39 feet long by 16 with a piazza on one side, 11 feet wide with a room in one end of it. A stone kitchen, a corn house built of stone 40 ft. long by 12 ft. A stone house of stone 46 ft. by 15 (ft.). 13 large Negro houses built of stone besides others walled and plastered. Estimates this land at a guine per acre and improvements at 1000 currency.

A small key opposite Increase plantation. A tract of land on East Caicos, about 300 acres. Industry plantation about 1000 acres with improvements.

The appraisal listed 90 Negro slaves by name and age. They were grouped by families, and illnesses and positions were mentioned. Two examples are:

Jamie/ Driver. Belinda his wife.

Francois     13

Silverlec     5

Philip     7

Harriet     3

Sara, grandmother

Caesar, his wife Nanny, afflicted with cancer

Medina     3

Few household items were mentioned. But a “parcel” of medicine was listed. A total of 12 horses, 9 cows, 5 calves, 3 bulls, 2 steers, 4 heifers and 39 sheep probably populated the 200 acres of pasture.

An extensive list of tools and equipment needed for this large plantation was listed, i.e.: “5 foot gin compleat (sic), cotton cleaning machine, mill stones, grind stones, 2 hand corn mills,” along with hammers, nails, 14 hoes, 16 pick axes, 6 whip cut saws, hand saws, iron squares, hunting knives, 9 space shovels, 6 iron wedge, 6 trowels, new rope, etc.

A barrel of chalk, 3 new sash windows with frames, 500 bushels of corn, one-half barrel of beef, a quantity of black soap, one keg of white paint, a small boat and a harness with carts was found.

The “yard” was in common usage and separated the main house, kitchen, and workhouses from the slave houses known as the “quarters.” The “yard” at Increase consisted of the main house, kitchen, three industrial buildings and a circular structure of stone and was located between the west gate and the first east gate.

The main house was approximately 120 feet from the west gate, which opened to King’s Road. The appraisal described the house as being a frame dwelling, which would account for the structure being in ruin and overgrown with extensive bush, cactus and trees. No walls remain standing, nor are there any floors or interior partitions; however, the foundation for the cellar (basement) is intact and the doors leading to the cellar are easily discerned. A support pillar is in place in the center of the foundation, which follows the appraiser’s description of a two-story house. Two bedrooms and an 11 ft. piazza are described in the appraisal. These were located and measured. Steps lead to the first floor, thus, the cellar was not dug but built at ground level. The house was located on an elevated area making it possible to view the surrounding fields. Sixteen feet of “sash and glaze” (windows) are described in the appraisal but were not located on the structure. The house faced the southwest.

The kitchen was approximately 60 feet southwest of the main house. It is a 14 ft. square building made of stone with wooden frames still in the windows and door. The chimney is in ruin, but stood 9 ft. 5 1/2 in. tall by 12 ft. 3 in. wide, the fireplace is intact. A well-built hearth lies outside the fireplace. A circular stone, hollowed out, is outside the kitchen door. Mr. Forbes recognized the stone as a container used to collect rainwater for animals (or people) to drink.

A dome-shaped mortar and stone structure was found in the “yard” area.  An iron ring lay at the top of the dome. A similar structure was reported by Kathy Gerace on the Farguharson Plantation on Watling Island leading to the conclusion that it was a ginning circle. Farguharson mentioned in his journal that he borrowed a mule from a neighbor to gin his cotton. Ms. Gerace assumed the animals walked around the perimeter of the circle, which held the cotton gin. Cotton cleaning machines are mentioned in the Bell appraisal along with gins.

“Rubble” of rocks lay next to the circular structure, which could have been a storage building for cotton. It is speculated that a thatched roof held in place by wooden poles covered this whole area. With 300 acres of cotton  found in good condition by the appraiser, mechanisms  to clean and store cotton are certainly logical.

A two-room building is located 10 feet north of the kitchen. It measured 36 ft. x 14 ft. with a stone wall between the rooms. It could have been slave quarters or a storage house, but most likely slave quarters for “kitchen help.” The rooms were separated by one 3 ft. door.

The appraisal states that “13 large negro houses build of stone, walled and plastered” were on the plantation.  The houses were identified by piles of “rubble” of unshaped rock just outside the first east gate and measured 13 1/2 ft. square. Ms. Gerace found a similar description of slave houses at Sandy Point Plantation on San Salvador.

In this area, a circular man-made well built of stone and mortar was found. Approximately 30 feet away was an opening in the ground that appeared to be a natural spring. It could have fed the well.

Five gates were found southwesterly toward Windward Going Through. Stone water bowls were found near the gates. Two hundred acres were reported in pasture. It is logical that these gates separated animals in pasture and the bowls furnished water for them.

Matching 200 year old documents with 200 year old ruins was a challenge for the team. It was successful in that physical evidence of a well-developed plantation did exist and was matched to the historical documents.

haulover-secondary-residencHaulover Plantation

Haulover, presently known as Haulover Fields, is located on the ridge overlooking the Atlantic Ocean on the northeastern end of Middle Caicos. It lies just below Gamble’s Point and close to Half-Creek Landing. A view of Bambarra is to the west and the village of Lorimers is nearby.

The first document that identifies the plantation is the land grant recorded in the Bahama Registry as follows:

23 February, 1791 (F/1 p.163)

John Lorimer

504 acres upon Grand Caicos, bounded southwardly by Whole Grown Creek, eastwardly  by Robert Cunningham’s land, westwardly by William Gamble and southwardly by a marsh.

Dr. John Lorimer is first found in records as receiving a commission as a military surgeon to the British garrison in Pensacola, West Florida “at the command of his majesty, George III, 14 March, 1765.” He was also elected a member of the House of Assembly from Campbell Town, West Florida and was elected temporary speaker. By 1776, he had obtained several grants of land on the Mississippi River.

On March 22, 1779,  he requested an appointment as Chief Surgeon and Purveyor of the hospital in West Florida. The request was made to “Brigadier General John Campbell, commanding his majesty’s forces in West Florida, from John Lorimer M.D. Surgeon in the hospitals for His Majesty’s Forces at Pensacola.”

When West Florida surrendered to the Spaniards, Dr. Lorimer was among the prisoners sent to New York. Problems involved in identifying Loyalists are insurmountable. The records are scattered as in the case of Dr. Lorimer. His birthplace has not been found. There is no evidence of a wife or children. He mentions brothers and sisters in his will that was written on Middle Caicos in 1807. Present day inhabitants know the location of his grave.

Dr. Lorimer’s will was recorded in the Bahama Registry. He gave specific instruction concerning his property and even his funeral. His brother Thomas received 1/3 of his property and his other brothers, Charles and James, and sister, Jeanett Sowers, received the balance. The will read as follows: “I wish my body to be carried to the grave by six of my Negroes (if I have any left) dressed in white. For long services rendered me by my Negro woman, Rose, I leave her free . . . and any two of my young Negroes born and raised at the Caicos or Turks Islands which she may choose. Also that the Negro woman Betty and her issue be the property of said Rose bought for her from Robert Darrell.”

What his life was like on the Caicos lies in the ruins of his plantation. We know that he was respected in his community because his name has survived to the present day

as the village Lorimers on Middle Cacicos. He is the only Loyalist so honored.

The ruins of Haulover are easily found today and it  was mentioned in Emile Stubbs Kursteiner’s will, written  April 1954. She inherited the plantation through her great grandfather, Henshall Stubbs, and father, Alfred Stubbs, who inherited it from Henshall’s uncle, Wade Stubbs, an original Loyalist planter on Turks & Caicos. According to H.E. Sadler, the Stubbs family expanded Haulover and two later attempts were made to cultivate cotton, one in 1898 and the other in 1920.

The investigation of Haulover was exciting from the very beginning. The team led by Mr. Forbes was slashing brush while following a stone fence through a field when they uncovered a very unusual well. It was a finely finished circular hole with steps leading down to the water. Finding a well finished to this perfection encouraged the team to disregard the exertion required to continue to the plantation.

The main house is the dominant structure found. It has a stone and mortar foundation that measured 73 ft. wide by 55 ft. deep, divided into 6 rooms. The foundation walls varied from 23 to 25 inches in width and were, in general, in good condition. The structure is laid out perfectly on a square, indicating precise construction techniques. On top of the foundation wall, approximately two inches in from the outside and five inches in from the inside, a second course of rock and mortar indicate the structure above the foundation was material other than stone. Wood was plentiful at this time on the island and the house appeared to be finished in that material. The secondary stone course had three openings in the north wall: a 3 ft. 7 inch opening in the center of the wall and 3 ft. 6 inch openings spaced on either side of the center opening. Apparently, a front door and windows on either side existed.

An 8 ft. decorative circular stone platform lay approximately 30 ft. from the front door/window openings. A second circular tier 5 ft. in diameter with a 6 x 6-inch hole in the center could have supported a flagpole.

Numerous fences divided small areas and fields outside this main house structure. Piles of “rubble” stone lay to the north of the main house. As in other plantations, they were probably poorly built slave houses that collapsed in time.

This kitchen is located about 2 1/2 ft. off the rear of the west wall of the main house. It is a 15 ft. square mortar and stone structure, dominated by a 5 ft. wide, open fireplace on the south wall. The walls were 6 ft. 6 inch high at the roof’s eve. A 4 ft. wide door on the east wall and a 3 ft. x 2 ft. window on the west wall are in fair shape. The fireplace opening is 38 inches deep and 52 inches wide and leads into a 20 ft. high chimney and is in better than fair condition. Sill beams are in evidence in the fireplace and window. Wooden pegs were found in the windowsill.

An 8 x 8 ft. stone and mortar structure is located approximately 60 ft. west of the kitchen. A trough is located inside the building with a 2 ft. x 6 inch high drain to the outside at the bottom of the trough. Beams may have spanned the trough. This could have been a latrine.

A well-built platform with an 18 inch high, 11 inch thick wall surrounded the platform of tamped mortar and stone. This could have been a part of the ginning process of cotton.

A second stone and mortar house was found approximately 70 yards southeast of the main house and outside the main stonewall. This house measures 15 ft. 6 inches x 10 ft. 6 inches and is dominated by a large interior fireplace and chimney. It has two doors and five windows and appears to be a dwelling house, perhaps for an overseer. The walls and chimney are standing in fair to poor condition. Broken pottery and bottles were easily found outside this house. A circular stone platform was found close by but not as elaborate as the one in front of the main house.

No doubt that this was an elegant plantation. Mr. Forbes concluded that the wood, door hinges and anything that could be used elsewhere were probably removed after it fell vacant. The romantic students called the second residence “Rose’s” house. She could have been Dr. Lorimer’s love and mistress, since she was especially remembered in his will.

Conclusions

Of the three plantations investigated on Middle Caicos, Haulover offers the most potential for tourist attraction and  a view of plantation life. The foundation of the main house is easily viewed, with a layout of rooms, doors and windows evidenced. A 75 ft. long foundation is intact. The kitchen, platforms, and secondary residence are in fair condition. Other residents during the years after Lorimer’s death probably stopped the decay that Increase and Bonaventure suffered. Wade’s Green on North Caicos likewise is in good condition due to use through the years. An attempt to give access to Haulover is being made by the National Trust. A path is cleared, a viewing platform is in place and Mr. Forbes is an able guide.

The plantation era is of great value in understanding the history of the Turks & Caicos Islands. These American planters were the first inhabitants since the Spaniards found the Taino Indians in the late 1400s. That culture disappeared and the Islands lay barren until the late 1700s. Viewing the Islands now, it is difficult to visualize the bustling period with hundreds of acres of cotton growing which supplied industry and a social life for the planters and their slaves. Wars, insects, depletion of land and no capital worked against the continuing success after the planters either died or left the Islands. A bare thread (if any) of the planters’ descendants remains but the surviving slaves’ descendants are now ready to reap the benefits of their ancestors’ struggles and hardships.

To reach a better understanding of the pattern of life in the plantation era, further excavations need to be undertaken on both North Caicos and Middle Caicos, particularly of the slave quarters. This would assist in uncovering the social structure at work during the Loyalist Period. The undertaking is great but with leaders on the Caicos Islands like Ernest Forbes, we will continue to “follow the chimneys.”



8 Comments

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Anthony Sweeting
Jun 18, 2009 6:23

“Further excavations” could include exploration with Metal Detectors as in those days, with no banks or other secure places for valuables it was common to bury items and monies which might still be there. A most fascinating expedition and report. I wish I had been there.

julius stafford baker
Oct 31, 2011 12:13

Dear Dr Kozy, I have made some extensive researches into the early days in Turks, the 1780s onwards. And have some information for you, much gleaned from the UK National Archives at Kew, near London.
My own family were in Salt Cay from the early 1800s onwards. My own ancestor was born on S.C. and eventually died on Grand Turk in 1904 Meantime visiting and starting a family in England whence I descend. I have a little oral tradition to add to the serious research.. There is a very remarkable story
about a white and a brown side to the family, and the best part is, all three sides of the family are now again in touch. Two separate families living in Fla, USA, and my lot here in England.

look fwd to hearing from you, as I have some questions you may be able to answer.

J S Baker

Lorraine Phillips-Moss
Jan 11, 2012 22:09

I enjoyed this article. Since you mentioned the term ‘follow the chimney’, when I was a youngster growing up in Readymoney North Caicos, there was a structure that we called ‘the scaffold’ on our property. It had steps leading to its top with what appeared to have been a flag pole in past times. As an adult, I always thought it was related either to the Loyalists or the pirates, as a look out tower of some sort.

gwendolyn franklin
Feb 5, 2016 10:46

Dear Dr. Kozy. I am looking for the inhabitants for Dr. John Bell,s Plantations. I believe he had a daughter named Elizabeth Bell who owned a slave , Philla and sold this slave to Molly Delancy who was the mother to this slave girl. Any information from you would help.

gwendolyn franklin
Feb 5, 2016 11:35

Dear Dr. Kozy. I am looking for the inhabitants for Dr. John Bell,s Plantations. I believe he had a daughter named Elizabeth Bell who owned a slave , Philla and sold this slave to Molly Delancy who was the mother to this slave girl. Any information from you would help. sincerely Gwendolyn franklin

gwendolyn franklin
Feb 5, 2016 11:38

looking for the inhabitants of john Bell’s plantation. I belive he had a daughter named Elizabeth and a slave name philla. Any information would help. sincerely Gwendolyn Franklin

Jeff Dodge
Nov 25, 2023 11:39

Dr. Kozy – I am working on the history of the property at Breezy Point on East Caicos. I began my story with
John and Thomas jr. Ingham who both received land grants from the governor of the Bahamas in 1907. Their adjacent land grants totaled 1,368 acres (according to the plats on the grant documents). As you probably know, this piece of land has gone through many hands and is not owned, I believe, by the Arden Group of Philadelphia.

I’ve read the Dr. John Bell had two estates on the Caicos Islands—Industry and Increase. I am interested in
anything you can tell me about the estate Increase as I’ve read it was on East Caicos. This is news to me and I need to be clear on exactly where it is and what happened to it after Dr. John Bell’s ownership of it.

Do you have any information on John McIntosh? His estate was Bellevue on North Caicos, I believe. I believe he died in 1819. He was John Ingham’s executor.

Many Thanks – Jeff

Beth
Dec 26, 2023 17:49

Hello Jeff Dodge and Gwendolyn Franklin. Please contact me regards JOHN BELL. Thanks.
My email is carriacou.gypsy@gmail.com

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