MURKY ORIGINS
The Matthews family of Punts Estate, Cape Town have an oral tradition that names St. Helena Island as their origin before arriving in the Cape Colony. This narrative is confirmed by those of the Matthews family that remain in St. Helena and the supposedly related Downes and Masters families (descendants of emancipated and runaway slaves) in Jamaica.

The Matthews family's oral tradition submits that they first came to St. Helena (and later the Northern Cape and Southern Namibian border region) when an individual possibly from either the Mathis/Matthews slave family of South Carolina or Masters/Downes slave family of Jamaica fled the Americas during the colonial era (the late 1700s or early 1800s).

List of surnames of Slave persons on St Helena Island in 1827

(Contributed by Merle Martin)

URL: https://www.eggsa.org/index.php/en/; https://www.facebook.com/virtual.eggsa/posts/1679678978858483

eGGSA

Published via Facebook on 17 October 2002 by the virtual branch of the Genealogical Society of South Africa.

ALLEY
ALLINS
ALLY
ALVAREZ
ANDREW
ANDREWS
ANTHONY (ANTONY)
ANTONY
ARMS
ARTHUR
ASHTON
AUGUST
AUGUSTUS
BACCHUS
BAGLEY
BAIRD (BEARD)
BALLY
BARNES
BASTINO
BATTY
BEARD
BEATIE
BELL
BEN
BENJAMIN
BENNETT
BIFFIN(BUFFIN)
BIRCH
BLAND
BOOM
BOOMS
BOOTH
BOWERS
BREMEN
BROOK
BROWN
BRUCE
BURROUGHS
BUSTINO
CAESAR
CASAR (CAESAR)
CATO
CATON
CHAMBERS
CHARLES
CHARTERS
CHEEKS
CHINTRY(CHENTRY)
CHRISTOPHER
CLARK
COATES
COCKRANE
COERBECK
COLLINS
CORKER
COXWELL
CRAIG
CROEE (CROWEY)
CROP
CROWEY
DAVID
DAVIDS
DAVIS
DEVINE
DEVY
DIAMOND
DICK
DIGGINS
DOE
DONAUT
DONAUGHT
DUBLIN
EASTHOPE
EDDY
EDWARDS
ELLICK
EULEY
EWELL
FAIR
FINHAM
FORTUNE
FOWLER
FRANCIS
FRANK
GEORGE
GILDEROY
GRACE
GREENLAND
GREWER
GRIFFON
HAMLET
HARDY
HARRIGO
HARRY
HAWKINS
HECTOR
HENRY
HERCULES
HIGGINS
HILLMAN
HODSON
HOLMES
HOWLETT
HUDSON (HODSON)
HUGHES
HUSKINS
HYAM
HYGATE
ISAAC(ISAACKE)
JACK
JACOB
JACOBS
JAMES
JAMES
JAMESON
JANE
JANUARY
JEFFERSON
JOB
JOE
JOHN
JONAS
JONES
JOSEPH
JULIO
JUNE
JUNIAS
JUNE
KATO
KELLY
KENNEDY
KING
KNIPE
LASTLY
LAWRENCE
LEACH
LEGG
LEO
LIVERMORE
LONDON
LYONS(LIONS)
MAGGETT
MAGGOTT
MANNING
MANUEL
MARCH
MARTHA
MASON
MATCHEL(MATTCHETT)
MATTHEWS
MAY
MCMAHON
MELLISH
MERCURY
MICHAEL
MITTENS
MOYCE
NAIRN(E)
NEPTUNE
NEWBERRY
NICHOLAS
O'MERA
O'NEALE
ODEIN
OLIVER
PELAW
PETER
PHIL
PHILL
PHILIP(PHILLIP)
PIG
PLUKE
POMPEY
PORCHMAN
PRICE
PUGH(PEUGH)
RAYNAM
READE
REYNOLDS
RICH
RICHARDS
RICHARDSON
RILEY
RIPPON
ROCK
ROGER
ROSS
RUSHFORDS
RUSSELL
SAM
SAMUEL
SAWNEY
SCOTT
SEAL
SEALE
SHIPBECK
SIFTON
SILVESTER
SIMON
SIMS
SMALL
SMITH
STEPHEN
STEPHENS
STEVENS
SUNDAY
SYER
TALBERT
THEED
THOMAS
THOMPSON
THORN
TIM
TOE
TOM
TONEY
TOP
TUCK
TWYHAM
TWYNAM
TWYNHAM
VARNEY
WADE
WALLACE
WATSON
WHALEY
WHITE
WILLIAM
WILLIAMS
WILLIS
WOOD
WORCESTER
YON
YOUDS
YOUNG

By this date all the slaves were of mixed heritage, including European, African and Indian descent.

Marriage

Burial "In Grave of Kennedy"