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This project is about a coffee plantation called Berlin Plantation, so named from original owner's hometown, Berlin, Germany. Owned by Henry Cerf, then Judah Cohen and Hyman Cohen family. The project covers the ancestry and descendants of this plantation in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. This is one of the individual plantation projects in the Jamaican Planters and Plantation series.
Summary
From Deborah de Lisser: My slavery ancestry....... Elizabeth (Gracy) originally from Africa, is my g, g, g, g grandmother. Elizabeth (Bessy) Stewart is her daughter, born in Jamaica. Both were on Berlin Plantation, St Elizabeth. 3 children with Ennever, Joseph A. Ennever born into slavery in 1830 was my grandmother's grandfather. His mother Bessy was her great grandmother.
http://www.ennever.co.uk/my_web/slave.htm
Bessy or Elizabeth Stewart was the slave girl that Ennevor had three children with at Berlin Plantation, St Elizabeth. Bessy was born on the plantation so she is referred to as Creole which literally means born on the island whereas her mother who I believe was Gracie was born in Africa. Although both were Negroes they did make this distinction at the time. We are descended from her only son who was Joseph Adolphus Ennevor. He was actually born into slavery but I think was about 4 years old when slavery was abolished.
The children were all born at about three year intervals which has led one to speculate that Ennevor travelled. The other children were called Sarah and Eleanor.
Grace b. Africa
I Joseph Ennever/or, b. England / Bessy, b. Berlin Plantation
I Joseph Adolphus later married Agnes Hill
I Joseph Henry Ennevor m. Leonora Beaumont ( She was the daughter of a Mr. George de Beaumont, a planter, and Caroline Brown. Not married. Had 2 daughters, Leonora and Eunice. Eunice Beaumont, married Joseph Henry's brother Herman. So the two Beaumont sisters married the two Ennevor brothers)
I Alan Ennevor
==Plantation owners and Others==
- Henry Cerf, the owner of Berlin was related to Hyman Cohen who he sold it on to. Have you seen his gravestone in St Elizabeth with the hand on it????
- The Cohen family owned about a dozen properties in Jamaica including numerous slaves, in both St. Elizabeth and Manchester all with a Henry Cerf connection. Amongst them were Corby Castle, Twickenham, Berlin, Potsdam and Albion to name a few. Would be very interested to find out more about them. (See https://www.facebook.com/JewishJamaicanJourneys/photos/a.1487629652...)
1818 ALMANAC, PARISH OF ST. ELIZABETH, FOR THE MARCH QUARTER 1817
- Cerf, Henry, Berlin, 992 slaves/10 stock
- ...Same, Potsdam, 250 slaves
- ...Same, Mount Zion, 131slaves
- ...Same, Nile, 40 slaves
- ...Same, Corby Castle, 77 slaves
1840 Jamaica Almanac, ST. ELIZABETH, Proprietors, etc., Properties, etc., Acres
- Cohen, Judah, Potsdam, 1710 acres
- Cohen, Judah, Cosby-Castle, 328 acres
- Cohen, H. and J., Twickenham etc, 1000 acres
- Cohen, Hymen, Berlin, 1412 acres
MANCHESTER, 1840:
- Cohen, H. and J., Isle, 397 acres
- Cohen, Judah, Heathfield, 348 acres
- Cohen, Hymen, Apropos, 60 acres
- Cohen, Judah, Maidstone, Bath, and Chatham, 1058 acres
- Cohen, Hymen, Albion, 1350 acres
- Cohen, Judah, Berwick, 700 acres
- I think that Hyman Cohen who owned Bessy may have been a mulatto. His mother was Leah Wright, a free negro and his father, David Cohen. How did a Jew get away with owning all these plantations and slaves at this time????? I thought that they were only allowed to own three or four slaves max at the time and that it was unheard of for a Jew to own plantations!!! (See Wrights of St Elizabeth Family).
I read somewhere that Henry Cerf, Cohen's relation, may have been a European prince.
- Hyman Cohen, Born 1761 in Amsterdam.
- Judah Cohen
- Hyman Cohen grave in Black River
- Joseph Ennever, Freeman of the City of London (and founder of the Jamaican Ennever/ors)?
Joseph Ennever, freeman of the City of London.
Many people will assume that the Freedom of the City of London is purely an honorary award, presented only to the great and the good. However, this is true of only a very small number of City Freemen. The Honorary Freedom of the City of London is indeed the highest honour the Corporation of London can bestow, but it is granted very rarely. The vast majority of City Freemen were, and are, admitted by other means, and represent a very broad cross-section of the population. Over the last 300 years, about 300,000 ordinary people have been made Free of the City of London. Even today, many men and women continue to be admitted to the City Freedom, although most of the privileges and practical reasons for doing so have long disappeared.
Before the mid-19th century, the Freedom of the City of London was a practical necessity for those who plied a trade or made their living in the City of London. Indeed, certain groups of people were compelled, on pain of prosecution, to be Free of the City, including retail traders within the City (until the 1850s) and licensed victuallers in the City of London (until 1853). Because Joseph was admitted as a a City Freeman in 1827 he would first have become a Freeman of one of the City Livery Companies (as the successors to the medieval trade and craft guilds are known). In Joseph's case this will probably have been the Vintners' company.
Joseph Ennever was a wine and brandy merchant plying his trade in the City of London from the 1820s until his death in 1845. He was born near Bath in Somerset, the son of Joseph & Anne (nee Duggan ) of Walcott. Being born there he was in a prime position to have travelled to Jamaica from Bristol, which was a major port for trade with the West Indies. The first generation of Jamaican Ennevers all have christian names used within his family and it is possible that he lost touch with his English family as his will wasn't proved until 1860 although he died in 1845. Proving the link will probably be almost impossible but it is just may be that our DNA will offer us an insight into this possibility. Sources: City of London website.
They think that this guy is the father of our first male Jamaican Ennevor born to the slave Bessy at Berlin.
Slaves
The following family were slaves on Berlin.
- William Whitely-Born about 1780-Baptised at age 40 in 1820. He married Harriet Smith in 1835.
- Harriet Smith- Born about 1784- Daughter of Gracey Stephenson.
Children of William Whitely & Harriet Smith:
James Whitely-Born about 1807- He married Harriet Chambers & later Evelina Barnes.
- Rebecca Williams Whitely-Born about 1818- She married William Knight.
- Lewis Whitely-Born about 1823-He Married Oriana Brown.
- Frances Whitely-Born about 1826-She married William Clarke.
- Richard Whitely-Born about 1828-He married Jane Bennett.
- Catherine Whitely-Born about 1836-
- John whitely-Born in 1840
- Rose Ann Whitely-She married James Smith
Notes:
This is where I have found to date the earliest record of my Whitely Line. I have yet to confirm that the William Samuel found on Berlin is the William Samuel Whitely who was my 3 x G grandfather. He was baptized in 1834 on Carlisle at age 23.
William Samuel appeared on the 1817 Berlin slave return. He was 14. On the 1832 slave return for Berlin he was age 20.
His mother was listed as Patience Smith. The 1834 Slave Return still had Patience listed with her other son John Hibbert, but William Samuel no longer appeared at Berlin.
More than likely that the older William Whitely was also the father of my 3 x great grandfather who would have been born between 1808 & 1816.
In 1845 William Samuel Whitely appears in the Jamaican Almanac Return of Proprietors & Properties & Land, owning 10 acres in Happy District. William had children with Charlotte Richards & Deborah Powell that were baptized in Happy Retreat. I am descended from his son Robert Whitely with Deborah Powell.
I have confirmed that this is indeed my Whitely lineage as DNA testing shows my dad & myself matching all Whitely descendants who have tested, of William & Harriett . It is also likely that the 1780 William Whitely had another son Richard Whitely(mother unknown) DNA testing is also linking my dad & myself to this family.
Update:
Recently I came into information that William may have been manumitted when he was 4 by William Samuel Witter. He was shown with his mother Allimenter/Allimintus. It was suggested that Alimenter/Allimentus may have gone by the Whitely surname. This is all speculative and not yet proven and I continue to look for evidence, to verify that the William manumitted by William Samuel Witter was my 3 x g grandfather.
................................................................................................................ Information for the slaves listed from Ancestry slave returns and FamilySearch Records. More Sources will be uploaded at a later date.
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Sources & References for This Whitely Family
* http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Members/Al45eli2.htm
More Information will be forthcoming::
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References, Resources, and External Links
- Cemetery excavations reveal complicated Jamaican Jewish past
- MANCHESTER, 1840: PROPRIETORS etc., PROPERTIES etc., ACRES
- 1840 Jamaica Almanac, ST. ELIZABETH, Proprietors, etc., Properties, etc., Acres
- 1818 ALMANAC, PARISH OF ST. ELIZABETH, FOR THE MARCH QUARTER 1817
- Hyman Cohen
- Judah Hyman Cohen, Born July 12, 1794 in Jamaica, West Indies.