John Graham of Gartur

John Graham of Gartur, owner of Three Mile River in Westmoreland, Jamaica. The compensation for enslaved persons on this estate was awarded to his widow Matilda Graham née Erskine (q.v.) based on arrears of £5000 for an unpaid annuity.

1. Marriage, in 1800: 'At Cardross, Scotland, John Graham, esq., to Miss Matilda Erskine, fourth daugh. of James E. esq. of Cardross.'

2. Memorial inscription at Inchomme Priory, Scotland: 'Sacred to the memory of John Graham Esq. of Gartur. Last Male Representative of that family who died 28th April MDCCCXVIII aged LXIX.'

3. The details of who inherited Three Mile River after the death of John Graham in 1818 are not clear. In 1821, a letter from James Colqhoun Grant (mentioned in the will of John Graham as his attorney in Jamaica) to Archibald Crawfuird of 24 Forth Street, Edinburgh, outlined the financial situation in the estate, adding, 'We are very sensible that in the present distressed times Miss Graham must have derived very little if any advantage from her succession.' Archibald Crawfuird was a Writer to the Signet (Scottish solicitor) who was listed at 24 Forth Street, Edinburgh from 1817-1820 and 20 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, 1821-1823. In the Jamaica Almanac for 1824 the proprietor was listed as Margaret Graham. This is probably the Miss Margaret Graham, daughter of Captain John Graham of the 42nd Regiment and heir-at-law of John Graham of Gartur, mentioned in the compensation records. However, the initial claimant for compensation in 1834 was Margaretta Crawford (q.v.), as guardian to her son. In 1832, the enslaved people on Three Mile River were registered by William Glen, attorney to James Graham Crawfuird. James Graham Crawfuird of Gartur, youngest son of Archibald Crawfuird, Writer to the Signet, died at Three Mile River, Jamaica, 09/05/1840. This James Graham Crawfuird may be the son of Archibald Crawfuird, W.S., who died at Edinburgh, 16/05/1824, who according to an unsourced online family tree was married to his cousin Margaret Crawfurd.

4. Will of John Graham of Garter [sic] [made in 1811] proved 11/05/1819. In the will he instructed that his property be sold, and he left annuities of £800 p.a. to his wife Matilda Graham; £70 p.a. to Miss Margaret Graham, daughter of his late cousin Capt. John Graham; £25 p..a to the wife of James Morison son of the late Rev. James Morison; £100 p.a. to David Forrester of Polder; £36 p.a. to Mary Barham 'free woman' of Westmoreland Jamaica; £20 p.a. to Andrew Wilson, man of colour, his servant; and £100 p.a. to James Morison, grandson of Rev. James Morison 'my cousin german.' In a codicil of 1818 he added further annuities of £35 p.a.

T71/871 Westmoreland claim no. 291 (Three Mile River). T71/1209: counterclaim of Matilda Erskine otherwise Graham of Gartur in Scotland, widow of John Graham of Gartur.

1. Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 87, p. 587.

2. Photograph available at http://www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info/genealogy/TNGWebsite/showmedia.php?mediaID=609&medialinkID=636 [accessed 30/07/2012].

3. . http://jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Samples2/Hanletter.htm [accessed 30/07/2012]. Post Office Directories, 1817/18, 1819/20, 1821/22, 1822/23. General Register Office for Scotland, CC21/6/100. Jamaica Almanac (1824). T71/1209 counterclaim of Matilda Erskine otherwise Graham. David Dobson, Scots in the West Indies 1707-1857 (2 Vols., Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1998/2006) Vol. 2, p. 22. General Register Office for Scotland, OPR Deaths 685/1 990 402. http://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/crawford.htm.

4. PROB 11/1616/188.