George Dempster

1. George Dempster, practitioner in physic and surgery, and Catherine Gordon Thomson, widow, were married by licence at Cedar Grove, 14/1/1824. In reporting his marriage, the Inverness Courier described him as late of the Army Medical Staff and said his wife Catherine was the relict of John Thomson of Mayday and Woodside Plantations.

2. The couple had children: a son, born at Kenswell Lodge 29/11/1824; James, born 22/08/1826 and bapt. 09/06/1828; Alexander John, born 25/02/1828, bapt. 09/06/1828. The baptismal entries describe the father as resident at Albion.

3. In 1828 his brother James Dempster, MD, was promoted Surgeon, 94th Regt., and his (James’s) brothers were said to be Doctors in Manchester, Spanish Town, Trelawny and St.Mary’s. In the same year Dr Anthony Dempster of Spanish Town was elected a member of the Jamaican Society for the encouragement of Agriculture and other Arts and Sciences.

4. In 1835 Dr George Dempster, late of Jamaica, sent from Fifeshire 3 mechanics and 12 agricultural labourers, indentured for five years, to the plantation of Dr Porter, Cocoa Walk, Jamaica. They were each to have bed, board, washing, clothing and about £5 yearly.

1. Familysearch.org, Jamaican parish registers, Manchester baptisms, marriages and burials 1816-1838 p. 4; Inverness Courier, 26/02/1824.

2. Scots Magazine, 01/03/1825; Familysearch.org, Manchester parish register, births, marriages and baptisms 1816-36, p. 264; the birth of a son 29/11/1824 to "the lady of Dr George... at Kensworth Lodge, Manchester, Jamaica", was announced in the Inverness Courier 10/02/1825.

3. Royal Gazette (Jamaica) 29/03/1828; ibid, 19/01/1828.

4. Inverness Courier, 09/12/1835.

We are grateful to Paul Hitchings and Peter Selley for their assistance with compiling this entry.