Matilda Graham (née Erskine)

Widow of John Graham of Gartur, successfully counterclaimed for the compensation for Three Mile River estate in Westmoreland, Jamaica, based on arrears of an annuityleft to her by her husband, whose will showed him leaving her £800 p.a..

1. Baptised 04/10/1770 at Port of Menteith, Stirlingshire, her parents were James Erskine of Cardross and Lady Christin Bruce (daughter to the Earl of Kincardine). "[Marriage, January 1800] At Cardross, Scotland, John Graham, esq, to Miss Matilda Erskine, fourth daugh. of James E. esq. of Cardross."

2. 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.

3. According to the inventory registered at Stirling Sheriff Court after the death of Matilda Erskine in 1839, she was owed a total of £7955 plus £37 interest by John Graham Crawfuird Esq "now of Gartur" in "annuities due to the deceased and others at 15 May 1839".

T71/871 Westmoreland claim no. 291 (Three Mile River). T71/1209 counterclaim of Matilda Erskine otherwise Graham.

1. General Register Office for Scotland, OPR Births 388 010; OPR Marriages 388 010. Gentleman's Magazine, Vol. 87, p. 587.

2. http://jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Samples2/Hanletter.htm [accessed 30/07/2012]. Post Office Directories 1817/18, 1819/20, 1821/22 and 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 [accessed 30/07/2012].

3. SC67/36/19. See Will details for more information.