John Parnther

Son of John Parnther senior and his wife Ann (widow of John Bucknor, d. 1775). Not found in the Jamaica records after an almanac entry against Bonavista in St James for the givings-in of 1824.

1. Born 15/08/1777 and baptised 22/06/1779 in Hanover, Jamaica, son of John Parnther, planter, and Ann, his wife, on the same day as his younger brother Robert Ephraim Parnther.

2. Mrs Parnther, wife of J. Parnther Esquire, was buried in St James, Jamaica, in June 1824.

3. John Partner, age 60 [rounded down to the nearest 5 years], of independent means, born out of county, was living at College Place, St Mary Islington, London, in 1841 with Frances Parnther age 23 and one female servant. John Parnther, age 73, widower, fundholder, of independent means, born Jamaica, was living at 5 Oakley Street, Chelsea, with Thomas Whitford, a bank clerk, and his wife Matilda. John Parnther, widower of Chelsea and son of John Parnther, married Rebecca Whitby, widow (daughter of John O'Hara) in St Pancras, London, 14/09/1851. Rebecca O'Hara had married William Henry Whitby in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, in 1832 and they had moved to Hoblorn by 1833 for the baptism of their first child. Her husband died in 1839 and she was running a boarding house at 8 Powis Place, Holborn in the census of 1841. All three of her children by her marriage to William Henry Whitby (Charles Henry, Robert and William Henry junior) died young.

4. John Parnther of 5 Mecklenburgh Square was buried at Brompton Cemetery, 14/08/1858 age 80 years. John Parnther late of Hatfield Herts. who died at 5 Mecklenburgh Square 11/08/1858 whose will was proved 18/09/1858 by his widow Rebecca, effects under £100. Isabella Parnther (q.v.), the sister of John Parnther and daughter of John Parnther and Ann Bucknor, was living at Hatfield in the 1851 census. Rebecca Parnther, age 68, widower, born Jamaica, was a visitor at 5 Mecklenburgh Square, London, in the census of 1871 (head of household was Charles Cooke, dry goods merchant, age 78). She was not at Mecklenburgh Square in 1861 but has not been located elsewhere. Rebecca Parnther of 5 Mecklenburgh Square, buried 18/08/1875 in Brompton Cemetery, effects under £1500. The death of Rebecca Parnther, age 72, was registered Q2 1875 in St Pancras.

5. The only corresponding baptism found so far in Jamaica for Rebecca is of Rebecca, the daughter of Susanna Napier, "a mulatto woman" by John O'Hara, born 26/11/1802 and baptised 27/01/1803 in Kingston, Jamaica.

6. John Parnther registered enslaved people on behalf of various members of his wife's family in St James, including in 1817 as guardian to her younger siblings Rachel Lawrence, Mary Bonella, Samuel Edward, Rebecca Mary and Thomas James Bernard.

National Probate Calendar 1858; Jamaica Almanac (1825).

1. Familysearch.org, Jamaica Church of England Parish Register Transcripts, 1664-1880 [database online].

2. Ibid.

3. 1841 and 1851 censuses online; Ancestry.com, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1932 [database online]; Ancestry.com, England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1940 [database online]; Ancestry.com, London, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1906 [database online]; Ancestry.com, London, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1980 [database online].

4. Ancestry.com, Brompton, London, England, Cemetery Registers, 1840-2012 [database online]; National Probate Calendar 1858; Findmypast.co.uk, Middlesex, Brompton Cemetery [database online]; 1871 census online; National Probate Calender 1875.

5. Familysearch.org, Jamaica Church of England Parish Register Transcripts, 1664-1880 [database online].

6. T71/203 pp. 89, 96-101.

We are grateful to Mark Greenstock and David Barker for their assistance with compiling this entry.