Christian Gray (née Moyes)

Awarded a share in the compensation for Hermitage estate in St Elizabeth Jamaica as one of a group of Scottish heirs of James Moyes, the deceased owner of the estate. Very likely the sister of James Moyes.

1. Hermitage estate is shown against estate of or late James Moyes from 1811 onwards.

2. James Moyes, the absentee owner of Hermitage (a coffee estate) died in 1802. The estate appears in Higman's Jamaica Surveyed with details of correspondence to John Wemyss, the agent of the co-heirs.

3. Christian Moyes and Malcolm Gray had four children baptised in Fife: Jean (1784, baptised in Abbotshall, parents in Kinghorn); Robert (1786, Leslie, mother's name Moyse, father a soldier pensioner at Leslie House); Robert (1788, Markinch, mother's name Moyce); Thomas (1791, Markinch).

4. Christian Moyes widow of deceased Malcolm Gray at Markinch aged 80 years was interred 13th April 1836, she by same grave of her husband the 16th ind[?] 1821.

5. Possibly the Christian Moyes, daughter of David Moyes, who was baptised in Portmoak, Kinross, 24/07/1758. A Jannett Moyes, daughter of David Moyes and Cristen Moyes, was baptised 23/06/1752 in Kinghorn, as was Anderson Moyes (1769 Kirkcaldy, same parents) and Henry Moyes (1761 Kirkcaldy, same parents). No trace of the baptism of James Moyes has been found.

T71/870 St Elizabeth claim no. 175-A-G.

1. Jamaica Almanacs 1811-1838.

2. B. W. Higman, Jamaica Surveyed: Plantation Maps and Plans of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (Kingston (Jamaica), University of the West Indies Press, 2001) pp. 183-5.

3. GROS OPR Births 399 20 317; GROS OPR Births 444 20 62; GROS OPR Births 447 20 29; GROS OPR Births 447 20 40.

4. GROS OPR Deaths 447 70 170.

5. Familysearch.org batch nos. C11464-2 and C11442-6.

We are grateful to Tomas Christie for his assistance with compiling this entry.