Part 320s – Smith Robertson Genealogy – 1832 Benjamin and Sophia (née) Smith Ventour

Afternoon,

In my search for the origins or any hint of relationships of ggg-grandfather James Smith I was able to cross-reference the Indenture of Part 319s to the 31 December 1832 Slave Registers of former British Colonial Dependencies. This Document is available from The National Archives of the UK via Ancestry.co.uk. After a review I was able to discover a further corroboration. The information provided pertains to gg-granduncle Benjamin Ventour husband to gg-grandaunt Sophia (née Smith) daughter of ggg-grandfather James Smith.

(Image: A Scholar by Rembrandt, 1631. Hermitage, St. Petersburg)

This document, albeit an accounting summary, indicates that Benjamin Ventour decreased his slave holdings “By Sale to O. Rowley Esq.” There is no mention in the accounting of the name James Smith within the body of the paperwork. My limited understanding of the legalities of contract law leaves me with the question “Why was ggg-grandfather James Smith included as one of the parties in the Indenture dated 27 October 1832?”

Here are the images, Pages 358, 359, and 360 of the Slave Registers.

My transcription -

358

Annual Return of the Increase and Decrease of Slaves
belonging to Benj. Ventour in the Parish of Saint
George for the Year 1832

No. 81				Increase
Names	Age	Colour	Country	How Acquired	Conspicuous Marks	Mother’s name	Remarks	Males	Females
Henrietta	1 Month	Mulatreʃs	Grenada	By Birth	None	Adelle			/
						Increase by birth			/
						Increase by otherwise
						Total Increase			/
				Decrease
Names	Age	Colour	Country	Manner of death or how disposed	Conspicuous Marks	Remarks	Males	Females
Joachim	43 Yrs	Black	Carriacou	By Sale to O. Rowley Esq.	None		/
Germain	60 ”	”	”	D˚	A Toe of the left Foot Cut off		/
Joseph	39 ”	”	”	D˚	None		/
Jim	35 ”	”	African	D˚	”		/
William	25 ”	”	Carriacou	D˚	”		/
Julien	23 ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Michel	19 ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Glasgow	27 ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Jeremy	22 ”	Mulatto	”	D˚	”		/
Ian	17 ”	Black	”	D˚	”		/
Alexander	18 ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Philip	13 ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Charles	12 ½ ”	”	Grenada	D˚	”		/
Robert	11 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Henry	9 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Benjamin	9 ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Walter	8 ”	”	”	D˚	”		/

359

Samuel	6 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Ben	5 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Thomas	5 ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Davy	3 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Frederick	2 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”		/
Mary Noel	31 ”	”	Carriacou	D˚	”			/
Mary Rose	45 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Madelaine	13 ”	Mulatreʃs	”	D˚	”			/
Louise	74 ”	Black	”	D˚	”			/
Mary Ann 2d	33 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Scholastique	38 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Margaret	35 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Mary	32 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Pracilla	24 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Francoise	22 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Louisa	17 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Felicity	22 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Auguster	31 ”	Mulatreʃs	”	D˚	”			/
Mary Ann 1st	39 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Mary Catherine	44 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Augusta	16 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Judith	14 Years	Mulatreʃs	Carriacou	By Sale to O. Rowley Esq.	None			/
Zamoe	95 Years	Black	African	D˚	Country Marks			/
Pirene	35 ”	”	Carriacou	D˚	None			/
Mary Nett	33 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Susannah	12 ”	”	Grenada	D˚	”			/
Elsey	4 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Stratonice	9 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Charlotte	10 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Angelique	7 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Hannah	7 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Rosey	11 ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Betsey	6 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”			/
Lavinea	6 ½ ”	”	”	D˚	”			/

360

Sophy	4 ”	”	”	D˚				/
Cecil	14 Mos	”	”	D˚				/
Louisa	18 Mos	”	”	D˚				/
Honorie	29 Yrs	Black	Carriacou	_____ ______ _____				/

George Macewan

						Decrease by death	/
Seven Males & Eleven females							Decrease by Sale or otherwise	22	32
upon the 31st December 1832							Total Decrease	23	32
Benj: Ventour							Increase	”	1
16th May 1833							No of Slaves per last Return	30	42
								7	11

And now to continue with the second part of the Indenture. All-things-being-equal there may be some clues as to both the inclusion of ggg-grandfather James Smith and of further possible ancestry and familial relationships.

My apologies for not perfectly lining up the columns of information in my transcriptions, but working with Google Blogger, HTML, and Word 2010 together sometimes can be a challenge.

And Lorna, thanks for the additional insight.

Enjoy,

Jim