Part 572sd – Smith Robertson Genealogy – GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith – Food For Thought – Part 3

Good Day,

The new puppy, Radar, aka Raydy, is a hoot to walk. He believes that he has to catch every lizard and bug on the ground and on every tree. Today, all of a sudden he began jumping up a good three feet into the air. He was trying to catch dragonflies. And the next thing he was trotting, ever so proud, with a white feather in his mouth. All I can do is laugh and smile. We have a master-dragonfly-catch-and-leaper-feather-slayer living in our home…

Today’s discussion is about the actual documentation that I have found in the research and search for the genealogy and history of my ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith. This is Part 3 of my discussion; following Part 570sd and Part 571sd.

The information and data that I have discovered to this point elaborates that she was a landowner and an owner of slaves. GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann may have been illiterate. And she most definitely had personal and business relationships with ggg-grandfather James Smith.

GGG-Grandmother Mary Ann Doret and GGG-Grandfather James did have seven children before they were married on 11 December 1832 at Good Hope in the Parish of Saint George, in Grenada. At this point I have not discovered or unearthed whether they did or did not have any additional children.

This third part of my dialogue about ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith pertains to the factual and physical documentation that I have discovered concerning her business acumen and dealings.

From the Grenada Registers of Records, one Indenture written 10 May 1821 and entered 26 May 1824 on Page 136 it appears that ggg-grandfather James Smith is in contract to sell a Lot of Land to one, Catherine Baillie. This Lot of Land is bounded “on the East by lands of Mary Ann Doret…” See Part 432s and Part 437s. (Note the re-occurrence of the Baillie surname.)

From the Slave Registers of Former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834, database, online with Ancestry.co.uk, I discovered a number of individual references to ggg-grandmother Mary Ann Doret as an owner. Documentation included from the years 1817, 1821, 1824, 1825, 1827, 1828, 1829, and 1830. The original documents are kept at The National Archives in Kew, England. Two pieces of the total Grenada Collection; Pieces 264 and 266 are not included in the Ancestry.co.uk online database.

There are two types of documents specific to ggg-grandmother Mary Ann Doret before she is married to ggg-grandfather James Smith. One document is “A List of Slaves belonging or with lawful Po∫se∫sion of Mary Anne Doret of the Parish of Saint Georges Proprietre∫s” and the other is an “Annual Return of the Increase and Decrease of Slaves belonging to Mary Ann Doret of the Parish of St. George for the Year (indicated)”. In all occasions ggg-grandmother Mary Ann Doret signs the Lists or the Annual Returns with her “X” mark. In 1817 it appears that ggg-grandfather James Smith is a witness to her mark.

In 1832 the “Annual Return of the Increase and Decrease of Slaves belonging to James of the Parish of Saint George for the Year 1832” includes the explanation of the numbers increase “By Marriage with Mary Ann Doret”. The Lists for 1833 and 1834 are registered to both ggg-grandparents James and Mary Ann Smith.

If you have any pertinent and additional information, data, and tales of ggg-grandmother Mary Ann (née Doret) Smith, I certainly would appreciate hearing of them.

And I continue my search.

Enjoy,

Jim