Jamaican Sewells

[Sugarcane]

I am trying to trace the Sewell family who lived in Jamaica for generations. Susan (Nathan) Knight

[Tim Soles]

The Sole Society has received the following message and file attachments from a person who wishes to remain anonomous, but who is willing to help with any further questions. The file attachments are listed at the end of the message:


A friend connected with the Sewell family told me that Susan (Nathan) Knight is looking for information about the famous Jamaican Sewell clan on one of the Sole Society Site Forum pages. Please follow this link to view her post from August 2009: http://www.soleforum.org.uk/showthread.php?t=290 (http://www.soleforum.org.uk/showthread.php?t=290).

If you provide her with the information below and the attached files, she will have all of the information that she needs about the great Jamaican Sewell dynasty that started with William Sewell and Mary McRae in about 1830 and continued until about 1970.

There were other planters and pre-manumission slave owners in Jamaica with the surname Sewell prior to 1830, but I don't have any information about them yet...

If Susan uses the following links, she will find a genealogy chart on the Sole web site that details all of this information as well as information on one of the Sewell descendants that participated in World War I named Brigadier-General Horace Somerville Sewell ('Sambo'). She should note that the date of birth on Horace Sewell's linked page is incorrect: it should be 1881, not 1991. He is listed correctly on the Sole Society genealogy chart that I mentioned previously.

Ms. Kennedy should use this link: http://www.sole.org.uk/sewecumr.htm (http://www.sole.org.uk/sewecumr.htm) for the relevant Sole Society genealogy chart and this link: http://www.firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk/nicknames/sewell.htm (http://www.firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk/nicknames/sewell.htm) for information on Brigadier-General Horace Somerville Sewell ('Sambo').


All the way at the bottom on the left hand side of the aforementioned Sole Society page (using the link), she will see the Jamaican Sewell family tree. However, the last paragraph on the page, above the family tree, denies any knowledge of the fact that the whole Jamaican clan is Creole and that Mary McCrea was a mulatto slave. The correct information is detailed in the attached articles from a newspaper called the Daily Gleaner, which is Jamaica's version of the New York Times, as well as the First World War link about Horace Somerville Sewell provided above.


The late reporter Ray Fremmer wrote a special series about this Jamaican Sewell dynasty. Henry Sewell was extremely rich and very well-known during his lifetime. Ms. Kennedy should read the newspaper articles in the following chronological order:


1) William Sewell - March 2, 1980
2) Henry Sewell...Heir to an empire
3) Sewell - Arcadia Pen - Last of Series (the important information is towards the end of this article)

34

30

32

31

33

[RHew]

Does anyone have information on other Sewells in Jamaica around that time?
I am trying to trace Louisa Sewell, born about 1871, presumably in Jamaica, daughter of James Sewell, possibly from Trelawney, Jamaica, or overseas. She died in Christiana, Manchester, Jamaica, wife of Lewis Allen, planter. James lived in the Christiana area and his other children were Kitty (Catherine?), Beth (Elizabeth?), Sal (Sally?), and George. Any information or pointers to sources would be greatly appreciated.
Robert

[babegemini]

:o Hi I am a Sewell born in UK but my dad was caribbean (Jamaica). I can not access the William and Henry Sewell files and because you say the family were creole but its not documented. My whole caribbean side are light skinned brown (mixed looking). My fathers mother and father moved to the UK from Jamaica when my dad was 8yrs. Is there any other way i can access these files? i opened the 1st one William Sewell it worked but when i tried the rest and tried the William Sewell file again it didnt work?

I am searching for my ancestry line in Jamaica.

[MLSewell]

Dear Susan, we have a Sewell DNA surname project ongoing at Family Tree DNA. We have almost 50 members representing several distinct lines. Do you have any DNA data on your line? Regards, Martin

[babegemini]

Hi

I managed to open the sewell files :) I noticed on the family tree it said Horace Sewell?! Died 1953!? Well my dad had a brother who has died named Horace. I think he died in Jamaica before my grand parents came to england UK. My granddad was married before marrying my grandma also they had many between them children, Philbert,, norma, Jacqueline and more. Really i need to find more information but its difficult as i happen to be the child of a Sewell that had a mental illness so i didnt have the chance to ask for information.

It probably isnt related as Horace was born 1881 which makes him 72 when he died. I know my dad was either born in the late 1940s or 50s. his brother Horace was older than him and by the time i was say 22 he had been dead many years i wasn't told when however and because my Grandma Who i heard people call Daisy was ill and dying at the time so it was inappropriate. I have a portrait kind of picture of my granddad if any one is interested I am guessing he would have been the Sewell line as my Grand ma married him.. I am guessing he would have been born in the late 1800s or early 1900s also. I dont know him as anything but Granddad.

I have made a few calls this morning and am hoping to gain some information mainly about my my grand dad and any kids he had or the previous marriage.. Maybe who his parents were.

MLSewell What do you mean by data DNA? And are you tracing all Sewell Lines in Jamaica?

Feel free to ask any question any body.

Jo

Jo

[RHew]

babegemini -

In case you are not yet aware of the online resources for Jamaica, here are the highlights.

The LDS online data for Jamaica is divided into 3 sections:
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/list#page=1&countryId=1927006

The first merely has some transcribed data. The 2nd, "Parish Register Transcripts", has images of the registers, but perhaps less than half of them have been transcribed and indexed - in many cases you will need to refer to the handwritten indexes and follow them to the volume in question. https://www.familysearch.org/search/image/index#uri=https%3A//api.familysearch.org/records/collection/1827268/waypoints

The 3rd one, "Civil Birth Registration", covers the period c 1878 - 1930, but is also not completely transcribed or indexed. Unfortunately the names of the children were frequently not included, and left blank until baptism, so you frequently need to search by a parent's name, and then filter by parish of birth, and/or decade.

The LDS has other films of deaths, etc that are not online, but which you can request be sent to your nearest LDS Family History Center. See the main LDS catalog and https://familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator?c=City&s=State&p=Postal+Code&n=england

http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/index.htm is a very useful site, with a good overview of the other data sources (some sections require a paid subscription).

I have researched and connected most of the Sewells originating in the Christiana area of Manchester, Jamaica (and across the border into Clarendon), and am happy to share that info with you. They were white small planter families, that I have traced to the early 1800's. Finding what Parish/District your grandparents came from would be very useful. There were several other Sewell families elsewhere in the island which I have identified but not followed up on. Feel free to contact me through a PM, or let me have your email address.

Robert

[MLSewell]

Robert,

Thanks for the information. However, the Sewell DNA Surname Project (via Family Tree DNA) is in search of male Sewells who are interested in participating in genetic testing. Our hopes are that 'links' will be discovered that may allow 'filling the paper gaps' in family trees.

Best regards,

Martin

[RHew]

Dear Martin:

The info re online sources was primarily for the benefit of Jo/babegemini. I hope your DNA Project is fruitful.
Robert

[G Marcus]

I am trying to research into my family tree to see if there is a link with the great Sewell dynasty..

My (Mums) family is originally from Clarendon in Jamaica; my great Grandfather(Walter Sewell) had a child with a Rebecca McRae. This was my Granddad - Gladstone Sewell. I would like to find out if there is any link to William Sewell and Mary McRae.
Also I would like to find out the names of Walter Sewell's and Rebecca McRae's parents.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[asewell]

My name is Ainsworth Sewell and I was born in Jamaica, WI but resides in the United States. I’m son of Clifton Sewell. My father was born in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. I was told that my Grandfather (Sewell) died when my father was still young, possible about 12 yrs old.