Hi Jacquelyn, I’ve seen similar things when researching another family member’s tree. I would say it was highly likely that little Nancy was his child with Patience, and by making her free, and giving her some basic education and care, he was giving her a better start in life. It was a round about way of admitting paternity.
I am also working on a friend’s tree where an ancestor, an unmarried plantation owner took two of his children with a slave (and yes, I hate that word!), home to England when he left Jamaica. That was far more unusual as there was a lot of discrimination shown towards “half caste” children. Both children went on to marry, have large families of their own and lead a comfortable life. Cheers, Verity On 27 Aug 2026, at 7:16 am, Jacque Newman via CoTyroneList <[email protected]> wrote: Have to wonder about the paragraph: "I desire that my executors will immediately after my death make my favourite little slave, Nancy, daughter of my slave, Patience, free, and that she be put under the care of some discreet woman to learn to sew, and that my executors will pay her £20 per annum for five years for clothing for her." The description of Nancy as "favourite little slave" - to our modern ear, it sounds negative and in poor taste (to say the least) but is it possible Mr. Sproule used it as a term of endearment? And does the word "free" mean that she would no longer be a slave after his death? He asks that Nancy be in the care of a "discreet" woman. If discretion is key, is it possible Nancy's identity was a family secret? ie: maybe Mr. Sproule's daughter? Or was the word used in a different context at that time and place in history? Any ideas on that? Jacquelyn On Wednesday, August 26, 2026 at 01:01:15 PM EDT, James McKane via CoTyroneList <[email protected]> wrote: The Will of Andrew Sproule of Annotto Bay, Jamaica 1801<https://www.cotyroneireland.com/wills/sproule2.html> Thanks again to Len Swindley for another great addition to CTI! Jim McKane Kitchener, Ontario [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ================================= Send a Message to the List - [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> List Archive - https://list.cotyroneireland.com/empathy/list/cotyronelist.list.cotyroneireland.com Join the list by sending an email to - [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To receive the Digest version, send an email to - [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Unsubscribe by sending an email to - [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> ================================= ================================= Send a Message to the List - [email protected] List Archive - https://list.cotyroneireland.com/empathy/list/cotyronelist.list.cotyroneireland.com Join the list by sending an email to - [email protected] To receive the Digest version, send an email to - [email protected] Unsubscribe by sending an email to - [email protected] =================================
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