http://kitwithers.fortunecity.com/antram/potts.txt Version 30.6.2011 NOTES on POTTS, CALOGREEDY, BERNARD, and YARDE families, by Mark RIGHTON 1st contact 2.11.2010 MarkRighton"att"zonnet.nl (I write "att" for @ to foil spammers.) Mark has ID 11516 62141: all ID numbers here refer to http://kitwithers.fortunecity.com/antram/antram.html Edited from material sent me 30.6.2011 - Kit WITHERS kit.withers"att"gmail.com Elizabeth POTTS was a member of the parish of St. George's in 1823 when she married 11516 Joshua ANTRAM. A Robert POTTS was resident at 16 Hanover Square in the parish of St. George's in 1824. This is a 5-storey, Georgian house off Regent Street, which indicates a wealthy owner. It seems unlikely that this Robert POTTS is unrelated. John's 1821 will does not mention a brother called Robert, though would not if he was considered too wealthy for any more money, or if they had quarrelled, or if he had died, in which case this Robert POTTS may be Elizabeth's grandfather. The possible grandfather below would have been 91 if he were still alive in 1824. No death record was found for him. Elizabeth POTTS was a member of one of the leading English families in the future British Honduras colony. The POTTS were wood merchants, slave owners, self-made men, not highly educated, and quite wealthy. She went to live with her relatives in London for her schooling, which is where she and 11516 Joshua ANTRAM were married and where their six children were born. Thomas POTTS' will leaves some slaves to his nephew John POTTS. One letter in the case states that our John Sr. inherited his slaves from Thomas, implying that he was this nephew, (a brother's son?). Thomas' brother James POTTS (18 in 1755) had a son called John, yet this son may have been born in 1771 and not 1755 (see below), Elizabeth's father's date of birth. Brother Richard POTTS (28 in 1755) was old enough to be the father of our John Sr., but no sons have been found. There may however have been an unlisted brother called Robert (see below), who also could have been his father. The original settlement of woodcutters on the northern shore of the Bay of Honduras was not at first declared an official colony to avoid provoking Spain, who claimed the area. The settlers, known as Baymen, were led by a Superintendent, and were under the jurisdiction of the Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica. Thomas POTTS (possibly Elizabeth's great uncle) was the Acting Superintendent from 1791-7 (not enough social standing for confirmation). The Spanish claim was finally dropped after the Battle of St. George's Caye in 1798 and the area became the Colony of British Honduras in 1862. The will of John POTTS Sr., drawn up on the island of St. George's Caye in the Bay of Honduras in 1821, names his three children as beneficiaries: John POTTS Jr., Sarah Ward and Elizabeth Potts (probably in order of birth). He died on 15.10.1821, was buried on 16.10.1821 on the Caye and is described as a white man aged 66, i.e. born 1755, in County Durham. This is Elizabeth's father (see below). Note, however, that many people had multiple partners in this society, so there is no guarantee that the siblings all had the same mother. Who then was Elizabeth's mother? The General Return of All Inhabitants in the Bay of Honduras on 22.10.1790 lists in one household: John POTTS (white man), Sally BALDWIN (white woman), John TINKUM (white man), Jack (free black man) and 9 slaves. No Sally TINKUM was found in the records, i.e. she was not John TINKUM's married sister. The children are not mentioned, i.e. they were born 1790-9. Sally BALDWIN is the only woman the Belize records have mentioned as living in the same household as our John POTTS. She is therefore a candidate for Elizabeth's mother, though so is Ann GRACE (see below). A minister did visit St. George's Caye from Jamaica in the early 1790s; if the records of the marriages and baptisms he performed have survived they will probably be in a parish register in Jamaica. There were 22 parishes in Jamaica and many Belize residents went to Jamaica to get married at that time. There was no minister in Belize until March 1794, so if John POTTS did marry, it could have been in Jamaica or on the Caye. There is no record of a minister visiting the Shore before this date. No marriage record was found. John Purcell USHER's 1907 book on Memorial Inscriptions and Epitaphs of Belize lists, on the same tombstone: a. Sarah POTTS died 7.11.1797. The tombstone inscription was very worn, but her age was thought to be or contain a figure 6. b. Ann GRACE died 5.10.1800, aged 33 c. Catherine POTTS died 5.11.1800 aged 8, i.e. b. 1791/2, daughter of Sarah POTTS. No mention of the father, but illegitimacy is unlikely considering that her mother is also called POTTS. The grave of John and the communal grave of Sarah, Ann and Catherine were adjacent, so these people must be connected. The graves were destroyed in the hurricane of 1961 or 1931, so could no longer be examined. No POTTS men were found with a daughter called Sarah who died in 1797, i.e. POTTS must have been this Sarah's married name and she might have been aged 26, not 6. She seems to have been Catherine's mother, as there was no other Sarah POTTS old enough in 1791/2. Sally is a nickname for Sarah. If this Sarah POTTS were also Elizabeth's mother, and she and John married, this must have been between 1790 (when she was Sally BALDWIN?) and 1792 (when she was Sarah POTTS?). This matches the birth date of Catherine POTTS (definitely stated as Sarah POTTS' daughter) in 1791/2. Family Search lists a Sarah BALDWIN b in Silsden Moor and bp 3.11.1771 at St. Andrew's in Kildwick, Yorkshire, daughter of John & Hannah. She would have been 26 in 1797, the same age as the woman who died in Belize. This is the only record for a Sarah BALDWIN bp in the Durham area in 1770/1. John is more likely to have brought a companion with him from or near his own birthplace. There is no marriage record for a Sally or Sarah BALDWIN in Durham or Yorkshire in 1790/1. This is consistent with our Sally BALDWIN being unmarried in Belize in 1790. A Sally BALDWIN was bp 1.3.1770 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, daughter of Henry and Esther, but a Sarah BALDWIN m 15.10.1792 William KEARY also in Buckinghamshire. Family Search lists 2 other Sallys (in the US) and 4 Sarahs (in the UK) in 1770, and 6 Sarahs (in the UK) in 1771, none in the Durham area. The 3 deceased females were not Thomas POTTS' daughters; his Ann Grace POTTS was 21 in 1800, not 33 (an Ann Grace POTTS was buried 20.3.1857 in London). His Sarah POTTS was bp 1809, not deceased in 1797. The mother of his Catherine (b 10.7.1790) was Catherine FERRALL, not Sarah POTTS. Tombstones always state a person's last name, so Grace must be this Ann's surname. Records show an Ann GRACE to have been an independent slave owner in 1790, with an association with both Thomas and John POTTS. No POTTS-GRACE marriages were found. She must have been an unmarried woman from England. Family Search lists 5 women called Ann GRACE b England 6.10.1766-5.10.1767, e.g.: Ann GRACE bp 1.12.1766 Crofton, Yorkshire, daughter of Thomas GRACE. Absence of a mention of Elizabeth's mother in a document of September 1806 suggests she was no longer alive then, though she could not have died before 1796 - Elizabeth's earliest possible date of birth. There is no mention of her in the will, so Elizabeth's parents could no longer have been together in 1821. Her mother must have either died (1796-1806), or her parents were not married, or had separated. If this Sarah is Elizabeth's mother who died in childbirth, then Elizabeth was born on or before 7.11.1797, and, if she was also Catherine's mother, there is a possibility that she was also the mother of the 2 children in between. Elizabeth's sister, Sarah POTTS, m1 Richard WARD (Master Mariner) and m2 John ADAM (ship owner). The following two records positively identify Elizabeth, her father and her two siblings: Vol. 1, #27, December 30 1826 Belize: Passengers arrived: In the ARETHUSA, from London, Mrs. ARROWSMITH, Mr. GLEIM, and the Miss POTTS (sic). In the PETREL, from London, Mrs. ANTRAM, and Masters John and Richard WARD. 11516 Joshua ANTRAM was the Master of the PETREL. The two WARD boys were Sarah's sons, i.e. Elizabeth’s nephews. Their mother was already Sarah ADAM by this time (in 1826?). It is not known who the Miss POTTS on the ARETHUSA was. Our John POTTS Sr. was a slave owner (Indian = Maya). The John POTTS below was his son. Census of British Honduras in 1790 = 3000 African, 600 Maya and 400 English. Letters document the efforts of John POTTS, Esquire, of Belize, to recover from the British government the value of certain Indian slaves bequeathed to him and his two sisters, Mrs. ANTRAM and Mrs. ADAM, by their father's estate. Cover: "Honduras 1836 [sic]. Signature of notary Andrew BAYNTOWN certify[in]g correctness of enclosed copies of letters respecting compensation of Indian Slaves." Wax notary seals affixed: leaves [1] and [14]. Watermark: E. SMITH 1826. Forms part of the Edward E. AYER Manuscript Collection (Newberry Library). In folder. For more information, consult the Special Collections Info File. Letters in this case (1830-1) show that 11516 Joshua ANTRAM, acting for his wife, was represented by his brother-in-law, solicitor William DEAN. Richard WARD died by 25.7.1826. His widow signed a letter as Sarah WARD on 25.7.1826. She remarried John ADAM in March 1827(?), and a letter dated 28.6.1829 calls her the late Sarah ADAM. The style of the letters shows that they were written by people educated in England. This generation were all people of their time and did not see slavery as unusual. The Superintendent (Edward DESPARD) was dismissed for trying to secure equal rights for free black people in 1790 for example. Elizabeth herself owned a slave girl called Sibanoh, daughter of Member WILLSON, bequeathed to her by her father. Possibilities: 1. LDS records: Robert POTTS, bpt. 22.7.1733 Heworth Durham, son of Thomas POTTS. Is this the grandfather (aged 91 in 1824)? 2. A John POTTS bpt. 17.12.1755 Chester Le Street, Co, Durham, son of Robert POTTS. This could be Elizabeth's father, but he could only be Thomas' nephew if his father was another brother called Robert. 3. Another John POTTS bpt. 18.8.1771 in Whickham Co. Durham, son of James and Ann. This could be the son of Thomas' brother James POTTS, who was 34 in 1771, i.e. he was also Thomas's nephew. Our John was born in 1755. 4. The 1787 Belize Passenger list shows a John POTTS. This may be Elizabeth's father's initial arrival in Belize (aged 32). No mention of Sally BALDWIN or Ann GRACE (already there or not yet arrived?). 5. A John POTTS m. Ann THOMPSON 21.5.1791 at St. Margaret's in Durham. This sounds like James' son again, though they are also the correct ages for Elizabeth's parents. This Ann has not been identified in Belize records. 6. The 1792 Passenger list shows 5 POTTS: John, Thomas and Ann GRACE (Thomas' daughter?), Tomas (sic) and somebody just called POTTS. This could also be our John's wife. No mention of Sally BALDWIN (already in Belize in 1790) or POTTS. Speculation: John POTTS Sr. & Sally BALDWIN, aged 35 and 19 in 1790, married in 1790-2 and had 4 children: Catherine b. 1791/2 - d. 5.11.1800. John Jr. b. 1793/6 d. 1836-1846 (?), m. Elizabeth Tillett? -> Catherine & Marian. Sarah b. 1794/6 - d. 1827/9 m. (1) Richard Ward -> Richard & John; m. (2) John Adam -> no children found. Elizabeth b. 1796/9 - d. 1881 m. Joshua ANTRAM -> 6 children. Realistically a DNA analysis shows no African or Native American ancestry; Elizabeth's mother must have been white. Her son Simon Edward is described as White on his death certificate. The white woman, Sally BALDWIN, in John POTTS' household in 1790, could have been the Sarah POTTS who died on 7.11.1797. If Sally were not Elizabeth's mother, then who was? Ann GRACE and Ann THOMPSON were suggested above, but neither of them, nor any other woman, is mentioned as a partner of John POTTS senior in his will or in any other record. No will in the name of Sarah POTTS has been found, so the Sarah POTTS who died in 1797 was not a 'woman of independent means'. She was either married or a minor. Sarah and Catherine POTTS in the same grave, where Catherine is called the daughter of Sarah POTTS, must be mother and daughter. Elizabeth's sister was also called Sarah (mother's name?). Elizabeth's husband Joshua was born 7.4.1797, which is compatible with her own birth on or just before 7.11.1797 (cf. 1881 census). The date of their marriage on 8.11.1823 was first thought to be significant, as she would avoid marrying on 7 November if this day marked her mother's death, but 8 November was a Saturday, which is not unusual. John Jr.'s daughters are mentioned in the 1821 will; daughter Catherine named after the deceased sister? Sarah's sons are not mentioned, so were born 1821/6. Elizabeth's children were all born after 1823. None of the family was identified in the 1794-1810 Parish Registers or the 1816 census, and there is no mention of the children in their father's household in 1806, at which date they were probably at school in England. There was no mention of a Sally BALDWIN or Sally POTTS either. Absence of a record could also simply mean that they were not there at the time of the census. Ships' manifests show that members of the POTTS family frequently travelled back and forth between England and Belize. The lack of any mention of the mother(s) of John POTTS' children is perplexing. A wealthy man - as John certainly was - would usually provide a grave for his wife, stating something like 'The beloved wife of John POTTS'. A grave like this could have been destroyed in the hurricanes, but would still have been recorded in Usher's book, which it is not. The Sarah POTTS/Ann GRACE grave is the best possibility for the resting place of Elizabeth's mother. No birth or baptism records have been found for John's children. This is especially strange in Elizabeth's case, as she was born after a minister became resident in Belize. Her father is unlikely to have taken his baby daughter to another country just to have her baptised. She may also have been baptised elsewhere when she was older. St. George's Hanover Square had no record 1796-1803 or from 1815-1823. There is no index for 1804-1814, which makes this a possible period. A date of birth for Elizabeth would help to identify her mother, given the dates of the deaths of Sarah POTTS and Ann GRACE. If Elizabeth was born after 7.11.1797 or if Sarah really was only 6, this would exclude her and favour Ann GRACE or another woman. Elizabeth's daughter, 11516 3 Amelia Patience ANTRAM, raises the question: Were these the names of her mother? The names are out of sync with the rest of the family; nobody in Joshua's family had these names either. No woman was found in the Belize records with the names Amelia Patience. A woman called Amelia LONGSWORTH was baptised 11.7.1805, daughter of W. LONGSWORTH and Elizabeth EWING. Two women called Amelia GORDON and Patience GORDON were recorded in the 1826 census (unknown relationship, but not full sisters). None of these three women could have been Elizabeth's mother (wrong ages), though the POTTS family must have known these GORDONs. The 2 best possibilities for Elizabeth's mother are the Sarah POTTS (or Sally BALDWIN?), who died 7.11.1797, if she were aged 26 (no matches were found for a woman aged 16 or 36), or the Ann GRACE, who died 5.10.1800 aged 33. Early deaths are also consistent with their being white; white women succumbed very quickly in the tropics. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other POTTS Thomas and another John POTTS both signed Rear Admiral Sir William BURNABY's code of laws on 9.4.1765 when Thomas was 25. They may have been cousins or brothers, as none of his nephews were old enough. Our John POTTS Senior was 10 in 1765. Neither are ancestors of our family, unless the John who signed is another unrecorded brother. Thomas POTTS was baptised 12.10.1740 in Durham. He is called a Durham man in the Belize records. He became the Chief Magistrate of Belize and was the acting Superintendent between 1791-7 after Superintendent Despard was dismissed in 1790. A photo has been seen, which is reputed to be of Thomas POTTS, but this must be another man, as ours died in 1808, well before the development of photography. He did have an elaborate sarcophagus with a carved profile (since destroyed), which does not resemble the photo. The father of the Belize man = Thomas POTTS b. 1701 Marske Cleveland Yorkshire, m. 8.11.1726 to Mary STONEHOUSE, b. 1705/6, also in Marske. The children identified were: Richard bpt. 13.8.1727 Gateshead Co. Durham Robert? bpt. 22.7.1733 Heworth, Co. Durham James bpt. 12.1.1737 St. Nicholas Durham Thomas bpt. 12.10.1740 St. Oswald Durham Elizabeth bpt. 17.2.1741 St. Nicholas Durham. A gap of nearly 10 years between Richard and James makes it possible for there to have been a brother called Robert and possibly a John between them. Clerical records list three daughters of Thomas POTTS and Susannah BURRELL: Helen, Elizabeth and Sarah. Susannah couldn't have been Thomas' legal wife as Catherine FERRALL was still alive in 1806, and she is mentioned too casually in the will. Thomas' will directed that his daughters by Sue BURRELL be sent to New York to be educated by Isaac HICKS, a wealthy Quaker merchant, ship owner and active abolitionist. This Elizabeth (Thomas' daughter) was baptised in Belize 1.1.1809. Her sister Helen was baptised 3 days earlier, and is described as an adult, i.e. she was nearer to 21 and not about 12, as was our Elizabeth (John's daughter). The will also mentions a Sarah BURRELL who had a son called John GILL in New York. This again suggests that this Elizabeth (Thomas' daughter) also went to NY after 1.1.1809 and not to England like our Elizabeth (John's daughter). The 1810 US census lists John GILL and S. GILL (née Sarah BURRELL or POTTS?). Susannah's brother built Burrell's Boom and did not sign Burnaby's Code. Thomas BURRELL, also a slave owner, could be Susannah's father. Thomas POTTS died in 1808, the richest man in the colony, and had at least 3 or 4 female companions, none of whom he seems to have married, and all of whom were still alive when he made his will, in which he disposes of his slaves, etc. Companions and children: Catherine FERRALL (buried 22.9.1823): Ann GRACE b. 29.7.1779 St. George's Caye (passenger on a ship, arrived Belize 1792?). James b. 18.6.1781 Merida (during his parents' capture by the Spaniards). Mary b. 1.7.1784 Tower Hill Bank John b. 26.6.1786 St. George's Caye (went to Leipzig) Robert b. April 1788 St. George's Caye Catherine b. 10.7.1790 (not mentioned in the 1806 will, i.e. had died) The Sarah POTTS who died in 1797 could only have been Thomas's daughter if she were born in 1791 to Catherine Ferrall (or another woman). This would make her 6 years old in 1797. but would exclude her from being the mother of Catherine POTTS (b.1791/2). Sue BURRELL's daughter Sarah was alive in 1809. Thomas would probably not call two of his daughters Sarah, even if they had different mothers. The 1797 Sarah must be another woman to be the mother of the Catherine who died on St. George's Caye on 5.11.1800, i.e. Sally BALDWIN's married name? This Catherine who died is not the one born on 10.7.1790, as she was Sarah POTTS' daughter and not Catherine FERRALL's. The Ann GRACE, who died on 5.10.1800 aged 33, was 12 when Ann GRACE POTTS was born (1779) and was not Thomas' daughter. Was she the 1792 passenger? Susannah BURRELL (still alive in 1834): Helen bpt 29.12.1808 Elizabeth bpt. 1.1.1809 (went to NY) Sarah bpt. 1.1.1809 (went to NY) Note that Thomas and our John both had children called John, Sarah and Elizabeth POTTS. There were about 18 people in contemporary Belize records with these names! Susannah survived Thomas by at least 26 years, so may well have been much younger. Catherine FERRALL survived him by 15 years. Mimba a woman of colour (Maya?): 5 children, not named. Possibly by Clarissa, a Negro woman: Implies, but doesn't actually say that they were his children: Martha, Deptford & Scipis The First Parish Register and Censuses of Belize give Susannah BURRELL the designation 000 011 000 032. This means that in her household were: No whites (000), 0 coloured men, 1 coloured woman and 1 coloured child (011), no free blacks (000) and 5 slaves (0 men, 3 women and 2 children). The woman Mimba above, by whom Thomas also had 5 children, was one of her slaves. Susannah was still alive in 1834, when a third Elizabeth POTTS brought a legal action against her about slave ownership. This was Elizabeth Tillett, daughter of Capt. William Tillett and Mary White, who had married John POTTS Jr. (probably our John's son, as Thomas' son went to Leipzig). Our Elizabeth POTTS had become Elizabeth ANTRAM by then and was living in England. CALOGREEDY The historical facts distorted by Dagon Khin Khin Lay have been accepted without further questioning by later novelists. A writer of Myanmar historical fiction during the closing years of the 20th century, SEINT (Pyin-nya-yei) wrote a popular novel entitled Daing Khin Khin. First published in 1976, it has been reprinted 4 times, the 4th edition appearing in the year 2000. This novel is an interweaving of parts of the plot and the mixing of some characters from Dagon Khin Khin LAY's Sarsodaw with the plot and characters of the English novelist F. Tennyson Jesse's (1888-1958) The lacquer lady, where the true story of Mattie CALOGREEDY, a European maid-of-honour at the court of KING THIBAW and QUEEN Supayalat, is narrated against the political background of the rivalries and intrigues between two colonial powers, Britain and France, which led to the British annexation of Upper Burma in 1886. The name CALOGREEDY was adopted. Matilda's biological father was a French-Italian called PANIOTY. He was adopted by George CALOGREEDY from Greece. The CALOGREEDY family is extensive and well documented, but they are not blood relatives of the ANTRAMs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- BERNARD. The surname is suggested to have originally been Bernard-Shaw. No record found for Alexander William BERNARD-SHAW. This sounds like the "POTTS-ANTRAM" idea. Sir Charles Edward Bernard (1837-1901) was the Chief Commissioner (Governor) of Burma between 1880-3 and 1886-7. There is probably no connection with our family. He was of the same generation as Alexander William's father. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- YARDE was originally YARDE-Buller. A Doctor YARDE is said to be listed as an apothecary in Somerset House. His relationship to Ellen is not mentioned. Nine people called Yarde are listed in the Trek out of Burma record. The YARDE-BULLERs are a well-known family in Devon. The most notable member is Baron CHURSTON who has his seat at Lupton House, Churston Ferrers, in Devon, and has an authentic coat of arms. General BULLER of Devon, a member of the same family, was the C-in-C South Africa during the 2nd Boer War. =============================================================================