Jamaica

Jamaica, 1824. John Melish, David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries. (cc-by-nc-sa/3.0).

Like many Scots families, mine has 19th-century connections to plantations and slavery in the Caribbean. Over the past few years, I have read many interesting and disturbing articles and books on this topic and ridden an emotional rollercoaster as I explored my own ancestors’ involvement in this shameful period of history. Many of the sources are listed here: Genealogy Resources

My grandmother, Isabella Johnston (b. 1897), with her grandmother, Margaret Cowie Johnston, and great-grandmother, Elizabeth Brock Cowie. Elizabeth was the last of the Jamaica Brocks (d. 1902).

My personal journey of discovery as I researched and documented the lives of my Brock ancestors is the topic of my book The Jamaica Brocks.

More details and how to download can be found here: