| Description | 1. Letter from John Skeing/Skang?, 1772
2. Bill for 13 slaves (12 men and 1 child) totalling £784 purchased by Mr John Brown from Hibberts Bernards and Mountague, 1773
3. Note from John Fowler to John Brown, 1775
4. Letter from Edward Thompson to William Durward, 1775
5. Letter from William Miles to John Brown, 1774
6. Note from John Fowler to John Brown, 1775
7. Note from John Fowler to John Brown, nd
8. Letter from William Miles to John Brown, 1773
9. Memorandum of crops on Keith Hall estate, Jamaica, from 1764 to 1772 and account of 135 slaves, mules and horned cattle on the Keith Hall estate, 1772
10. Letter to John Brown in Jamaica from Robert Gordon, 1773
11. Lease agreement for 10 male slaves between John Brown and Thomas Summer, both of of Trelawny, Cornwall county, Jamaica, 1773.
The documents use contemporary terminology to describe the slaves, terms that are now highly offensive. |
| Administrative History | The John Brown mentioned in these papers is not the Dr John Brown who founded the school (Dr Brown was only born in 1775). The John Brown in these papers is likely to have been Dr John Brown's father (we know from Dr Brown's baptism record that they shared a first name).
John Brown may also have been the nephew of John Lamb (1725-1772), the owner of the Keith Hall estate in Jamaica (Source: UCL Legacy of Slave Ownership database). Lamb left bequests to his sister Christian Kemp (baptised in Aberdeen on 2 Dec 1739) and a nephew John Brown in his will. John Lamb and Christian Kemp had another brother, Robert, baptised on 9 Dec 1737, and their parents were Robert and Elspeth Smith. We have not been able to trace a baptism record for John Lamb and any further siblings, making it impossible to confirm the identity of the John Brown mentioned in these documents beyond doubt. Dr John Brown's twin sister was named Christian: possibly named for their great aunt? |