This might be of interest to others, or some-one else might have some input, especially in relation to the chronology of the establishment of the various denominations in St. Kitts, and the inclusion of slaves, ex-slaves, free Blacks and free Coloured, in the Anglican Church. I already sent info. that the Moravians were establishing their missionary society in the C'bean from 1736; the Lutherans from 1757; the Baptists from 1782; the Scottish from 1800, the LMS from 1795 and the Methodist from 1813. All we had to go on is Ship's (Employment) Ticket and a Bristol marriage certificate for 1843. The ships ticket had among other information that Thomas had dark skin, face pock-marked; could not write; his date of birth, May 13th 1811; year first went to sea, 1833, occupation, cook; date ticket issued 1844. The marriage certificate provided among other info. that his father was also a seaman by name of Thomas Godwin. ----- Original Message ----- From: Richard Allicock To: Ivan@Torrington39.freeserve.co.uk Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2003 12:25 PM Subject: Re: Certificates/ Next steps Hi Ivan, Thanks for the details on Sarah Porter's father as well as Thomas's. If ships still used stone for ballast in the 1830's/40's, then we can understand how Sarah and Thomas might have come together. I see on Thomas's Ships Ticket. that he could not write. This might be a clue on the extent of missionary influence in St. Kitts when he was a kid, as well as social back-ground as Free Coloured or Black. I think we have to put him closer to Black than free coloured, since this free coloured group were well into religion and education, especially reading and writing long before 1811. The Black back-ground might/would eventually take you back to the slave registers the further back you want to go. So we will still have to locate the slave registers for St. Kitts, but these generally start after 1806 and closer to 1820. These are the ones that were set up when it was decided by the British Government that slavery itself was going to be abolished. But there are other registers of property which may list the slaves and their children. But this is just to chart a possible future course of research. For now we have to assume that Thomas Godwin was a free man, maybe free born, may have been baptised but not educated in the 3 R's. By 1811 the Anglican church might not have loosened up to even admit free Blacks or coloureds for that matter. This does not mean that they did not do so closer to 1834, when the apprenticeship period was to start, or even earlier when the period of amelioration of slavery begun. So some-time between 1811 and 1833, Thomas Godwin might have been admitted to the Church of England, but not taught to read and write. Of course it still could be that he became a Church of England member when he got to the UK, because generally the UK was more liberal to free Blacks and Coloureds than the Colonies were. All this means is that the Church of England records in St. Kitts still remains a source of enquiry. A better bet for a record of baptism might be the Moravians. These were well into the practice of baptising the slaves and off-spring, and free blacks and coloureds even before the slave trade and slavery itself were abolished in 1806 and 1838 respectively. What is important to note about the Moravians, is that they were very accomodating to the wishes of the planters/slave owners that the slaves should not be thought to read and write, and should not be educated with parts of the Bible that would make them or the free blacks discontented with their lot. That they should teach them virtues of obedience, respect for their betters/masters and to expect their rewards for their sufferings in heaven and not in their life-time on this earth. This may be the reason why Thomas could not read and write. It is because of this orientation that the Moravians got a headstart over others like the London Missionary Society, which were given a hard time right up to the abolition of slavery and after in their attempts to administer to the spiritual well-being of the slaves and later free-men. But the LMS was a late comer in any case, compared to the Moravians. But even Ministers sent out by their absentee owners from Holland very early in the 1700's to convert their slaves to Christianity were driven off the plantations, some-times horse-whipped, tarred and feathered, by the Plantation Attorney (the person in charge of the the owners' affairs locally, as in Power of Attorney), Manager or Overseer. The latter could always tell the owners that the Minister was preaching stuff that would make or made the slaves discontented, and thus affect production and profits and the owners ability to meet their financial obligations to the Mortgagers./Credtiors. I think what you should do next is to write to the St. Kitts Heritage Society and ask them when the Moravians, Baptists and Methodists were first established in the colony, and if possible where their principal churches or areas of Ministry were between 1800 and 1833. You might also pitch in a question on whether the Anglican church accepted Free Coloureds, Free Blacks and slaves at any time between 1800 and 1833. The St. Kitts/Christopher Heritage Society is schs@caribsurf.com You can write to Ms. Jacqueline Armory. You can also send the same questions to Vicki O'Flaherty at the archives. If you write her back on Thomas Godwin, I am sure that all she would do is to send the address of the denomination or denominations which I have already sent to you. But you can write her back and say that Thomas's denomination might have been Anglican or Moravian, and pitch in the additional query. You can wait for a week to get a reply from the fore-going two places, or you can go right ahead and write the Anglican and Moravian Churches. You can write in the same brief manner and with no additional detail as to where you think he was born, to see if they are willing to do a search and if there is a cost attached. If they write you back asking where he was born you can say it may have been Godwin Village, but that you are not sure. There is an advantage with St. Kitts because of its size, so small. Also in many of the colonies regardless of size, there was the practice of itinerant preachers. So most records would have been kept in a central location. The disadvantage is that those places were notorious for fires. So keep your fngers crossed. I hope all the above helps. Rich ----- Original Message ----- From: Ivan@Torrington39.freeserve.co.uk To: Richard Allicock Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2003 5:27 AM Subject: Re: Certificates Hi Rich, In answer to queries. The occupation of Sarah Porter's father was 'Stone Cutter' . Also you might have noticed that on his Marriage cert. it says Thomas's father ( who was also named Thomas ) was a seaman and it does not say he was deceased , from which you could therefore assume he was still alive somewhere ! Regards the Ships ticket of Thomas Godwin1811 ; you are looking at the wrong bloke. If you can scroll down the page you will see the right one, 2nd down list. there is 4 persons on the list , the writing is rather sketchy and not easy to read For more clarification I write out the details on the ticket. Register ticket number= 74,570. Thomas Godwin. Born at = St.Kitts 13th May 1811. First went to sea as= cook in 1832.(was 21years old ) Age when ticketed=33 years.(on this ticket issued 1844). Capacity = steward ( when ticket was issued at Bristol 28th December 1844 ). Height =5'9" Complexion=Dark. Marks=Pockmarked. First went to sea as=cook ( age 21 ) When unemployed resides at = Bristol. ---------------------------- It is interesting to note that 3 of Thomas's ( 1811) sons and 2 son-in-laws all went to sea as seamen and the records, at this stage of research , goes up to 1881, and most voyages are to the West Indies. ---Ivan--- P.S. I went into the Web. sites about St.Kitts that you sent me . ----- Original Message ----- From: Richard Allicock To: Ivan@Torrington39.freeserve.co.uk Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2003 3:11 AM Subject: Certificates Hi Ivan, Thanks for the copies of the certificates. They opened very well, but as you know a few of the items were not clear enough. So thanks for clarifying that her name was Sarah Porter. I still did not see what her father's profession was. If you can figue it out let me know. I see they were married in the Church of England. I know of people not being allowed to marry in church if one of the partners was not of the same church. This means that Thomas might have already been a member of the Church of England. This must mean that he became one in the UK or was already one when he arrived. But more probably the former, unless things had loosened up socially back in St. Kitts before he left. The ship's ticket for Thomas Godwin was clear but confusing. Is this the same Thomas who we think was born in St. Kitts? I ask because I see Born at Helstone, County of Cornwall ? Day of May 1825; Complexion, Sallow; Age when ? 19, First went to sea Boy?, in the year 1840. The latter year was when the ticket was issued I presume? Please clarify any of the above. Thanks. Rich