250:. Although John had already been married and widowed twice, the couple exchanged rings at a private ceremony in March. Dutch law, in spite of Britain having taken over the colonial administration, was still valid in Demerara and the ceremony was all that was legally required for a valid marriage. Thomas took the surname Gordon and the couple presented themselves as husband and wife in public, though John was reluctant to let his fellow soldiers know he was married. Gordon purchased furnishings for their home with an allowance provided by her mother and she managed his household and correspondence, including his regimental reports.
265:. John had promised Gordon that he would retire from the military and sell his commission, though he was forced to accept the standard price of £3,200, as his commanding officer held him in low regard. This was an inadequate amount to support his family, which included two children from his previous marriages. The couple returned to Glasgow, where they were joined in the autumn of 1823 by Gordon's mother, after she had enrolled Ann Garraway in school. John tried to persuade his mother-in-law to grant him a dowry of £10,000. She refused, offering £5,000, as she had to the previous suitor, which angered John.
197:. At the school, Thomas was trained in art and music, as well as bookkeeping, sewing and writing. She studied there for three years before returning to the Caribbean, where she joined her older sister, Ann and her husband John Gloster Garraway in Grenada. While living with them, she met John's brother Robert Garraway, a lawyer and business partner of his brother. Considered to be disreputable, he had already sired at least four illegitimate children with two different partners. Against her mother's warning, Thomas entered into a marriage contract with the younger Garraway in 1813.
292:, taking several years. Correspondence between the couple was presented in evidence and clearly showed the affection of John for Gordon and their son, as well as his disdain for his mother-in-law and her disregard for having her daughter respectfully wed. Though Gordon was supported in her claims that they had been widely seen as husband and wife by landlords, servants and shopkeepers, John's friends and family swore that they believed he was a single man. The final ruling, which became an important precedent in
303:, which required her to leave her son in John's care and return to Demerara. She subsequently returned to the Caribbean and married a merchant in Demerara. When her mother died in 1846, Gordon's share of the inheritance was paid directly to her children, Ann and Huntly, as there would have been little left had the monies advanced during her lifetime been deducted from the inheritance. The following year, Huntly used his inheritance to marry Julia Grantham in February 1847. He later became
296:, was issued in John's favour on 8 July 1829, and was based on his friends' and families' evidence. The chief justice wrote that marriage could not be established unless the reputation of the "friends, relations, and families of the parties" was considered. Having no friends or family members residing in Scotland, save one of John's brothers, Thomas Gordon, who refused to testify, Gordon's witnesses were deemed insufficient.
230:
placed on offspring and their ability to inherit. Illegitimacy limited the amount one could receive as a bequest, but so did the slave or free status for people of colour, as slaves were legally barred from any inheritance. The attitude toward illegitimacy was more lax outside of
England, and the promise of marriage was typically sufficient to allow couples to consummate their relationships before a wedding took place.
269:
to support Huntly, if she left her husband. Although she preferred they leave
Scotland, she agreed to pay regardless of whether they returned with her to Demerara. Fearful that he would lose his income and that she might leave with their son, John promised to formalize their marriage without a dowry as soon as his eldest son reached his majority. Reconciled, the couple moved to
277:
income, John wrote, "Do for godsake forgive and forget a man who loves you and ever shall continue to do so while in life". He offered to educate their son and provide her with passage back to
Demerara. He prepared a document for her signature which confirmed that they had never been legally wed and acknowledged that their son was illegitimate. Gordon, unfamiliar with
233:
The relationship was unsuccessful and Thomas left
Garraway, moving back to Barbados, where their daughter Ann Garraway was baptised on 12 January 1816. Having left Garraway, Thomas reconciled with her mother and returned to Demerara. Thomas' mother assumed the role of caring for her granddaughter and
268:
Gordon was caught between her husband and her mother in the argument. John urged her to press her mother for the money. She complied but was unsuccessful. He threatened to leave her and reminded her that their marriage had not conformed to
English law. Her mother agreed to pay an allowance to Gordon
281:, sought the advice of a lawyer and was informed that if she could establish that they were married by "habit and repute" she could contest the settlement being offered. She filed an application to have her marriage and son's legitimacy verified, forcing John to file an application for his freedom.
205:
Drawn up by
Garraway and secured by a bond of £2,000, the contract specified that he would marry Thomas "according to the rites of the Church of England" provided that he did not return to Britain before Thomas turned 21. The curious language, acknowledged that when she reached her majority, Thomas
315:
An analysis of Gordon's marriages offers insight into the variations of marital arrangements and family law in the
British colonies. It shows that rather than women of colour being mistresses to white men, there was a range of different types of relationships resembling marriage. Archival evidence
229:
and only on a few islands like
Barbados, Montserrat, and St. Kitts, were clandestine marriages forbidden. French and English laws pertaining to people of colour in their colonies were similar, and British law in the colonies carried no punishment for marrying irregularly. Instead restrictions were
276:
In 1826, John wrote to Gordon, who was at the seaside with their son, informing her that he had met a widow who had an annual income of £300. He advised that he intended to marry the widow, emphasising that he and Gordon had never been properly married. Stressing that he was marrying only for the
124:
with Major John Gordon became the centre of a
Scottish legal case. It set an important precedent defining the circumstances under which a marriage could be established by "habit and repute" in Scotland and is illustrative of the challenges encountered in family law prior to the establishment of
345:
Gordon's mother took extraordinary precautions to ensure that each of her daughters remained independent and that their assets could not be used by their spouses. In her will she specified that her daughters' inheritances depended on the condition that the funds received were solely for her
242:
of £5,000 should he marry Thomas. A few months later, in August 1817, Garraway returned to
England to address serious financial difficulties with his creditors. By 1819, it was clear that the new suitor was not working out for Thomas and she returned to Georgetown.
125:
uniform reciprocity agreements regarding marriage recognition. Her relationships also refute the notion that free women of colour were merely mistresses and confirm that there were various types of relationships in her era that mirrored stable marriages.
141:
and Joseph Thomas. Her mother was a former slave, who had purchased her own manumission, and was engaged in business, running a hotel. Her father was engaged in trade, providing goods between various islands in the
273:, where they lived as man and wife. They dined often with friends and John's family, though they did not go out in public together. As before, Gordon hired their servant and provided for their financial support.
234:
in March 1817, set out to make arrangements for a new suitor for Christina. Though their destination was undisclosed, later documents confirm that the trip involved negotiations with a freedman in
178:
had collapsed and to keep Demerara from falling under French influence, the British began occupying the colony in 1802, though a formal change of governance did not occur until 1814–1815.
206:
would be free to marry, as it was very unlikely that her mother would grant permission for the union while Thomas was a minor. Though her mother and each of her sisters were joined in
1058:
253:
In 1821, John was elevated to major and in the spring of that year was recalled to Scotland. Selling the furnishings to pay for Gordon's passage, she soon joined him in
210:, which allowed them the freedom to continue conducting business separately from their spouses and control their own monies, Thomas wanted a legally binding marriage.
1089:"'British Capital, Industry and Perseverance' versus Dutch 'Old School'?: The Dutch Atlantic and the Takeover of Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo, 1750–1815"
154:. She was the youngest of her mother's eleven children. Thomas, who variously was called "Christina" or "Dolly", moved with her mother around 1799 to
320:
and instead points to their ability to establish "long-lasting, stable, and apparently monogamous relationships that looked like proper marriages".
181:
In 1810, Thomas, her older brother Henry and more than a dozen of their cousins, were taken to Britain for schooling. The boys were enrolled at
1071:
1272:
1252:
1237:
247:
1282:
1152:
1093:
1047:
1015:
990:
1242:
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214:
163:
158:, Barbados, after her father died. Business competition in Barbados was high and by 1807, her family had relocated to
304:
278:
1257:
1247:
1162:
1163:"Barbados Parochial Registers, St Michael Parish, Church of England Series A, Vol. 7A, 1815–1825: Ann Garroway"
261:, where Huntly was baptised. When John was transferred to Ireland that summer, she and the baby joined him in
1262:
138:
97:
221:, which required a ceremony performed by an authorized clergyman, did not apply outside of England. In the
246:
By early 1819, Thomas had entered into a relationship with Captain John Gordon, a Scotsman serving in the
1277:
1007:
1137:"Tense and Tender Ties: Reflections on Lives Recovered from the Intimate Frontier of Empire and Slavery"
959:
346:
daughters' use and could not be used for claims of responsibility for the debts of any of their spouses.
257:, where their son Huntly George Gordon was born on 2 August. The family relocated the following year to
190:
171:
307:
in the British Army. On 15 April 1847 in Barbados, Ann married the merchant Roger Sweeney (Sweeny).
1267:
134:
44:
979:"15: Enterprising Women and War Profiteers: Race, Gender and Power in the Revolutionary Caribbean"
300:
1182:
1067:
1060:
Children of Uncertain Fortune: Mixed-Race Migration from the West Indies to Britain, 1750-1820
978:
1033:
1136:
1232:
955:
293:
226:
109:
336:
John's eldest son, also named John, was born in 1808, prior to his mother's death in 1811.
8:
1183:"Cheshire Parish Registers, St. Mary's Church, Baptisms, 1813–1836: Huntly George Gordon"
222:
207:
143:
121:
1209:. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah. 27 August 1808. microfilm #1040159
1202:
1039:
159:
62:
1148:
1116:
1088:
1043:
1011:
986:
965:
218:
983:
War, Demobilization and Memory: The Legacy of War in the Era of Atlantic Revolutions
1106:
289:
182:
70:
1226:
1120:
285:
1111:
969:
1023:
175:
607:
1003:
Enterprising Women: Gender, Race, and Power in the Revolutionary Atlantic
317:
113:
743:
693:
155:
1144:
270:
619:
167:
66:
1001:
985:. Houndsmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 254–268.
964:. Dingwall, Scotland: Ross-Shire Printing and Publishing Company.
847:
845:
733:
731:
1169:. Black Rock, Bridgeport: Department of Archives. 12 January 1816
1141:
International Life Writing: Memory and Identity in Global Context
258:
254:
186:
117:
932:
133:
Dorothea Christina Thomas was born as a free woman of colour in
884:
842:
801:
728:
518:
388:
376:
364:
262:
235:
194:
961:
The Family of Gordon in Griamachary, in the Parish of Kildonan
862:
860:
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636:
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491:
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316:
disputes the literary depiction that free coloured women were
448:
239:
16:
Free woman of colour and slave owner from Grenada (1796–1846)
1201:
1161:
749:
613:
981:. In Forrest, Alan; Hagemann, Karen; Rowe, Michael (eds.).
920:
908:
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813:
789:
755:
676:
631:
590:
501:
484:
460:
436:
1181:
699:
666:
664:
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554:
1203:"Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564–1950: John Gordon"
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1224:
299:After losing the case, Gordon was offered an
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1189:. Chester, UK: Record Office. 21 June 1822
1110:
1086:
454:
1056:
1031:
1000:Candlin, Kit; Pybus, Cassandra (2015).
977:Candlin, Kit; Pybus, Cassandra (2016).
954:
902:
670:
655:
584:
572:
560:
548:
536:
1225:
1035:The Last Caribbean Frontier, 1795–1815
1134:
1094:BMGN: Low Countries Historical Review
836:
783:
722:
478:
418:
108:(26 June 1796 – 5 August 1846) was a
1103:Royal Netherlands Historical Society
1273:People from the British West Indies
1253:British people of Grenadian descent
13:
1238:19th-century British businesswomen
248:2nd Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot
14:
1294:
1139:. In Arthur, Paul Longley (ed.).
1101:(4). Amsterdam, the Netherlands:
750:Scotland Births and Baptisms 1808
614:Barbados Parochial Registers 1816
89:Christina Thomas, Dorothea Gordon
225:, there were no laws forbidding
947:
339:
330:
200:
700:Cheshire Parish Registers 1822
174:with Britain (1792–1802), the
137:, Grenada, on 26 June 1796 to
1:
1283:19th-century Grenadian people
1057:Livesay, Daniel Alan (2010).
353:
128:
1066:(PhD). Ann Arbor, Michigan:
1038:. Houndsmills, Basingstoke:
358:
7:
1243:African diaspora in Grenada
1008:University of Georgia Press
10:
1299:
284:The case was heard in the
213:Even though Grenada was a
1135:Pybus, Cassandra (2013).
310:
279:marriage laws in Scotland
172:French Revolutionary Wars
106:Dorothea Christina Thomas
93:
85:
77:
51:
30:
25:Dorothea Christina Thomas
23:
1087:Oostindie, Gert (2012).
939:Candlin & Pybus 2015
927:Candlin & Pybus 2015
915:Candlin & Pybus 2015
891:Candlin & Pybus 2015
879:Candlin & Pybus 2015
867:Candlin & Pybus 2015
852:Candlin & Pybus 2015
825:Candlin & Pybus 2015
808:Candlin & Pybus 2015
796:Candlin & Pybus 2015
767:Candlin & Pybus 2015
738:Candlin & Pybus 2015
688:Candlin & Pybus 2015
641:Candlin & Pybus 2015
628:, pp. 116–117, 130.
626:Candlin & Pybus 2015
602:Candlin & Pybus 2015
525:Candlin & Pybus 2015
513:Candlin & Pybus 2015
496:Candlin & Pybus 2015
467:Candlin & Pybus 2015
443:Candlin & Pybus 2015
431:Candlin & Pybus 2015
407:Candlin & Pybus 2015
395:Candlin & Pybus 2015
383:Candlin & Pybus 2015
371:Candlin & Pybus 2016
323:
191:Kensington House Academy
1112:10.18352/bmgn-lchr.8226
1027:(subscription required)
301:out of court settlement
1258:Grenadian slave owners
1248:British Grenada people
1068:University of Michigan
1022: – via
1032:Candlin, Kit (2012).
956:Bulloch, John Malcolm
457:, pp. 37–38, 46.
294:Scottish Marriage Law
189:and the girls at the
146:with his sloops, the
45:St. George's, Grenada
1263:Free people of color
941:, pp. 138, 140.
397:, pp. 107, 109.
385:, pp. 105, 110.
373:, pp. 260, 267.
288:and appealed to the
238:, who was offered a
208:common-law marriages
110:free woman of colour
1006:. Athens, Georgia:
893:, pp. 124–125.
854:, pp. 136–137.
810:, pp. 135–136.
740:, pp. 133–134.
527:, pp. 128–129.
433:, pp. 111–112.
409:, pp. 105–108.
227:mixed-race marriage
223:British West Indies
144:British West Indies
122:common-law marriage
1278:Women slave owners
1074:on 6 February 2020
1040:Palgrave Macmillan
1154:978-1-317-96716-3
1147:. pp. 5–17.
1049:978-1-137-03081-8
1017:978-0-8203-4455-3
992:978-1-137-40649-1
563:, pp. 90–91.
219:Marriage Act 1753
103:
102:
1290:
1218:
1216:
1214:
1198:
1196:
1194:
1178:
1176:
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1158:
1131:
1129:
1127:
1114:
1083:
1081:
1079:
1070:. Archived from
1065:
1053:
1028:
1021:
996:
973:
942:
936:
930:
924:
918:
912:
906:
900:
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849:
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839:, pp. 9–10.
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781:
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493:
482:
481:, pp. 7, 9.
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410:
404:
398:
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290:Court of Session
86:Other names
58:
40:
38:
21:
20:
1298:
1297:
1293:
1292:
1291:
1289:
1288:
1287:
1268:Grenadian women
1223:
1222:
1221:
1212:
1210:
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1155:
1125:
1123:
1077:
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305:surgeon-general
286:Sheriff's Court
203:
131:
73:
60:
56:
47:
42:
36:
34:
26:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1296:
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1260:
1255:
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1235:
1220:
1219:
1199:
1179:
1159:
1153:
1143:. London, UK:
1132:
1084:
1054:
1048:
1029:
1016:
997:
991:
974:
951:
949:
946:
944:
943:
931:
929:, p. 137.
919:
917:, p. 207.
907:
895:
883:
881:, p. 140.
871:
869:, p. 160.
856:
841:
829:
827:, p. 136.
812:
800:
798:, p. 135.
788:
771:
769:, p. 134.
754:
742:
727:
704:
692:
690:, p. 132.
675:
660:
645:
643:, p. 131.
630:
618:
606:
604:, p. 130.
589:
587:, p. 140.
577:
575:, p. 206.
565:
553:
541:
529:
517:
515:, p. 127.
500:
498:, p. 126.
483:
471:
469:, p. 123.
459:
455:Oostindie 2012
447:
445:, p. 113.
435:
423:
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362:
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215:British Colony
202:
199:
183:Dollar Academy
139:Dorothy Kirwan
130:
127:
101:
100:
98:Dorothy Thomas
95:
91:
90:
87:
83:
82:
79:
75:
74:
71:British Guiana
61:
59:(aged 50)
53:
49:
48:
43:
32:
28:
27:
24:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
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967:
963:
962:
957:
953:
952:
940:
935:
928:
923:
916:
911:
905:, p. 47.
904:
899:
892:
887:
880:
875:
868:
863:
861:
853:
848:
846:
838:
833:
826:
821:
819:
817:
809:
804:
797:
792:
786:, p. 10.
785:
780:
778:
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761:
759:
751:
746:
739:
734:
732:
724:
719:
717:
715:
713:
711:
709:
702:, p. 40.
701:
696:
689:
684:
682:
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673:, p. 16.
672:
667:
665:
658:, p. 15.
657:
652:
650:
642:
637:
635:
627:
622:
616:, p. 26.
615:
610:
603:
598:
596:
594:
586:
581:
574:
569:
562:
557:
551:, p. 85.
550:
545:
539:, p. 21.
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170:. During the
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64:
55:5 August 1846
54:
50:
46:
33:
29:
22:
19:
1211:. Retrieved
1207:FamilySearch
1206:
1191:. Retrieved
1187:FamilySearch
1186:
1171:. Retrieved
1167:FamilySearch
1166:
1140:
1124:. Retrieved
1098:
1092:
1076:. Retrieved
1072:the original
1059:
1034:
1024:Project MUSE
1002:
982:
960:
948:Bibliography
934:
922:
910:
903:Candlin 2012
898:
886:
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832:
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791:
745:
725:, p. 9.
695:
671:Bulloch 1907
656:Bulloch 1907
621:
609:
585:Livesay 2010
580:
573:Livesay 2010
568:
561:Livesay 2010
556:
549:Livesay 2010
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537:Livesay 2010
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201:Married life
180:
176:Dutch Empire
164:Dutch Colony
151:
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135:St. George's
132:
105:
104:
57:(1846-08-05)
41:26 June 1796
18:
1233:1796 births
114:slave owner
78:Nationality
1227:Categories
1213:7 February
1193:6 February
1173:6 February
1126:3 February
1078:6 February
837:Pybus 2013
784:Pybus 2013
723:Pybus 2013
479:Pybus 2013
419:Pybus 2013
354:References
318:concubines
160:Georgetown
156:Bridgetown
129:Early life
63:Georgetown
37:1796-06-26
1145:Routledge
1121:0165-0505
1105:: 28–55.
359:Citations
271:Edinburgh
162:, in the
970:52059651
958:(1907).
168:Demerara
150:and the
120:, whose
67:Demerara
259:Chester
255:Glasgow
187:Glasgow
118:Grenada
81:British
1151:
1119:
1046:
1014:
989:
968:
311:Legacy
263:Dublin
236:Tobago
217:, the
195:London
94:Mother
1064:(PDF)
324:Notes
240:dowry
185:near
116:from
1215:2020
1195:2020
1175:2020
1149:ISBN
1128:2020
1117:ISSN
1080:2020
1044:ISBN
1012:ISBN
987:ISBN
966:OCLC
152:Jack
148:Mary
112:and
52:Died
31:Born
1107:doi
1099:127
193:in
166:of
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