Mount Stewart Estate, St. Croix, Danish West Indies

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: St. Croix, Danish West Indies
Surnames/tags: slavery black_heritage

This page's purpose is to record the enslaved people owned by Thomas Thompson and his sons Samuel Thompson and Robert Stewart Thompson, in an attempt to connect them to their families.

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Mount Stewart Estate, which rises 878 feet above sea level on the Northside A Quarter west of Bodkin Hill, St. Croix, was so named in honor of the original proprietor, Robert Stewart. Located in what was called Estates 8, 9, and 20, it was a sugar cane plantation founded in the mid-1750s.

It was owned by Thomas Thompson, and his son Samuel in 1773. By 1774, Samuel was listed as the sole owner.

In the 1787 land tax register, Robert Stewart Thompson, the youngest son of Thomas, was the sole owner of the estate. He remained on the register as owner through 1800.

Land Tax Register Forms

The Land Tax Register forms from the 1770s to 1821 included lists of enslaved people by name, and included information on approximate ages, births, deaths, sales, and purchases.

Categories on the land records were used to determine taxes paid by the estate owners for each enslaved individual. The most common categories listed were:

• Capable – adult and fully able-bodied
• Manquerons – entirely or partially disabled
• Half-grown – adolescents between 12 and 16 years of age
• Children – children under 12 years of age
• Busals – an enslaved person living in the colony for less than a year

Mount Stewart Estate, 14 January 1773 ^[1]

• Belonging to Thomas & Samuel Thompson. Signed by Samuel.

Able Men	Able Women	Manquerons	Children 12-16	Children under 12	New Negroes
Antrim	Abba	Dover	Belinda	Martha	Aaron
Billy	Agnes	Good Luck	Chloe	Thitty	Fortune
Cudjoe	Bess	Doll	Silvia	Rachel	February
Drumgold	Creony	Eva	Adam	Venus	July
Don Quixote	Diana	Floretta	Bastian	Oahre	Bella
Greenwich	Frankey	Minchy	Belfast	Tony	Delia
Harry	Gracey	Maggy Lauder	Cross	Stranger	Hanns
Jack	Moll	Present	Cato	Cork	Priscilla
Isaac	Minda	Pirine	Charles	Jacky	Under 12
Nero	Marian	Rosetta	Doctor	Philip	Mary
Oliver	Minna	Sophia	Ned	Quaco	Friday
Primus	Mimba	Tolly	Lewey	Antrim	Frank
Polydon	Martha	Jenny	Paddy	Fanny
Pompey	Margarett		Sancho	Dumsille
Punch	Judy		Sharper	Nanny
Quaco	Juno		Chance	Catrina
Y J Quamine	Nanny		Champaine	Treacy
Quashey	Prize		June	Easther
Robin	Penda			Maline
Sampson	Peggy			Rosy
Stephen	Rosanne			Harriett
Scipio	Sophy			Bersheba
Simon	Sarah			Bessy
Trumpey	Sue			Cuba
Tom	Violet
Welcome	Infirm
Infirm	Betty
Manuel	Frances
Sampson	Mary
Toby	Phobe
Jasper	Jenny
Quamine

Sources

1. ↑ Land Tax 1772: "Danish West Indies, Land Tax Register Forms for Plantations, 1772-1821," Rigsarkivet, Denmark; Vestindien (Danish National Archives) digital images (not indexed), Arkivalieronline for Plantagerne 1772-1773, page 262 of 570. "Mt Stewart"

See also:

• "How Estates Got their Names, Part 4," The St. Thomas Source, US Virgin Islands.
• "Estate Mount Stewart," Windmills of St Croix.