'Written history is . . . the
fragmentary record of the often inexplicable actions of innumerable bewildered human beings, set down and interpreted according
to their own limitations by other human beings, equally bewildered.'
'The historian and the world' in
History and Hope 1989 Dame Cicely Veronica Wedgewood
St Alban's, Santa Cruz
Spanish Town Cathedral
Spanish Town Cathedral
Kingston Parish Church
St Alban's, Santa Cruz
Two pages,Augustus Cole and C L Barnes, have now been completed, though I may add more to them; and
C C Douce is well in hand. Check other pages to see
how far I have got with them; I have put more material on the pages on Robert Gordon. Joy Lumsden
The objectives of the site:
To answer the question: why is so little
known about Jamaica's Black Anglican clergy in the 19th century?
To provide information on Black Anglican
clergy in the 19th century.
Some reasons for the lack of information about Black Anglican clergymen in Jamaica in the 19th century:
* the names of all the Church of England clergy are of European origin, providing no indication of the ethnicity of those
who bore them;
* official policies in the late 19th century discouraged the use of terminology relating to colour, since there were supposed
to be no distinctions based on colour; therefore the colour of an individual clergyman is rarely mentioned;
* until the early years of the 20th century there are very few photographs of clergy, in the newspapers or in books;
* over time certain stereotypical perceptions of the character of the Church of England in Jamaica in the 19th century have
become well established; these perceptions have tended to foster neglect of consideration of the significance of the role
of Black Jamaicans in the Church.
