CHRISTIANA WHITE
Mother of Arabella Grant
Grandmother of Esmie Austin
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Thomas White Father of James White
James Horace White and Christina Priscilla McLeish-White Parents of Arabella White-Grant
Arabella Grant Mother of Edward, Esmie, Clarence and Roderick
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"What God has done is well done." A mention of Christina McLeish first son below just goes to show where some of her financial assistance came from. She got pregnant at a very young age and feared the wrath of her parents so she would climb trees and jump with the hope of loosing the baby, but to no luck, Cyril was here to stay. He became wealthy and was able to help many people.
Christina McLeish White whose family was from Crown Land,
Trelawney, she had several children, the eldest child Cyril was very
successful. Her Son Cyril Knight, went to Cuba in search of his
fortune. While working in Cuba, he saved all the money he could. Upon returning
to Jamaica, he bought two motel and bars and also acquired a third one through
marriage.
The first set of people that
went to live in Kingston from Craighead during the fifties stayed at one of his
motel for free. He extended his hospitality and generosity to anyone who wanted
a place to stay until they could go on their own. He was also the father of
Louis Knight from Carter, Craighead.
The story was told that when
Christina got pregnant with Cyril she was very young and feared the wrath of
her parents. She would climb trees and jump with the hope of having a
miscarriage but fortunately for her, he came to stay. He not only became her
main supporter but her pride and joy.
Christina White was of Indian
and African descent and a very beautiful woman married to Mr. White. White
wasn't a very accurate description for him. Even though the surname was White,
the family was very dark in complexion and they were what Jamaicans would
consider the opposite of beautiful.
Christina was a Nanny which was
the name given to an untrained mid-wife. During her life, she delivered all the
babies in the neighborhood. Medicine weren't as advanced as they are now and
all babies were delivered at home by people who weren't trained. When she
passed, Arabella took over from her as the district Nanny. Except for Esmie's
last three children, all of her other children were delivered by either
Christina or Arabella.
One of Christina McLeish
White daughter was Arabella Grant
who marry Jim Grant from Good-Intent. Jim Grant was married before and had a
son with his first wife and not long after this child, Edward was born, she
died. The Grant's descendants were originally from Saint Ann. They moved
and settled in Good-Intent, Manchester, a small district located between
Harry's Watch and Craighead. The Grants’ were fairly well-off by ancient
standards. Arabella met her husband Jim while working on his father's coffee
farm. He then moved to Craighead, Sodom. He bought some properties in Sodom
across from the White's property. He later marry her, built a house and settled
in Sodom. The union produced three children, the eldest of which was
Esmie. She also adopted Edward as her first son. Jim died twelve years after
they got married in the year 1933.
Note: Christina McLeish White Indian and Afro-Jamaican
According
to the age calculation that was passed down to Christina by her parents, she
died at the age of 89. However, from those who remembered her, she seemed to
have been over 100 years old. She was really very old looking beyond the age of
89 year old. All her teeth fell out due to age, she walked humped with a cane
and her daughters Arabella and Rosa had to puree her food in a mortar just like
the one seen in the picture above.
Arabella
and Rosa also used the mortar to grind their coffee. First they pick the ripe
coffee bean, shell it, dry it on a tarpaulin or crocus bag then beat the beans
in the mortar until it become powdery.