Arabella, Rosa and Their Children

ARABELLA WHITE-GRANT

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 Mother of Arabella White-Grant
Arabella Grant Mother of Edward, Esmie, Clarence and Roderick 

Arabella Grant had five siblings. Her mother had eleven pregnancies but was only able to bring six children to full term. The Children were, Cyril Knight from Kingston, Sylvester White who lived in St. Andrew, Aubrey White who lived in Harrys-watch, Manchester, Arabella White-Grant who lived in Craighead and Rosa Jane White who also lived in Craighead. Arabella and her sister Jane were so close, that they ate from the same plate.

Except for Rosa Jane, all the other siblings were married and had children of their own. Rosa was very strong willed and domineering and this could have been the reason why she stayed single all her life. Arabella husband and life partner was Jim Grant. Jim was the only man she ever had a relationship with. They were betrothed for many years but only got married when Jim took sick.

Her Husband

The story was told that her husband went to Trelawny to get his teeth extracted and some of his nerves got damaged and he never recovered from it. The sanitary condition was deplorable, and no Novocain was used, and he had too many teeth extracted then.

Jim Grant died at the age of forty years old. Edward was 18 years old and at time and he stepped in as the father of his three younger siblings. He worked on the farm and as a carpenter to provide them with all the financial support they needed. He was also the disciplinarian of his three younger siblings.

It was very challenging for Edward at times, but he managed to set a good example for his three younger siblings, Esmie, Clarence and Roderick. Edward was married to a beautiful lady, Violate Glave, Miss Vie. They both lived and died in Craighead.

Esmie was the second child and only daughter. She was adored by her brothers. They treated her like a princess. She was strong and assertive, yet they acted as if she was a delicate flower. Her three brothers would walk on sea for her.

Clarence, was the third child, he also migrated to England in the early fifties. He met his lovely wife Myrtle in England. The union produced several children. He migrated to Jamaica in the 1990’s, where he later died.

Roderick the fourth child and baby of the family. He never always listens to the advice of his mother. At the age of 21, Roderick married Agatha from Gate Square. The relationship between both started when he had eyes for her daughter and used to hang around the shop, but instead of developing a relationship with the daughter, Agatha courted him. Agatha was a 41-year-old widower at the time and she had a lot of stability including a shop and Roderick as a young man was attracted to what she had.  Arabella wanted no part of the relationship, so Agatha went to Edward and express that she wanted to marry Roderick. She was older that Edward and Roderick was stubborn so there was nothing Edward could have done to stop the marriage. Arabella was very unhappy about the union and did not attend the wedding; instead she stayed home and cried all day.

The marriage of Roderick and Agatha did not last very long as Roderick realized his mistake. He was given the opportunity to migrate to England and he took it. Roderick married his second wife Sybil in England. He later moved back to Jamaica with his wife. His wife died in Montego Bay, so he moved to Craighead to be close to his brother Edward, where he died.