QUACHI GRANT
Father of James Grant
Grandfather of Esmie Austin
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ESMIE FATHER'S WISH
Esmie Grandfather Thomas (Quachi) Grant was a cobbler, tailor who
thought of himself as a professional. He did not like farming, yet farming was
his main livelihood. He stayed home all day dressed up in his cobble suits that
he carved out to fit him and waited on work to come in, while he would send his
wife and children to do the farming. His wife would have to move and feed the
donkey and cow and do all the farming. She was the main overseer of their
coffee and yam farm. Quachi inherited a lot from his father but his lack of
hands on supervision sometimes made life somewhat difficult for his family. It
was there while working as a hired help alongside his children on
the farm, Arabella met his son Jim.
Jim Esmie's father grew
up seeing his father not working and not having enough to provide for his
family and he did not want the same for his children, so before the age of
forty he acquired his own farm lands and a three-room board house. Owning a three-room
board house at the time was a big accomplishment when most people in the 30's
lived in a one or two rooms straw house. Unfortunately, he did not live
to realize the dream he wanted for his children.
MERCEL'S' MOTHER
Nothing is known of Mercel's grandmother
or grandfather, but his mother was a worldly woman who loved to have fun. She
enjoyed going to quadrille dance. A dance that existed before reggae. This type
of dance stemmed from the African tradition. The music was created solely by
playing the homemade drums and harps made from bamboo joints with holes cut out
in them. Apparently as a child Mercel did not like knowing that his mother
loved this type of entertainment, that when he had his daughters, he kept them
under strict rules. Dance is one of the place that his daughters weren't
privileged to go.
ESMIE
Esmie was very intelligent. Her mother
tried the best she could with her. Esmie taught in school as a teacher's
assistance for many years before she met Mercel. Then when Teacher James became
the principal at Craighead Primary School, (Teacher James taught
at Craighead primary School before Teacher Brown) she left and started
working in a bakery in Common.
While she was in school, two people from
Craighead got scholarships to go and learn nursing in Kingston, Alan Nunes
daughter and Esmie. The school fee was five shilling a term, but Arabella just
couldn't afford it as she was a widower. Alan Nunes daughter went on to become
a nurse and worked and lived in Zadie Gardens, Kingston. To compensate for
this, Arabella sent her to music lessons.
Mercel always tried to talk to her either
at the bakery or while on her way to or from music lessons and she would shake
her dress tail and say to him, " me not hog and goat and if you want to
talk to me, you should come to my house". One day her youngest brother
Roderick came to where she was doing music lessons with all smiles on his face
to say she had to go home. Even though she asked him what the matter was, he
just kept laughing. When she got home there Mercel was asking for her hand in
marriage.
The road was long and rugged, but her end
was smooth, and she really enjoyed her life.
MERCEL
Mercel wasn't as educated. He left school
at the age of nine to do days’ work to help his mother with all the siblings
she kept having. One each year and being the eldest son, he had to bear the
burden. He was very good with calculations and he could also do a little
reading. Had he stayed in school, he would have been a genius.
His life was his children's
accomplishments and he was not afraid to spend money on them. He made sure they
all move on to greener pastures.
Mercel tried his best not to beat/ flog his daughters and his
reason was that if he put his hands on his daughters, they would think abuse
from a partner is okay.
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