Giscombe Pen
Report of Findings Surrounding the Giscombes in
Barbados and in England.
By: Lorel G. Morrison
July 22, 2011
Since the July 2008 family report in Montego Bay, Jamaica, research has been made in the quest into our family’s history.
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I am reminded of the old T.V. show ‘ The Fugitive’ that showed this determined man who, having suspected another man for killing his family, would night after night pursue this alleged murderer.
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The film showed this husband in each episode getting closer and closer in catching this fellow, but seeming to fail in capturing the killer at the end of each show.
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I feel like that father at times, as I seek genealogical facts around the Giscombe family. Each time I seem to get closer in revealing our European connection, to both country and place; I fall just short to fully prove that fact.
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Along the way I (Lorel) and now helped by my anthropology-trained daughter, Kareen Morrison, have been enjoying the climactic moments of high, when we do come across information that is invaluable. Those very emotions were again experienced on our recent trip to Barbados.
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I have in recent years come to believe that the island of Barbados holds family secrets, just anxious to be released.
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In an effort to exhaust all possible information in the archives on the island, we ventured out on the trip in March 2011. Before going we came across the name Elizabeth Gissome in the files of Ancestry.co.uk. Elizabeth’s name in the record, pulled our attention for many reasons. For one, the spelling of the name is remarkably close to today’s spelling. Her name and death announcement were permanently placed on the walls of the parish church in Cliff, England. This information allowed us to come to the conclusion that she was very important or at least married to a highly-ranked gentleman.
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Elizabeth’s death record says November 14th, 1668, at the age of 19 years old. She was the wife of a James Gissome. She was therefore born in 1649 and could easily have been the mother of James Giscombe. According to the Barbados census of 1715, James Giscombe was born in 1665. But in fact in the same set of documents for the death of Elizabeth Gissome, we find the baptism records for a James Gissome, baptized on November 25th, 1668. James would have been an infant when Elizabeth died.
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Now this is where I sometimes speculate and do bare with me. I can now assume because of Elizabeth’s death, efforts were made to send her son James to his grandmother Judith Swinhoe in Barbados, around the year 1679. All these persons were real, but do remember I am only assuming the connection between Elizabeth of Cliff, England and James of Barbados at this time for research reasons.
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In going back into our records, the Swinhoe family chart indicated that the Giscombes are connected to that family. Remember Judith Swinhoe had said that James Giscombe was her grandson and James Swinhoe was her husband. In the Barbados records we have now found out that James Swinhoe was a very early settler and landowner as indicated in a 1638 list of landowners. This land was even documented on the first map of the island, which was created by Ligon, a 17th century historian, in 1640. It is a fact that Barbados was first settled in 1627, so a man owning land in 1638 certainly shows that he was a very early settler.
Ligon’s map interestingly indicates that James Swinhoe’s property currently houses section of the land that The University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus is built on.
For this extensive 2011 search, it was wonderful that Kareen went with me. Frankly having an expert meant we would most likely gather more information. The old saying two heads are better than one. With two of us there, it reduced the chance for us having to return in the near future.
Our main objective on this trip was to explore all possible handles. Viewing and reading all documents to possibly lead us to a better understanding of who we are as Giscombes.
While the dozens of Wills, Deeds of Land, Money and Goods, Birth, Death, Baptism and Marriage records indicated a culture of life in Barbados, they did not concretely point the Giscombes to a particular place and country in Europe. Remember the research and records we have so far, does point us to England, but we are still seeking a more definite location.
However two documents we found gave us a lot; on one hand, lots of questions and on the other, joy.
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In a deed of Katherine Swineho (record code- RB3/4 p189) in 1685 that deed two slaves, Pumy a man and Wheelah a woman, to her daughter now named Katherine Simons, indicated that one of the witnesses to this document was one John Giscomb. This finding posed a big question. For one, I (Lorel) strongly believe that only a James Giscombe should be in Barbados at this time. We (Lorel and Kareen) think and hope that the use of John was a mistake in record keeping. A ‘John’ did not appear again in any records until in the 1715 Barbados Census and again in the 1725 will of James Guiscomb/Giscombe.
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The other document, a Will for Mary Pooler (RB6/22 P.242) entered February 24th, 1729, made the whole trip worthwhile. In it Mary revealed who her children were and who her mother was. Wrapped up in this document one can hear the nearness of the end of life in her language and her concern for her children as she instructed friends and family to make sure the children live with her mother, Frances Giscombe, in Mary’s house, after Mary’s death. Frances, if I may point out, is also the wife of James Guiscomb/Giscombe of 1665 – 1726.
Do reference the family tree and wills as needed.
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We can safely conclude that the Giscombes, Swinhoes and Poolers in Barbados were all interwoven as family members.
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We strongly believe that the Swinhoes are of English roots given the information from other documents. It is a fact that some members of the Swinhoes settled in Barbados at a very early stage of that country’s development, others in Virginia, USA. We know a James Giscombe settled in the island of Barbados, around 1679. If we conclude that James Gissome is the same James Giscombe, then, he was close to if not 11 years old, when he migrated to Barbados.
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From here on we have a clear connection of the family from Barbados with links to Jamaica and now the world.
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We will continue to seek.
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Thank you for your time and attention and to Kareen for her keen sense and sharp eyes.
Stay tuned for ‘Path into the Past’—Part 3. This report will clearly connect the Giscombes to England as we accept that the Giscombes were once Gissome
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Report Date: July 22nd, 2011; Miami, Florida USA