TITLE: THE BARRETTS OF JAMAICA
THE AUTHOR: ROBERT A. BARRETT
REVIEWED BY: CALVIN BOWEN
THE NAME "Barrett" has had a long association with Jamaica. Generations of Barretts have lived and served in the island, contributing through their lives and times to the rich and colourful history of the country.
One of the best known members of the family was Elizabeth Barrett, the poetess, who became famous as a writer of romantic verse, and who also achieved acclaim from being associated with the poet Robert Browning, whom she married.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, as she later became known, had her roots deep in Jamaican soil. She was a descendant of Hercie Barrett, who was one of the first arrivals from England in May 1655 when Jamaica became a British colony.
She grew up in the sugar and slavery era of 18th century Jamaica, and the record of her life and that of members of her family forms the subject of Robert Barrett's book.
Robert Assheton Barrett, himself a descendant of Hercie Barrett, is a retired solicitor who lives in England. He is a member of the Browning Society and of the Friends of the Georgian Society of Jamaica.
Because of his ancestry, he had access to the family archives and was able to draw freely on family records. The result is a studious account of the Barretts, their wealth, their fluctuating fortunes, and their high-profile participation in Jamaican public life as Members of the House of Assembly.
At the height of their power and influence, the Barretts owned and operated extensive land and property in St. Ann, Trelawny and St. James. They were planters and cattle farmers as well as proprietors of sugar estates.
Among the more prominent members of the family was Richard Barrett, lawyer, businessman and politician, who was elected three times as Speaker of the House of Assembly in Spanish Town. He was Elizabeth Barrett's cousin.
His memory has been preserved at "Greenwood", the country mansion which he built first outside Montego Bay as his private residence. It still exists and is being run as a vacation home for visitors to the island.
Another notable Barrett was Brigadier-General Edward Alfred Moulton-Barrett. A distinguished soldier, he fought in the Boer War and was an officer of the Legion of Honour. He was a Member of the Legislative Council and the Privy Council, and was Custos of St. Ann.
His son, who bore his name, was also custos of St. Ann. Himself a soldier, he served in the First World War, rising to the rank of major.
Rich legacy
Edward Francis Moulton-Barrett, the last member of the family to live in Jamaica, left a rich legacy for the island. He sold Albion, one of the many Barrett properties, in St. Ann to Reynolds Metals of Jamaica and thereby helped to establish the Jamaican bauxite industry.
Another memorial of the family's long association with Jamaica is the Moulton-Barrett chair in archeology at the University of the West Indies, established in 1992 following the death of the last member of the family who had ties with Jamaica.
Several years ago, a play, The Barretts of Wimpole Street was successfully staged in London.
The Barretts of Jamaica can be considered a companion piece to the play, portraying, as it does, the other side of the family in a different setting, where it became something of a Jamaican dynasty.
As a welcome addition to the recorded history of early Jamaica, Robert Barrett's book can take its proud place on Jamaican book shelves.
PUBLISHED BY: WEDGESTONE PRESS
