Hartley Neita, Gleaner Writer

(From top) Roy, Kenneth and Wykeham McNeill.

In Jamaica's Parliamentary history, the first father and son to sit in the Legislature were Phillip Redwood, who was a member of the House of Assembly from 1756 to 1781, and his son Stephen who served in the House from 1790 to 1803. In that latter year he was the Speaker.

This tradition of family membership in the Legislature has continued over the years. In fact, Jamaica has already had two families of three generations of men who have been representatives of the peoplein the legislature.

The McNeills

Gideon Aabuthnott, Neville and Andrew Gallimore. - file photos

One such is the McNeills. The first was Eustace McNeill, who was the Member of the Legislative Council for St. Catherine for 1935 to 1944. Eighteen years later, his elder son Roy was elected a member of the House of Representatives for the constituency of Central St. Catherine. Seven years later, the other brother, Dr. Kenneth McNeill became a member of this House for the constituency of East Central St. Andrew. His son, Wykeham, continued the family tradition when he became the Member of Parliament for Western Westmoreland in 1997.

The Gallimores

The second case of a grandfather, father and grandson who have served in the legislature is the family of the Gallimores. Grandfather Gideon Aabuthnott-Gallimore represented the West and subsequently South West St. Ann constituencies from 1944 to 1949 and from 1955 to 1967, respectively. His son Neville succeeded him in the latter constituency from 1967 to 1997. A third Gallimore, Andrew, was elected in 2002 to represent the West Rural St. Andrew constituency.

J.A.G. Smith also served in the Legislative Council, representing the parish of Clarendon from 1917 to 1942. His son, another J.A.G. Smith, was first elected member of the House for North Clarendon in 1976 and again in 1980 and 1983.

J.A.G. Smith