In the year 1791 new grants of land on the seacoast of Berbice were made by the governor, van Batenburg, mainly for the cultivation of cotton. With the creation of these new estates, British planters, more especially the Scots, invested in the colony. Development of these lands was difficult owing to the challenges of accessing mooring points at the mouth of the Berbice River due to sandbars.
After the acquisition of Berbice in 1796 by the British, the county retained its complex Dutch taxation system for shipping, creating a barrier to trade. In addition, Berbice was the most unattracted colony in the New World, it was subject to unpredictable weather and had hostile terrain along with tropical diseases.
Notwithstanding the challenges, Lord Seaforth, Governor of Barbados (1801–1806) invested in plantations in Berbice in 1800. He never visited his possession but left the management in the hands of his secretary Peter Fairbairn.
Lot # 35, Kingelly was Lord Seaforth’s property. It was a cotton plantation and performed poorly. Regrettably, the Emancipation Act would have enabled Lord Seaforth to receive compensation for the freeing of our enslaved ancestors rather than punishing him along with his accomplices for the most heinous crime committed against humanity.
At the time of the Emancipation of Slavery, Bishop Eastmond Foderingham, a registered merchant, purchased Lots #35 and 36 (Kingelly and Phoenix). On January 10, 1850, Cudjoe Mc Pherson and Jessy Cameron bought Kingelly and Phoenix from Foderingham. Evidence of the purchase is available in the official gazette of the Colonial Registrar, County of Berbice, July 1851.
After their purchase of the two plantations, a letter of decree was issued in keeping with the then-conveyance requirements. This was the trigger for the publication in the official gazette and a transport was issued.
Jessy Cameron was later given Phoenix which he sold and Cudjoe Mc Pherson retained Kingelly.
In 1868 at the request of Cudjoe McPherson, Kingelly was surveyed and the land south of the public road was mutated into 32 plots.
Following Cudjoe’s death his descendants permitted persons to settle north of the public road. Settlers were required to pay rent. This was discontinued in the 1960s and later some residents acquired transport by prescription. In 1967 Mr. Joseph McPherson, great-grandson of Cudjoe, reasserted his family rights to the property by conducting a survey.
A commencement order for Kingelly to be converted to a Land Registration Area was issued in 1970. This order was never implemented and Kingelly continues to be a deed registration area.
Recognising the threat from land grabbers, the descendants of Cudjoe have made tremendous efforts to bring the property under the names of living descendants. In the 1990s some records were lost when the family legal representative, Mr. Donald Robinson’s, office was razed by fire.
Today we are confronted with a renewed threat. Squatters are being encouraged by senior state officials to occupy portions of lands within Cudjoe Park. The descendants of Cudjoe have engaged in activities aimed at reaffirming commitment to defend African legacy and inheritance. This should also serve as reminder to our detractors that our ancestors were visionaries, they were entrepreneurs, and their intelligence led them to bequeath this land to us.
Long live the memories of our ancestors, Long live the memories of Cudjoe McPherson and Jessy Cameron.
