Documentary: Tracing the history of my surname from slavery in Jamaica to the Scottish highlands 

I’m 25 percent Scottish. My day always spoke of his father being part Scottish. The dna made the links. Moray

In Jamaica, after emancipation, many formerly enslaved people simply took on the last name of the plantation they were on or picked their own last name. This did NOT necessarily mean that they were genetically linked to the owners of the plantation. Even in this story, the mixed kids of the plantation owner left Jamaica and their descendants did not remain on the island. If she was genetically linked to the Shand brothers, she could have started this doc with an ancestry dna test and traced back that way 💁🏾‍♀️

Hey girl I’m Jamaican and my last name was Shand until my grandfather changed it to Shann

A very interesting and also moving documentary. Thank you.

Thanks for a deeper insight on my heritage

I’m half Jamaican, my grandmother’s father my great grandfather was a scots-Irish man born in Jamaica his parents had left the British isles and settled in Jamaica in the 1880s, we decend from the Kinninmonth clan of Fife my 2nd great grandfather George would get an an inheritance from his father Peter, a farmer in Fife, George would move to Surry, England and take up an Irish wife and they’d move to Jamaica where George bought a farm in St. Thomas and had 4 children one of whom was my great grandfather Arthur who got an inheritance of money and the farm from his father his siblings would move to Panama. My great grandfather would employ local Jamaicans to work on his farm one of those workers he fell in love with, got married and had 16 children one of them being my grandmother and the rest is history.

Thank you for talking about this! One of my family names is McGowan. It's both Irish and Scottish and my fam has both that Irish/Scottish DNA from my Mom 🎉. I'm taking up the challenge with finding it and I'm 90% sure it's from the major enslaver James McGowan in Port Royal, Kingston, Jamaica. I recently bought the book by Kate Phillips, 'Bought & Sold: Scotland, Jamaica, Slavery'. It's definitely worthy of reading for my info and history.

I’m just seeing this. Thanks so much for your contribution to Jamaican genealogy. If you have not done so as yet, I strongly recommend that you do a DNA test. If you have the last name “Shand” the chances are that you are a descendant. People often make the mistake of confusing the naming conventions in Jamaican plantations with those in the American colonies. However, if the enslaved in Jamaica carried the surname of an enslaved or a plantation overseer, the chances are that this was their father. The register will identify them as Mulatto, Quadroon, or Octoroon.

My family is Jamaican. I’m 13% Scottish. My last name is Gordon

Wowwww my some of my ancestors were on an estate William Shand had in Jamaica my maternal side are from a saint Catherine during early 1800s it was called Saint John parish and Saint Dorothy

On my father's side of the family the Anderson family line originates in Scotland in the East Lothian area. They settled in St James, Jamaica in the early 1700s and owned several plantations such as Flower Hill. Rebecca Mulloy had several children with Dr. John Anderson and David MacNish, including one who ended up settling in New Zealand and becoming one of the earliest "Pakeha Maoris"

That's awesome to went to Scotland I'd love to do the same I've many Scottish surnames on my maternal side. Gordon, McLeod, Taylor, Hay, Hayes, Hume's, the list goes on

I’m a Jamaican and I’m 15% Scottish and 10% Chinese. I love these stories

They are looking at this through an American lens what people need realize is that mulattos were considered black and their were marriages in Jamaica between white and black in Jamaica during slavery it’s very different from what happened in America it’s not always rape. Especially since the mulatto kids benefited from their plantation owner father. It’s a complicated because today we live in a better world but let’s not edit history and call the kids black because it brings confusion of them verse full Africans.

Princess Diana's Mother was married to Peter Shand Kydd so who knows maybe they come from the same cloth.

Not just an interesting modern link to history, a refreshing example of open, honest, civil conversation about the non-consentual role enslaved People played in the building of the grand estates and wealth. Thank you for this!

My mother's name is Scottish as well. Abernathy, which is also very rare. As black people, we often talk about the sins of the Europeans, while we ignore the role that African leaders played in the trans atlantic slave trade. African leaders sold millions or maybe billions of slaves to Arabs and Europeans. Also, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to actually snatch African and enslaved them in Portugal as early as the 1440s. The economy of many African countries was based on slavery- trading arms, umbrellas, and mirrors for human beings. I know this is hard to accept, but these are facts. It was the Europeans who attempted to abolish it, not the Africans. As we know, most African slaves ended up on Portuguese ( Brasil, Cape Verde, and Sao Tome e Principe) colonies. And they didn't abolish slavery in their colonies until 1888. That's about 450 years of slavery and Portugal is still poor.

lol I’m Shand too, and I heard my grandpa was from st Ann before he moved to westmoreland.

I’m a Yates grandfather from Westmoreland however I see it’s alottttt of people from or in JA with the last name Baptiste

Early Origins of the Shands family, Normandy France. The name is Sephardic Jewish in origin, who were people of colour also. The surname Shands was first found in Aberdeenshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain), a historic county, and present day Council Area of Aberdeen, located in the Grampian region of northeastern Scotland, where they held a family seat from ancient times, some say as early as the 12th century. In this county the name has been found in the parishes of Fyvie, Drumblade, Auchterless, Culsalmond, Forgue, Turriff, Gamrie and King Edward. "A rare but old surname in Scotland. 'The surname of Shand seems originally to have been confined to the north-eastern counties, particularly Aberdeenshire, and in that county more especially to the districts comprising the parishes of: Turriff, Forgue, Drumblade, Auchterless, Culsalmond, Fyvie, King-Edward, and Garnrie." [1] The family is said, by C.F. Shand, the family historian, to be descended from Philibert de Shaunde, Earl of Bath in 1485, who in turn, was descended from a noble house in Normandy. The Earl of Bath, Philibert Shaunde, was created by King Henry II of England and Normandy. Philibert was styled by the King as "Consanguineus noster." [2] Further south in England, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include: Johannes Schaune, Webster; and Thomas Shan. [3] Early History of the Shands family This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shands research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1522, 1551 and 1672 are included under the topic Early Shands History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Shands family Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: A. Shand who arrived in San Francisco, California, in 1852.

Check out the transportation records from Europe to the Americas and Caribbean plantations from the 1700s. A description of the transported passengers is recorded. Many European people were actually people of color and were then exported, and sent to work on the American plantations and in the Caribbean. Cromwell in the 1600s deported the black Irish. When these dark Europeans went, they took their names with them. Once in the Americas, new laws separating people by color codes were then created to keep darker colored people enslaved. Following the bacon rebellion in the 1690s, legal distinction between people based on the caste of color was created so as to distract the populations from coming together.

In my family we have German and Irish ancestry just from my dad’s side. His grandfather was German

Can you find out about my name too. I heard great great grandfather is Scottish too. "Huntington"

I love Jamaicans jah bless ya all .watching from Scotland peace and love to all

My father says your father was her father’s brother

I'm looking for the Wilson who was a slave master in the parish of St Ann Jamaica it would be nice to if someone could help

Stand, you ancestor was as black as you.. original from the Highlands

Chan! Your ancestors were from Scotland not Africa. Slavery was a religious war not race.. No Jamaica or West Indies came from Africa.

1. The Scottish Flag represents St. Andrew, a Black Saint. 2. Saint Andrew was depicted on a 16th century coat-of-arms of the burgh of St. Andrews 3. The Family crest of: Andrews, (Fairbairn Book of Crest - Plate 135 clearly displays the true race of the Andrews Family being Black, at that time period. 4. The Union Jack represents three dark-melanated saints and one dark-melanated king. Who United the 4 Black Kingdoms 5. Black, Tawny, Ruddy, Malatto, Celt, Picts & Moors are the Original Hiers of the Bristish Isles & the Family Crest & Surnames, is Our true Heritage & History. 6. Most of us are Not Amaru Khans, Washitaw, Gallabi, Locono, Xi or Muurs from America or Yuruba, Igbo, Kushite, San or Blackmoors from Africa Books: 1. Whence the Black Irish of Jamaica by Joseph J Williams 2. The Negroe Rulers of the Scottish and British Isles by Dr John Johnson 3. Jacobites before the Slave Trade by Azariah Lindo 4. The Negroe Question Part 4 by Lee Cummings 5 Nature Knows No Color Lines by J A Rogers 6. Ta Meri Ka El by Roi Kwabena Wibsites: 1. True Races Facts 2. Real History WW 3. African American Irish Diaspora Network All Praise to the Most High 🙏🏽

African american and Caribbean genealogy is difficult due to all descending from Africa!!! Keep digging

"Entrepreneur"

"Slave massa " definitely ain't giving a slave theur gopd name. This is all regurgitation of misleading people. You can't just go take and use someone's surnsme .

From what I'm learning is the original Scottish were so-called black ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dY5y7DkPLpc.html you might find this interesting

So many scabs. Where to begin? 😋

This is silly! The black people come from Scotland is basic knowledge not Africa for the most part. They got dispossessed after that jacobite rebellion and sent to colonies that their monarch owned by the trading companies the the Monarch owned. Virginia, some spots in the islands🤦🏿‍♂️ how do people not know that. The Scottish of back then are alot of black people in the island and America today not Caucasian looking people with the name geeesh... that's not hard to understand.

The reason so many Jamaicans have Scottish, English or Irish surnames is because at the end of the Plantation era (slavery days)...the slaves were released, but they took on the name of slave owners/ masters or Bacra Masters. Because they only had African names previously, so to live and work in a British colonial society ( as Jamaica was back then ) they needed English names, to live and work in society. The ex-slaves no longer identified themselves as Africa after living in Jamaica for so long, so they took on a Jamaican identity and even tried to speak and dress and adopt some of the bahaviour of their past bacra masters. The languages mixed over time with all the various people who were living in Jamaica after the Plantation days...to create the Patois ( which is a creole or mix dialect ) and is mainly broken English with elements taken from African, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, East Indian languages blended together and spoken fast.

One day you’ll learn to understand we are indigenous to the planet, including Europe. You didn’t get your name from these albinos, they got their names from YOU.

Sorry to be a damp squid but Shand was always your surname and it's the European that took over our estates and assumed our names. Please look into Dr Marie Charles, she is an author and historian equipped with Primary sources and ship manifest that displays endless black people shipped to the US and the Caribbean with names such as Campbell McDonald Sinclair and so many more. Sounds unbelievable if you have only been exposed to one version of events. What you have done is returned home.

Cos black people in Jamaica were taken from Scotland

That mansion belongs to the descendants of those slaves who built it.

My Sister, that is your Great Great Great Grandfather's Palace, exactly it does not add up, fact's if you noticed they fail to mentioned indentured servants, your Pop's came to Jamaica retired in Scotland, He didn't go bankrupt he didn't covert to Catholicism. Now their making million's off $$$$$$ off your Great Great Great Grandfather's works. SMH.......I'm glad you experienced your Great Great Great Grandfather Legacy, you went and saw his Great Wealth. Need to do the same, Great Job Sis,,,,,,,,,

Slightly off topic, but Montego Bay is pronounced as 'Monty-go' instead of 'Mon-tego'.

Reparations are coming, 2024 the tables have turned.

You want to be very careful when you are digging into history that you find something about your ancestors that you don't like and that will upset you. Slavery was a commonplace throughout the evolution of the human species at some time or another, and many societies engaged in it. It is very unwise to consume your time looking for the wrongs done to your ancestors, when your time can be more productively employed in taking advantage of the benefits of a free society in the 21st century.