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THE ENIG"ED ESTATE AND RUIN OF ST. JOHN, U.S.V.I. AN HISTORICAL SURVEY Prepared by: George F. TYSOOrJr. Staff Historian ISLAND RESOURCES FOUNDATION Post Office Box 4187 St. Thomas. U.S. Virgin Islands ~ I THE ENIGHED ESTATE AND RUIN OF ST. JOHN, U.S.V.I. AN HISTORICAL SURVEY Prepa red By: George F. Tyson, Jr. Sta ff Hi s tori an ISLAND RESOURCES FOUNDATION Post Office Box 4187 St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Prepared For: Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands November, 1976 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The preparation of this report has truly been a collective effort spanning institutional and international boundaries. Although the author takes sole responsibility for the facts and interpretations presented in the text, grateful acknowledgement must be extended to the following people for their contributions: Mary Anne Olsen of St. John, who conducted intervie\A/s with the residents of that island; Rafael "Lito" Valls, St. John resident and Librarian, who so generously allowed us access to his research notes; Frederick Gjessing of the V.I. National Park, who gave generously of his time and architectural expertise; June Lindqvist of the Enid M. Baa Public Library, St. Thomas, for her assistance in furthering our research; Judith Towle of the Island Resources Foundation for research in the archives of Washington, D.C. and for typing of the final manuscript; Dr. Edward Towle of the Island Resources Foundation for editorial assistance and guidance; Karin Fiederer for typing the preliminary draft; Morten Westrup and the staff of the Royal Danish Archives for their kind and enthusiastic assis- tance; Leif Calundann-Larsen of the University of Copenhagen for his re- search assistance at the Royal Danish Archives; Paul Olsen of the Royal Danish Archives for his translations of documents; Karin Fog Olwig for her research assistance and advice; Dr. Harold Larson of Washington, D.C. for his research assistance and translations; Alexandra Tarr of Washington, D.C. for architectural evaluations; and finally the many citizens of St. John who cooperated with us and gave us their oral recollections ofEnighed. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction The Estate and Its Owners The Laborers The Enighed Ruin Conclusion Bibliography Appendix A: Enighed Estate History~ 1786-1946 Appendix B: Residents on Enighed~ 1803-1870 Appendix C: St. John Statistics~ 1728-1940 ~ 1 4 12 14 19 21 26 29 47 .;;:. \: UJ 0 « U « L.I.. I I-a: 0 .", z to f"'-, 0) ~ Z :::> a: 0 UJ I c.!) Z UJ INTRODUCTION What follows is a history of the Enighed1 estate and ruin located one-quarter mile southeast of the town of Cruz Bay on the island of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, formerly the Danish West Indies. European colonization of St. John dates from March, 1717, when the Danish government of St. Thomas sent a ship carrying 5 soldiers~ 20 planters and 16 slaves to establish a settlement at Coral Bay on the south side of the island. Capitalized by St. Thomas merchants and planters, and cleared by slave laborers from St. Thomas and Africa, St. John was rapidly transformed into a plantation colony. By 1721 thirty-nine cotton and sugar estates had been parcelled out. By 1728 there were 87 estates, 123 whites and 677 slaves. Five years later the numbers had risen still further to 106 plantations, 208 whites and 1~087 slaves. 2 St. John's development as a plantation colony was only temporarily checked by the great slave rebellion of 1733-34 during which damage in lives and property amounted to 7,905 rigsbankdalers. 3 Although in the wake of the de- vastating insurrection many of the original landholders moved to the newly acquired island of St. Croix, their places were quickly filled by aspiring newcomers. By 1739 there were still 109 plantations, with 1,414 slaves and 208 whites. The golden age of St. John's plantation economy was between 1750 and about 1840. In 1773 the island had 69 operational sugar and cotton estates, 2,330 slaves and 104 whites. In 1796 850,000 lbs. of sugar were produced. Although the number of sugar estates declined from 26 to 15 between 1800 and 1846, the amount of sugar cultivated remained high. During the period 1821-1826 sugar production averaged 1,100,000 lbs. per year. By 1838-1840 the yearly average had fallen only slightly to 993,000 lbs. 4 lThere have historically been several spellings: Eenigkeit, Eenigheit, Eenighed, Enighted. Enighed is the Danish word for "united" or "Harmony" which may allude to the "Unitas Fratum," or Moravian Brethern Church which, while not directly as- sociated with Enighed estate, had its origins on St. John at Wi1thagen estate on nearby Enighed or Moravian Point and at Bethany mission, just northeast of Enighed estate. See James W. McGuire, Geographic Dictionary of the Virgin Islands of the United States (1925), p. 72. 2WaldemarWestergaard, The Danish West Indies Under Company Rule, 1671-1754 (1917), pp. 127-130. 3For the St. John slave rebellion, see Westergaard, ibid, pp. 164-78; C.F. Pa1udan, "Leaves from the History of the Danish West Indies," Museum Tidsskrift for Historie og Geographi, Vol. 3 (1894); and the fictionalized account Night of the Silent Drums (1975) by John Anderson. 4westergaard, ibid., p. 255. 1 By the mid-nineteenth century several factors had combined to gravely affect the development of St. John's plantation economy. Among these debilitating factors the most important were: declining soil fertility, rising production costs, unfavorable world market conditions, and, perhaps most importantly, the emancipation of the Danish slaves in July, 1848. After 1848 the plantation economy of St. John quickly disintegrated. Be- tween 1846 and 1870 the number of sugar plantations fell from 15 to 1, and a visitor in the latter Yiar observed that "the whole island is fast becoming a wilderness again.1I Over the same period the total population shrank from 2,450 persons to 1,054. During the last hal~ of the nineteenth century a few planters tried to postpone the inevitable by converting their lands to provision culture and stock grazing. However, most plantations were abandoned altogether and their lands were engrossed by an emergent local peasantry practising sub- sistence agriculture. In 1917, when Denmark sold St. John to the United States, subsistence agriculture had completely replaced the plantation economy. During the first half of the twentieth century St. John peasant cultivators eked out a meager livelihood from fruits and vegetables, raising small numbers of livestock, making charcoal, fishing or collecting bay leaves for the bay rum industry. Times were hard, but the people were their own masters and in possession of their own land. The advent of the tourist boom starting in the 1950 's has brought a modicum of prosperity to many St. Johnians, but only at the expense of selling their land to retired continentals, the Rockefellers, and the U.S. National Park Service. Much of St. John's history can be illuminated through studies of the plan- tations which dominated the insular economy until the last half of the nine- teenth century. In the context of Virgin Islands and Caribbean history, a plantation can be defined as a settlement institution established in a tropical setting by European colonizers for the purpose20f crop exploitation within the context of an emergent world market economy. The study of plantations is of considerable importance to historical under- standing, for besides functioning as the primary generators of local economic development plantations have helped shape insular social institutions, social relationships, social attitudes and ideologies, in short the entire social system. In the words of one of the leading authorities on plantations~ Edgar T. Thompson, "this institution has systemitized entire social orders."j lE.H. Perkins to Hamilton Fish, February 11, 1870 in U.S. Consular Despatches, St. Croix. 2For a discussion of plantations and plantation systems see the publication by the Pan American Union, Plantation Systems of the New World (1959). 3Ibid., p. 26. 2 Everywhere it has existed the plantation has profoundly influenced the cul- tural and physical habitat. As the noted West Indian economist George Beck- ford has put it: "The nature of the plantation and of the conditions which gave rise to its establishment left a very distinctive imprint on the plan- tation colonies."l Plantation studies, therefore, can do much to clarify the complex forces and ideas that have gone into making St. John, and the Virgin Islands generally, what they are today. It is true that on St. John the plantation system had virtually ceased to exist by the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and that consequently its overall impact has been somewhat attenuated by the subsistence economy practiced by Afro-Westindian peasants that emerged from its ruin. Karin Fog Olwig has correctly observed: When you examine the ruins of the old days of slavery and sugar cultivation it might .,. be worthwhile to consider that the adventure of the European planters was relatively short and un- successful, whereas the independent small farmers, who rose out of the failing plantation system, es- tablished a long, living pattern of life and live- lihood, and can be seen as th2 true founders of the island's present culture. Nevertheless, the legacies of the plantations and the particular type of : social order they helped fashion are still an evident part of social realities in st. John. Considerable res&archneeds to be done in the field of Virgin Island planta- tion stu'dies.3 Such work will surely provide important data concerning the economic, .• social, political and cultural history of these islands. It is hoped th,at the following study of the Enighed estate, its owners, its workers and its'economic history will make a small contribution to a richer under- standing of St. John's past and present. lGeorge L. Beckford, Persistent Poverty (1972), p. 35. 2Karin Fog Olwig, "Estate L'Esperance," a paper presented to the St. John Historical Society, September 25, 1974, p. 4. 3There have been few studies of individual plantations in the Virgin Islands. Richard Pares has briefly discussed the pinney plantations on St. Croix in his ex- cellent A West-India Fortune (1950). Short histories of other Cruzan plantations can be found in Florence Lewisohn St. Croix Under Seven Flags (1970). Inge Borg Antonsen of the Danish National Museum has outlined the history of Bethlehem es- tate in The Daily News of August 1, 1975. For St. John,Charles Hatch of the U.S. National Park Service has published reports on Reefbay (Parforce) and Annaberg plantations, while Karin Fog Olwig has written the short paper on estate L'Esperance cited above. A new era in plantation literature may be stimulated by the in depth studies of several Cruzan plantations currently being prepared by a team of students and professors at the University of Copenhagen, which is soon to be published. 3 THE ESTATE AND ITS OWNERS The earliest recorded owner of Enighed was Agent Johannes or John Wood, who is shown by Peter Oxholm's original map of St. John as being in possession of the estate in 1780. 1 Johannes Woodis ownership is confirmed by the 1786 land list (matriklerne) , which is the first such list in the Danish or U.S. archives to specify the ownership of either "Enighed" Estate or Number 1, Cruz Bay Quar- ter. The precise date the Wood family acquired Enighed is unknown. No family member is cited as owning groperty in St. John by the land lists existant for the period before 1786. 2 The best guess is that the Wood family purchased the estate sometime between 1750 and 1757, when the family name first begins to appear in the historical records. Although undoubtedly of English ancestry, the Woods came to the Danish West Indies from the Dutch island of Saba in the middle of the eighteenth century. Doing business as both merchants and planters, family members acquired a number of plantations on St. Thomas and St. Croix as well as St. John. After 1750 John and Richard Wood were doing business on St. Thomas. Peter Wood, a resi- dent of St. Croix, owned property both on that island and on St. John. A Jacobus Wood lived on St. John in 1758. The Wood females helped extend the family connections through marriage to prominent local landowners and poli- ticians. For example, in 1765 two Wood women are recorded as being married to members of the Durloe family of St. John, while a third Wood female from Saba was the wife of Captain de Nully of St. John. Chatarmia Wood married lIn his monograph Virgin Islands National Park. St. John Island ("The Quiet Place") •.• (1972), Charles E. Hatch states (pp. 139-40) that Oxholm shows Enighed as belonging to "Agail Wood" which he surmises means "Abagail Wood." A close inspection of the original Oxholm map in the Danish archives clearly showed the inscription to read "Agent Wood." There is absolutely no archival or literary evidence to substantiate John Anderso.!!.'s c.laim (on page 6 of his "Random Notes on the History of St. John," Ll-97'L1> that Enighed estate was first established by the Moravians. 2Documentary authentication of ownership of Enighed by the Woods or anyone else before 1780 will be difficult to secure. The St. John land lists are ex- tremely fragmentary until 1786. Moreover, the situation is complicated by the fact that before 1800 property holdings were not recorded either by name, i.e., "Enighed," or by Number, i.e., #1, Cruz Bay Quarter, but by vague geographical references to adjoining estates. Perhaps by using the plantation map which appears on the inside cover of John Anderson's Night of the Silent Drums (1975) as a base, together with the 1728-1739 land lists and Oxholm's maps, it would be possible to reconstruct original estate boundaries and ownership for all St. John plantations. However, such an enterprise would be extremely time consuming and would yield only approximate results. 4 , ,------. '/ I , .. ".) • ·i)4 ,IV' cO ..,. E o ..s:::: X o s... Q) ~ Q) 0.. .3 . 1 ~ Abraham Oijen, another St. John planter, around 1755. Johanne Elizabeth Wood was married to Johannes van Beverhoudt of St. John.1 The first family member to own Enighed was undoubtedly William Wood, whose gravestone, which is still on the property, reads as follows: 2 WILLIAM WOOD FIRST PARISH ELDER J.C. AND OLD BURGHER CAPTAIN ON SJN BORN ON SABA 22 MARCH 1692 AND DIED ON ST. JOHN 9 APRIL 1757 Johannes Wood, who was most likely the son of William, is first recorded as being in St. Thomas in 1750, at which time he took out a burgher brief. Be- tween 1765 and 1771 he resided on St. Thomas and was married first to a member of the Creuitzer family and later to a Malleville. The bulk of his property holdings was on St. Thomas, but he spent at least some time on St. John where he acted as government agent or representative. He died in 1803, bequeathing a considerable fortune to his heirs. Johannes Wood owned Enfghed until 1791, when he deeded the estate to George Hassel (or Hazzel) and Co. George Hassel, a merchant and planter of St. Thomas, had also come to the Danish islands from Saba and was married to Johannes Woodis daughter Anna. The Wood-Hassel transaction has the appearance of an intra- r' familial transfer of property for legal or credit purposes because in 1798 Johannes reacquired Enighed and it remained in his hands until his death five years 1 ater. Under the ownership of Wood and Hassel Enighed became a major sugar estate. We do not have production figures for the years before 1803, but we do know that in 1791 the estate had some 57 slaves and was valued at 66,702 West Indian rigsbankdaler, a considerable sum for the time. At the time of Johannes Woodis death in 1803, Enighed had 225 total acres; 110 acres were planted in sugar and 15 acres in pasture and provisions. There were 64 slaves, and the estate build- ings consisted of a dwelling house, a horsemill, a boiling house, a cure house, a sick house and kitchen, a still house, a store house3and 30 negro houses. The estate had increased in value to 77,085 rigsbankdaler. lrnforrnation concerning the Wood family comes from the Christian Marfeldt Mss. which are part of the William Westergaard transcripts at the Library of Con- gress; from various items in the Royal Danish American Gazette and St. Thomas Tidende; and from data supplied by Rafael Valls, Librarian, St. John Public Library. 2Prom a translation provided by Rafael Valls. According to "Neptune" Richards and Kay Ellington, St. John residents, there used to be six or seven gravestones on the estate grounds. Today there are only two, one of which is virtually illegible. 3St. Jan Registrerings-og Vurderingsprotokol 1797-1807, fol. 39, Royal Danish Archives. 5 In 1803 Enighed stood at the apogee of its development as a sugar estate. Under the ownership of Johannes Wood's heirs (who are never identified in the records 1) , Enighed's sugar production fell rapidly. By 1821, when the heirs were forced to sell Enighed at public auction, the total acreage had been re- duced from 225 to 150, of which only 20 acres were planted in cane and 4 acres were devoted to pasture and provisions. The slave population had been halved, from 63 to 32 souls. The entire estate was evaluated at only 26,494 rigsbank- dalers. 2 The new owner was Guert Sprewert de Windt, a member of a prominent merchant- planter family with landholdings on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. The de Windts, who had originally come to the Danish West Indies from the Dutch Islands, were among the earliest landowning families on both St. Thomas and St. John. Guert Sprewert (1748-1831) was a Creole, having been born on St. Thomas. His father was John de Windt, possibly the wealthiest single indi- vidual on St. Thomas in the eighteenth century. John was a merchant who had extensive commercial ties on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly with the North Americans with whom he traded before and during the American Revo- 1 ut ion. 3 Although he lived full-time on his estate in St. John, Guert Sprewert de Windt (who should not be confused with his famous uncle of the same name) did little to improve Enighed during his ten year ownership. Between 1821 and 1831 the total sugar acreage increased slightly from 20 to 25 acres, pasture and pro- visions from 4 to 5 acres, while the slave population stayed constant at 32. In 1832 Ernst Jacob Wei nmar purchased Eni!ghed from the Dani sh Crown. A member ~/ of a wealthy St. Thomas family which had come to the Danish islands from Holstein, Weinmar was a wealthy merchant and planter living on St. Thomas. The Weinmars were related to the de Windts by marriage, for in 1799 Margaret de Windt had married a Weinmar living on St. John. Ernst Weinmar died in 1837 and the owner- ship of Enighed, together with that of two other St. John estates -- Rustenberg and Adventure -- passed to his two sons Ernst Philip and Peter Ewald. The Weinmar brothers retained ownership of Enighed until 1852, when they went bankrupt. 4 lOne bf the heirs was possibly the St. Thomas planter John Malleville Wood, who Nissen states was appointed President of St. Thomas in 1809 by the British occupation force; see Johan P. Nissen, Reminiscenses of a 46 Years' Residence in the Island of St. Thomas •.. (1838). 2St • Jan Skiftedokurnenter, No. 12/1831, Royal Danish Archives. The deprecia- tion of property value was not as great as would appear since the Danish rigsbank- daler had been drastically devaluated in 1813 when the Danish State went bankrupt. Nevertheless, even allowing for devaluation, the decrease was significant. 3Data concerning the de Windt family comes from the Christian Marfeldt Mss.; the "de Windt" file at the st. Thomas Public Library; the article "Nine Generations of Virgin Islanders," Virgin Islands View (March, 1967), pp. 56-61; and various items- in the St. Thomas Tidende. 4Information concerning the Weinmar family comes from the "weinmar" file at the St. Thomas Public Library; various items in the St. Thomas Tidende and legal docu- ments, cited below, in the Royal Danish Archives. 6 Under Weinmar ownership a determined effort was made to exploit Enighed's potential not only as a sugar estate, but also in the area of provision cul- tivation and cattle raising. Between 1832 and 1846 the sugar acreage almost doubled from 24 to 40, while the total acreage devoted to pasturage and provi- sions grew from 4 to 60. Concurrently, the number of slaves rose from 32 to between 40 and 45. The Weinmars, however, found their economic upswing suddenly checked by the emancipation of the slaves decreed by Governor Peter von Scholten in July 1848. With their most valuable capital assets, the slaves, now declared free, the Weinmars found themselves caught in a serious credit squeeze, and in 1852 the Danish state seized ~nighed for non-payment of a mortgage amounting to $12,131.23. 1 The Weinmars appealed the case to the courts, arguing an inability to pay because they had not yet received compensation from the State for the precipitous eman- cipation of their slaves. The co~rt ruled against them, and the estate reverted temporarily to the Crown in 1852. According t~ an auction notice of 1853, the estate had been appraised at $5,898 and $4,250. William Smothergill, a Briton, purchased the estate in 1854. We know little about Smothergill, except that he owned Lameshur plantation in St. John and was married to Louisa Augusta de Windt, the daughter of Guert Sprewert de Windt. Under Smothergill Enighed stagnated. During his brief tenure of ownership be- tween 1854 and 1858, sugar cultivation ceased altogether -- a reflection of the inability of St. John plantations to profitably produce sugar without slave labor. At the same time, the amount of land in provisions and pasturage plum- meted from 30 to 2 acres. In 1858 Smothergill sold Enighed to Robert Collymore of Barbados, who lived on the estate with his wife, son and sister for less than a year. Collymore also purchase~ the adjoining Contant estate, thus increasing his combined landhold- ing to three hundred acres. Apparently he became discouraged with the prospects of a successful planting enterprise in St. John, for in 1859 he sold both Enighed and Contant to John Wilhelm Weinmar. The exact relationship of John W. Weinmar (1814-1874) to the Weinmars who had previously owned Enighed is undetermined. Weinmar was born in St. Thomas, while his wife Elizabeth was a St. Johnian by birth. Of his three children, one was born on St. John and two in St. Thomas. After dividing his time between St. Thomas and St. John in the 1850's, Weinmar and his family took up permanent resi- dence at Enighed. In 1865 Weinmar was elected to the St. Thomas/St. John Colonial Council as a member from St. John, and he served in that body until being defeated in the election of 1870. lIn 1849 the U.S. monetary system was introduced into the Danish West Indies. 2St • Jan Justits-og Domsprotoko1, 1844-1856, pp. 113-16 and St. Jan Skiftedok- umenter 6/1853 in Royal Danish Archives. Although the slaves had been emancipated in 1848, it was not until 1853 that Denmark enacted a law to compensate the slave- owners. In 1854 Ernst Philip Weinmar (his brother Peter died in 1853) received com- pensation for a total of 44 slaves freed on the Enighed estate; see Record.Group #55, Box 1904, Office of the Sheriff, St. John, 1853-54, pp. 70-3, U.S. National Archives. 3St • Thomas Tidende, January 15, 1853. 7 Like the earlier Weinmars, John Wilhelm undertook to tap the full economic po- tential of his Enighed-Contant estate. Shunning sugar production altogether, he concentrated his resources on cattle raising and the cultivation of provisions for export to St. Thomas and the neighboring islands. By the end of 1859 he had over 50 acres of pasture and provision land in use, and, in addition, he was employing laborers to cut wood and make charcoal for export. Weinmar's economic expectations soon ran afoul of the Danish laws governing the employment of free labor in the post-emancipation era. According to the Labor Act of 1849, laborers in the Danish islands had to be paid a set maximum wage of $2.00 per month by their employers to whom they were bound by yearly contracts. At the end of each contract year the laborer had the choice of leaving his employer or signing a new contract. In St. Croix this law had the desired effect of binding the laborers to the plantations and thus securing to the planters a large pool of cheap labor. However, on St. John conditions were different. As soon as they realized that they were being systematically exploited, St. Johnian laborers simply did not renew their contracts, choosing instead either to eke out a subsistence livelihood on one of the increasing number of abandoned sugar estates on their island, or emigrate to the neighboring islands of Tortola -- where there was land available for farminq -- or St. Thomas where the Danish labor law was not strictly enforced and high~r wages were paid. 1 The flight of St. John laborers is clearly documented in the population statis- tics (see Appendix C), which show that between 1846 and 1870 the total population of the island fell from 2,450 to 1,054 persons. Under these circumstances, as- piring St. John planters like John Weinmar had little option but to pay their laborers higher wages in order to keep them from leaving the island, or to en- tice back those who had emigrated. Yet, however much they might want to in- crease wages, they were precluded from doing so by the maximum wage rate set by the 1849 Labor Law. As a member of the Colonial Council for St. John, Weinmar made every effort to have the labor regulations affecting St. John ameliorated. In June, 1869 Weinmar rose in the Council to criticize the Danish government for neglecting St. John -and for allowing the economy of the island to stagnate. He singled out the Administrator, Judge Dewhurst, for especially harsh criticism and demanded that reforms be immediately forthcoming. In response, the Council authorized the establishment of a commission to investigate the complaints of the planters. 2 The Commission, however, was never convened. In August, 1869 a disgusted John Weinmar once again rose to the attack; publishing in the St. Thomas Tidende his lpor a discussion of the Labor Law in St. John and St. Thomas, see the "Colonial Council Proceedings" printed in the St. Thomas Tidende of December 4, 1869 and April 20, 1870. The Labor Law of 1849 is printed in full in John P. Knox, Historical Account of St. Thomas (1852), pp. 248-55. 2"colonia1 Council Proceedings," St. Thomas Tidende, July 7, 1869. 8 list of "9 Points which the people of St. John require to make an unmolested 1 i ve 1 i hood. III These poi nts ca 11 ed fo r a new, more 1 i bera 1 admi ni s tra tor, the easing of restrictions governing the sale of various products by St. Johnian sellers, the abolition of the passport system in order to encourage St. John laborers on St. Thomas and Tortola to return to St. John, police assistance on St. Thomas to return contract laborers who had run away, and the abolition of the Labor Law, thus freeing employers to pay their laborers as much, and by any method, as they preferred. In November 1869 Weinmar complained in the Colonial Council that a Commission had not yet been established, and demanded immediate action. He again condemned Judge Dewhurst for his arbitrary administration and insisted that many departed laborers would return to St. John immediately once he was removed from his of- fice. St. Johnian planters, he insisted'2desired the same lax enforcement of the Labor Law as prevailed in St. Thomas. Despite Weinmar's pleas no commission was established and no reforms undertaken. In April, 1870 Weinmar made one final effort to stir government into action. In a memorial to the Colonial Council he enumerated his complaints against Judge Dewhurst, concluding that until he was dismissed and the Labor Law abol- ished, St. Johnians would continue to be faced with I'A perfect loss of credit, cramped means of living, loss of property and loss of employment; doubts of the condition of others, doubts of ~ur own conditions; and all this without the hope of improvement or change." Although several other Council members supported Weinmar's memorial, the Danish Vice-Governor remained unmoved, declining to take action on the grounds that he could not easily order Judge Dewhurst to ignore the law and that any alteration in the Labor Law would have to be made in Denmark. In a subsequent election Weinmar lost his Council seat to H.L. Krause and the question of the Labor Law had to await the St. Croix Labor Rebellion of 1878 before being reformed by Denmark; by then, however, it was too late to resuscitate the plantation economy of St. John. Weinmar's remonstrances were hardly disinterested. He had on several occasions been rebuked by Judge Dewhurst for disregarding and circumventing the Labor regu- 1St• Thomas Tidende, August 21, 1869. The Labor Law was not the only obstacle preventing Weinmar from earning a living. In 1870 he "banished" his wife and two daughters from his home at Enighed until they allowed him "to make an unmolested livelihood by his property." See Appendix B. 211Colonial Council Proceedings," St. Thomas Tidende, December 4, 1869. Earlier, Weinmar had been sued by the St. Thomas police because of his complaints in the Tidende against their failure to return St. John laborers who had broken their contracts and fled to St. Thomas. 3"Colonial Council Proceedings," St. Thomas Tidende, April 20, 1869. 9 lations. Moreover, his Enighed-Contant estates were steadily declining. Be- tween 1859 and 1870 the total acreage given over to provisions and pasture fell from 50~ to 10, while the number of recorded laborers decreased from 19 to 11. Weinmar1s deteriorating personal circumstances and his public complaints help clarify the dismal situation confronting St. John planters in the second half of the nineteenth century. Hampered by a dwindling labor force, decreasing soil productivity, rigid and outmoded laws enacted in a distant Mother Country and an unresponsive colonial administration, most planters had no choice but to cease cultivation altogether. In 1846, on the eve of emancipation, there were 15 sugar estates in operation; by 1870 only Estate Adrian continued to produce sugar. Those planters, like Weinmar, who had converted to cattle and provision raising similarly found themselves hard pressed to carryon profitably. John W. Weinmar died in 1874 and his widow Elizabeth was forced to auction off Enighed and Contant estates. The new owner was Alfred Maisonneuve Lebrun from St. Lucia who paid only $822.60 for the property, a price reflecting the con- siderable depreciation in property value since 1853 when the estate had been evaluated between $4,250 and $5,898. Lebrun made one last, but futile effort to cultivate sugar and provisions on Enighed. In 1877 he had 4 acres in sugar and 12 in pasture and provisions. Three years later, however, sugar production had ceased altogether, while provision and pasturage had fallen to 9 acres and Lebrun was compelled to sell Contant estate to Abraham Leright. Lebrun and his son Denveil lived on Enighed for ten years during which time efforts to exploit the land economically were abandoned once and for all. By 1883, when Lebrun sold Enighed to Judge Johan or Julius Frederick Colberg, the raising of cattle and provisions, as well as sugar cultivation, had ceased entirely. The next two owners of Enighed -- Judge Colberg, who held the estate from 1883- 1898, and Judge Jens Peter Jorgensen, who had possession in the years 1899 through 1918 -- were both Danish Administrators of St. John and lived on the island for political rather than economic reasons. To them Enighed provided at best a com- fortable part-time residence rather than a profitable business undertaking. 1 Neither Colberg nor Jorgensen had much opportunity to enjoy his residence at Enighed. Colberg, who was born in Denmark in 1812, died in December, 1883, the same year he.pyrcha~ed the P20perty. His wife sold some of his personal effects and the remalnlng llvestock. Whether she stayed at Enighed or returned to St. Thomas is unknown. In 18983the Danish State claimed Enighed, along with Colberg1s other property on St. John. lIn 1905, when the estate still belonged to Jorgensen, 10 acres were being used for pasturage and provisions, but most likely it was not Jorgensen who was directly involved, but a local St. Johnian who was leasing the land from him. 2St • Thomas Tidende, February 6, 1884. 3From information provided by Rafael Valls. 10 ZUCKERMUHLE. A. ~fi~ ma- cUJ'l- 7/"dmJ?ubz. G.:IJU 'Xvf<l"nM. B. ~Me . H. 2Ja.., ~d7Yn~ . c. 7f"tfj'b~ . L. 1Ju. .f't1dzb<~lUIl . D. 2>ie S'Q~ . M. 7)u --'~. E.';~d"L.~a/kn,. N ~HZT. ~.,<" . ~/'Utrm .• Horse mill, similar to the one at Enighed in nineteenth century. Sukkerm0Ue drevet ved hjrelp af heste. I midten de tre valser, hvorigennem sukker- mrene blev presset. Horse drawn sugar mill. In the middle three rollers in which the cane was crushed. r , In 1899 Judge Jorgensen purchased Enighed from the State. The purchase price of $270.00, when compared to the $822.60 which Lebrun paid in 1874, clearly re- veals Enighed's economic decline in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. 1 Jorgensen (1847-1926), a distinguished St. Thomas lawyer and politician who also owned Annaberg estate, may have resided part-time in the Enighed estate house until around 1903-05 when a fire, accidentally started b2 some brush being burnt by caretaker Howell, destroyed the roof and floor. The 1 ast known resi dent at the Eni ghed estate house was one Sci pi 0, a seventy-three year old fisherman said to be living on the estate, probably as caretaker, in 1901. 3 After the fire at the turn of the twentieth century, Enighed was all but abandoned. The estate house remained a burnt-out ruin, while the estate acreage was only utilized by small-time stockmen like Halvor IINeptune ll Richards. In 1918 Captain Alfred Benjamin (IIBenny") White, the owner of the adjoining Contant estate, purchased Enighed from Judge Jorgensen. 4 White was one of the few planters still active in the Cruz Bay Quarter of St. John in the first half of the twentieth century. Like the Lindqvist and Francis families, he acted as a middleman, shipping the produce of local cultivators along with his own from St. John to St. Thomas and other islands. 5 It is not unlikely that White used Enighed land for his various economic activities. At the same time it was he who began the process of parcelling out the estate to local small holders. In April, 1920 he sold 4 acres to Halvor "Neptune" Richards, and in August of the same year he sold'another 30~ acres to Athoner Morehead. 6 In 1941 White sold the remainder of the estate to Alice Maud Nielsen. Three years later Nielsen sold the property to the Municipality of St. Thomas and St. John. In 1945-46, as part of the Homestead program in the Virgin Islands, the St. Thomas-St. John Municipality began parcelling out the estate land to local Virgin Islanders. Among those who acquired Enighed land at that time lIbid.; "Enighed" file, Recorder of Deeds Office, St. Thomas. 2"Neptune" Richards, interview of 9/23/76; confirmed by Paul Boulon, St. John resident, who heard it from Nathan Small, interview of 9/5/76. 3From information provided by Rafael Valls. 4White initially tried to purchase Enighed in 1900i however, the deal apparently fell through because the title was not in order. From information provided by Rafael Valls. White had purchased Contant in 1894. 5See "Reminiscences by Late A.M. Lindqvist," The Daily News of the U.S. Virgin Islands, March 12, 1974. 6"Enighed" file, Recorder of Deeds Office, St. Thomas. 11 were Cory Bishop, Mario Watlington, Sylvia M1ssac, Christian Samuel, Herman Smith, Vivian France and Josephine Williams. The Virgin Islands government, ,-- however, maintained ownership of some land including the .60 acre on which the old burnt-out ruin presently sits. *** THE LABORERS Afro-Westindian laborers, whether slave or free, were the sinews of Enighed as well as all other West Indian plantations. Unfortunately, we know very little about the life histories of these heroic, industrious people. This is not too surprising, for history has always been written by the colonizers for the col- onizers. Nevertheless, from Enighed's historical records we are able to glean some information about those individual workers whose blood, sweat, toil and suffering generated the profits which made the Enighed estate house, as well as the leisured and prosperous life style it symbolizes, possible. One hundred and forty-two laborers can be identified from the records (see Appendix B) as having lived and worked on Enighed during the years 1803 through 1870. There were undoubtedly many others, but our data is rather fragmentary, particularly for the years between 1803 and 1841, the year when the first Danish census was introduced. Of the 142 identifiable laborers, 81 were males and 61 were females. The vast majority of these men and women were field la- borers, but a few like William and Hellena, who lived on Enighed between 1831 and 1870, were house servants. Still others had special skills. For example, Andreas, who had been born in Africa and lived on Enighed between 1803 and 1850, was a carpenter and as such was the most valued slave on the estate in 1803. Abraham and Matheus, born on St. John and St. Thomas respectively, were also carpenters. Other artisans of the slave period were George and Jacob, both coopers. The preferential treatment which such valuable crafts- men received is reflected in their advanced ages. Matheus reached at least the age of 81, and Abraham, Jacob and Andreas all lived beyond fifty years of age. After emancipation the occupations of the Enighed laborers became more diverse. Petrus, a St. Johnian who lived on the estate between 1831 and 1870, was a boat captain and fisherman. John Frederick and ~Jill iam Henry were sailors. John from Tortola was a pastureman, while Jacob, Joseph Theodor and Carl Augustine were all pasture boys. Lucia and Susannah, a St. Johnian who lived on Enighed from 1831 to 1860, were washerwomen. The duration which most of these laborers resided on Enighed in the nineteenth century was rather short indeed, usually between 5 and 10 years, a fact which reflects both the severity of the slave regime and the high mobility of St. John freedmen after 1848. Of the 63 slaves living on Enighed in 1803 only 15 or 16 survived until 1831. Of the 32 slaves on the estate in 1831 only 15 re- mained in 1850. As would be expected, the turnover rate was particularly dra- matic in the post-emancipation era. Between 1850 and 1857 at least 31 workers lllEnighed file, Recorder of Deeds Office, St. Thomas. disappeared from the estate records, while between 1857 and 1870 another 23 men and women left the estate. The reasons for the high turnover rate were many. A large number of people died from various causes: malnutrition, harsh treatment, disease; ieldom of old age. The cholera epidemic of 1855 killed 25 people at Enighed. Others undoubtedly perished in hurricanes and other natural disasters. After 1848 a considerable number of laborers left Enighed of their own free will, moving onto abandoned estate land for the purpose of subsistence farm- ing, emigrating to Tortola, where farm land was available, or to St. Thomas where wages were considerably higher and opportunities greater. The flight from Enighed had actually begun during slavery. In 1803 one Cubma is listed as a maroon or runaway slave. Desertions became more frequent after 1834 when slavery was abolished on the neighboring island of Tortola. Enighed slaves were among the many on St. John who fled to freedom on Tortola. In 1848 four former Enighed slaves were reported to be on Tortola. Washington and Beth lived in Roadtown. Josva lived outside Roadtown and earned a living by cutting grass for horses. Michel, who a12 0 lived somewhere in Tortola, reportedly died a year or two after emancipation. Despite the general trend a few laborers stayed on Enighed for a considerable period of time, indicating an attachment that transcended personal status or attachment to a particular owner. Among the males, Jacob, Benjamin, Frederick and Andreas are recorded as having lived on the estate during the years 1803- 1850. And Petrus, who was probably born on Enighed around 1831, was still there in 1870. Among the females, Cecila was resident between 1803 and 1846; Susanna, who was probably born on Enighed circa 1818, still lived there in 1860; and Helena, another who chose to remain on the estate well beyond emancipation, is recorded as being resident between 1841 and 1870. But it was Julianna who set the record for longevity, despite the fact that for most of her life she worked as a field laborer. She is listed on every estate census between 1803 and 1857 -- a residency of at least 54 years! The data is much too fragmentary to provide reliable information about birth rates on Enighed. Nevertheless, it is possible to state that at least 24 people were born on the estate between 1803 and 1850; whereas between 1850 and 1870 there were at least five probable births. Very few marriages are recorded among the slaves, although the data is particu- larly incomplete here. In 1841 and 1846 only 3 of 23 men are recorded as being married. We have no data on the women. In 1850, 3 males and 2 females were married and another male was a widower out of a total of 42 resident laborers. In 1857, 6 males and females were married anc there was one widower out of 19 resident laborers. And in 1870, 5 people were married and 2 were widowers out IFrom information provided by Karin Fog Olwig. 2Record Group #5, Box 1904, Office of the Sheriff, St. John, 1853-54, pp. 70-3, U.S. National Archives. 13 of a total of 15 resident laborers. To risk a generalization from this data, it would seem that with the decline of sugar and slavery, marriage became more common among the Enighed laborers. 1 The Enighed records provide information about the laborers in two other areas: their provenance and their religious affiliations. Of the 87 Enighed laborers, free and slave for which we have information about their place of origin, 4 were born in Africa, 14 were born in St. Thomas, 3 were born in St. Croix, 2 were born in Tortola, 1 was born in St. Eustatius and 63 were born on St. John. As for religion, as might be expected Moravian Mission established in 1754, laborers were of the Moravian faith. 5 Catholics, and 2 Lutherans. from the close proximity of the Bethany the overwhelming majority of Enighed's The breakdown is as follows: 61 Moravians, *** THE ENIGHED RUIN Historical research in local, U.S. or Danish archives has yielded very little hard data concerning the present Enighed Ruin. Interviews with several know- ledgeable St. Johnian residents have been fruitful, but hardly definitive. Our earliest source of information about the buildings on Enighed comes from Peter Oxholm's original 1780 map of St. John which shows two mai~ structures, one of which is probably a tread mill and the other a dwelling house, as being located on top the knoll where the present ruin now stands. The map also shows a cluster of smaller buildings, probably representing out buildings and slave quarters, on the southern slope of the knoll running toward Enighed Pond. The first documentary evidence relating to Enighed's buildings comes from an 1 On St. John as a whole, according to one visitor from St. Croix in 1870, marriage among the Afro-Westindian population appears to have been more frequent than on St. Croix, "the reason being that the Moravians will not baptize illegiti- mate children, and this ordinance of the Church is considered of the greatest im- portance by the people, hence many feel compelled to marry who otherwise would not." E.K. Perkins to Hamilton Fish, February 11, 1870 in U.S. Consular Despatches, St. Croix. Perkins added: "Strange as it may appear •.• these marriages produce much trouble in families. That parties after marriage will quarrel who before lived to- gether in peace and happiness. The solution of this apparent mystery being that the marriage ... destroys the necessity of mutual good behavior which existed before and when either party could at anytime dissolve the contract should the other prove an unpleasant companion." 14 ~ ... :', .~'::'. -.,.::t., ~ >"'" ,. r i~ , ~ ~ Laborers at work in cane fields. 1803 estate inventory which shows the existant buildings and their value as follows: 1 dwell ing house (1,400 rd.), 1 1101 d dwell ing house ll now used as a store house (100 rd.), 1 horse mill (1,500 rd.), 1 boiling house, 1 cure house and 1 still house (combined value 12,000 rd.), 1 sick house with two rooms and a kitchen under the same roof (3,300 rd.) and 30 Negro houses ( 1,500 rd.). 1 It would appear from the more pronounced representation of the Enighed dwelling house on Oxholm's 1800 map, compared to the 1780 map, that the new dwelling house of the 1803 inventory was built sometime between 1780 and 1803. A de- vastating hurricane hit St. John in August 1793 severely damaging many plan- tations including the Bethany mission. 2 It is not unlikely that the new dwelling house was ~uilt in the wake of this hurricane. An 1821 tax record of Enighed shows the estate buildings and their evalua- tion as follows: 1 dwelling house (500 pte.), 1 boiling, curing and still house under the same roof plus a second still house (combined value of 7,000 pte.), 1 mill and millround (600 pte.), 15 Negro houses (750 pte.) and the ruins of a kitchen (25 ptc.).3 A registration of property following the death of owner G.S. de Windt in 1831 lists the following buildings: 1 dwelling house, 1 horse mill, 1 boil- ing, curing and still house under the same roof, 1 still house with a cistern, 1 kitchen, 1 house with two rooms. Unfortunately, there are no valuations at- tached to these buildings. In August 1837 Enighed buildings were again damaged by a devastating hurricane. St. John officials reported that the dwelling house, still house, curing house, boiling house, horse stable, cart house, kitchen and all Negro houses were II down . 114 Whether the hurricane completely destroyed the dwelling house is unknown. We do know that between 1837 and 1853 the dwelling house was either rebuilt or repaired, for an auction notice appearing in the St. Thomas Tidende of January 15, 1853, stated that on the Enighed estate ilthere is a large dwelling house of mason work with a shingled roof and 13 houses for the laborers. II 1St• Jan Registrerings-og Vurderingsprotokol, 1797-1807, fol. 39. 2John Holmes, Historical Sketches of the United Brethern •.. (1827), p. 313. 3St. Jan Skiftedokurnenter, 12/1831, "The Estate of Guert Sprewert De Windt." The lower evaluations of 1821 reflect the devaluation of the Danish currency in 1813. 4Information from Paul Olsen of the Royal Danish Archives. 15 We have been unable to locate any further descriptive references to the Enighed buildings after 1853. A St. John map of 1914 shows 4 building1 of equal size clustered on the knoll in the vicinity of the present ruin. And an American map of 1934 shows a solitary structure on the present site. 2 There are two sources for dating the present Enighed ruin as being built in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. In the late 1940 ' s, John L. Anderson, an amateur historian, wrote that the "present ruins of Enighed are not old at all, probably don't go back beyond the boom of seventy-fi ve years ago, if that far. II Anderson 1 s undocumented assertion first appeared in print on page 43 of St. John and St. Thomas, Vir- gin Islands of the United States (1950) by National Park Historian Clarence L. Johnson, and was subsequently repeated verbatim by Mr. Anderson on page 5 of his "Random Notes on the History of St. John" (1970).3 Frederick Gjessing, architectural historian of the U.S. National Park Service and a leading authority on the architecture of the Danish West Indies, also believes that the present Enighed ruin dates from the last quarter of the nine- teenth century. He bases his judgement on an architectural comparison of Enighed's architectural and decorative details are less elaborate and less articulated than those of "Par Force" estate house at Reef Bay which dates from the 1840 ' s. Whereas, in its architectural layout and design, Enighed resembles some of the St. Croix plantations constructed in the last part of the nineteenth century.4 It is our contention, however, that Enighed dates from an earlier part of the nineteenth century and that the mason work house with shingled roof mentioned in the 1853 auction notice and the present ruin are one and the same building. We take this position for several reasons. In the first place, it is certain that some construction work took place between the hurricane of 1837 and 1853. From oral sources on St. John we know that one, perhaps two, stone masons worked on Enighed about that time. In the case of one of these stone masons -- John Bernadine Sprauve -- family tradition holds that he actually built Enighed. Miss Elaine Sprauve of Cruz Bay, St. John heard that it was her grandfather, J.B. Sprauve, who built Enighed. 5 Miss Sprauve's aunt, Miss Idalia Lans, also stated that John Bernadine Sprauve "worked on Enighed and built the house in town a fte rwa rd. 116 1Roya1 Library of Denmark map, 1915, No. 587. 2Located at the St. Thomas Public Library. 3In a letter to the author dated 7 February 1977, Mr. Anderson states that his dating was inaccurate: "instead of '75 years' I should, in 1951, have said '100 years or more. '" His source was Geraldine Boynes ("Aunt Dina") of St. John. 4Frederick Gjessing interview of 10/21/76. 5E1aine Sprauve, St. John resident, interview of 9/7/76. 6Idalia Lans, St. John resident, interviews of 9/8/76 and 9/23/76. LU U Z « a: I- Z LU a: « LU a: ~--" CO- ,..... 0') z ::> a: Cl LU :::c (.!:l z LU John Bernadine Sprauve was born on St. Thomas circa 1811,1 where he held the rank of Sargeant Major,2 probably in the Brand Corps of Free Negroes. He came to St. John sometime in the early 1840 's, for in 1846 he and his wife, the former Amanda de Windt of St. John, were living on the island and had their first son Altoman, the father of Idalia Lans. Between 1855 and 1860 Sprauve and his wife are recorded as living and working at John Wright's house. In 1860 they acquired some waterfront property at 4B Cruz Bay Quarter, where John built the masonry house whose ruin is still standing. John died sometime in the 1860 's for in the census of 1870 Amanda is recorded as living in her Cruz Bay property, a widowed seamstress. The second stone-mason associated with Enighed was George Nissen, a great grandfather of the Boynes brothers of St. John. John L. Anderson has written that the Enighed ruin was built by the grandfather of the Baynes brothers? Neptune Richards of St. John recalls hearing from Nissen's son-in-law, Martin Boynes~that Nissen had done work on Enighed. 4 Idalia Lans has heard the same thing. George Nissen, or "Boss Nissen" as he is called by St. John;ans, was born in Africa circa 1810.6 Arriving in St. Thomas he acquired the trade of stone mason, and like many other slave artisans of the period eventually earned enough money to purchase his freedom from his master, Jens Peter Nissen, in 1839. Soon afterward he moved to St. John where he practi ced his trade as stone mason. In 1855 he is recorded as working at Lameshur estate which at that time belonged to William Smothergill, who also owned Enighed. Nissen married Marion George of St. John and lived on the island until his death in 1903. Nissen worked on many St. John estates ("he was always working IBiographical data concerning John Bernadine Sprauve comes from Rafael Valls; and from Karin Fog Olwig in a letter to Maureen Lynch, V.I. Planning Office staff, of January 1, 1976. 2Idalia Lans intereviews of 9/8/76 and 9/23/76. Miss Lans believes that her grandfather originally carne from Haiti. 3Anderson, Notes, ~.cit., p. 5. Anderson erroneously states that the Boynes' grandfather was named "Boygne" and had corne from Haiti. Nissen mar- ried Marion George; their daughter Angelina married Martin Boynes in 1872. The son of Angelina and Martin was Thomas Alfred Boynes, who married Geraldine Sprauve, a grandaughter of John Bernadine Sprauve. Thomas Boynes and Geraldine Sprauve produced three sons who are still alive: James, Anton and Loredon Boynes. From information provided by Rafael Valls. 4"Neptune" Richards interview of 9/23/76. 5Idalia Lans interviews of 9/8/76 and 9/23/76. 6Biographical data on George Nissen comes from Rafael Valls and Karin Fog Olwig in a letter to Maureen Lynch, V.I. Planning Office staff, January 1, 1976. 17 around old places; fixing old places all his daysll1) and it is not unlikely that both he and Sprauve worked together or separately on Enighed. A second reason for believing that the present Enighed ruin dates from 1837- 1853 in preference to a later period is that between 1874 and 1900 the owners of the property show little evidence of prosperity. During these years no more than 16 acres were ever in use at one time, and the estate was clearly in decline as an economic unit. In contrast, during the 1837-1853 period the estate belonged to the Weinmar family, which had considerable wealth from their mercantile and planting activities in St. Thomas. While in possession of Enighed they showed every indication of striving to expand its capital operations and profitability. Ewald Weinmar lived on Enighed, and it is not improbable that after the 1837 hurricane he had the old 1803 estate house rebuilt in a style that would mirror his wealth, pretensions, and status. There is also some architectural evidence to support a pre-1850 dating for the Enighed ruin. Ms. Alexandra Tarr and Mr. Gustavo Araoz, two architectural his- torians currently inventorying Puerto Rican historic sites for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, have concluded that the simple elegance and restrained proportions of the Enighed ruin would indicate that the structure was built sometime between 1800 and 1860. Russell Wright, an architectural historian who helped prepare the inventory of Virgin Island historic sites for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, is also of the opinion that Enighed's architectural characteristics date the building from the early part of the nineteenth century. Tarr and Araoz have also noted some architectural similarities between the Enighed ruin and the Sprauve ruin in Cruz Bay, an indication that John Berna- dine Sprauve did in fact work on, if not build, Enighed estate house. In sum, it would appear that the present Enighed ruin dates from the period 1837-1853. Renovation and expansion of the earlier 1803 dwelling which was damaged in the hurricane of 1837 was probably done by John Bernadine Sprauve, and perhaps George Nissen. Additional repair work after 1870 was undoubtedly carried out by George Nissen. Between 1803 and 1883 the structure was used as a traditional estate house by residential planter families. Between 1883 and the fire of circa 1903 the house was probably only occupied part time as a country house by St. Thomas politicians temporarily residing on St. John. It should be emphasized that these conclusions are highly tentative. Frederick Gjessing's expert opinion is difficult to discount, and our documentary and oral evidence is fragmentary at best. Hopefully more definitive evidence will one day surface. I"Neptune" Richards interview of 9/23/76. 18 From the above survey it is clear that in many respects Enighed was a typical St. John plantation, which has been intimately connected with the economic, social, political and cultural history of the island. Between 1780 and 1835, the golden era of St. John's economic prosperity, Enighed was primarily a sugar estate. At its peak in 1803 the estate had 110 acres in sugar production and was valued at 77,085 rigsbankdalers. After 1803, however, sugar acreage gradually declined to between 20 and 25 acres. Between 1832 and 1858 the owners combined stock and provision raising with sugar cultivation in an effort to overcome the debilitating effects of soil exhaustion, declining world sugar prices and slave emancipation. This di- minished emphasis on sugar reflected a general trend for St. John, where total sugar acreage fell from 1,788 acres in 1805 to only 839 acres in 1845. In the same era the number of sugar estates dropped from 26 to 15. By 1870 only 1 sugar estate remained operative. Between 1858 and 1880 sugar cultivation on Enighed virtually ceased and the owners, like so many other planters on St. John, turned their estate lands over to cattle raising and provision growing with a view to exporting their meats and vegetables to St. Thomas and other neighboring islands. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, this kind of commercial venture also proved unprofitable and Enighed, like so many other St. Johnian estates, was gradually abandoned. After 1880 Enighed's land was seldom in use, except for subsistence agriculture, stock grazing, and the making of charcoal by the local peasantry. Enighed~s abandoned and burnt out ruin symbolized the depressed state of St. John's ~conomy in the first half of the twentieth century. When the Americans took possession of St. John in 1917 they found that there was IImuch misery and want on'the island. 1l1 During the first decades of American sovereignty little was done to change the situation. As IINeptune ll Richards, who was among those trying to 2ke out a livelihood in Enighed's shadow, succintly put it, IImoney was short ll in those precarious years. The current commitment to restore the Enighed ruin on the part of the Virgin Islands government and the St. John citizenry reflects to some extent the economic upswing and resurgence of community pride which has occurred on the island since the early 1950's. Besides mirroring the overall pattern of St. John's economic development from sugar cultivation to provision and cattle raising to subsistence agriculture, Enighed's history reflects other aspects of St. John's past. For example, a study of the estate owners reveals that not only did they come from many di- verse national backgrounds -- Holland, England, Denmark, and perhaps France -- lTheodor de Booy and John T. Farris, The virgin Islands Our New Possession •.• (1918), p. 145. 2"Neptune" Richards interview of 9/23/76. 19 but that several, like Guert S. de Windt and John W. Weinmar, were Creoles who were born either in St. John or St. Thomas. Moreover, these families were often closely inter-related by marriage. Again, a study of the Enighed laborers reveals the central and pervasive in- fluence of the Moravian church within the Afro-Westindian population of the island, and thus underscores the contributions of that faith to the social and cultural heritage of St. Johnians. Enighed1s history also brings into focus the emergence of Cruz Bay as the administrative and commercial center of St. John. When the Danes initially settled the island, Coral Bay,with its excellent harbor, was the nominal capital of the island. In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, how- ever, there was a dramatic shift in population and cultivation from the Coral Bay area to Cruz Bay, and in 1780 we find that the representative of the Danish government, Agent Johannes Wood, was living at Enighed overlooking the growing town of Cruz Bay_ Other Administrators of St. John, among them Judges Colberg and Jorgensen, were directly associated with Enighed, and the imposing Enighed estate house must have been a familiar landmark to visitors and residents alike whenever they made the journey along Centerline Road into Cruz Bay or arrived by sea at Cruz Bay harbor. Because Enighed1s history is so closely enmeshed with that of St. John, and because several locally prominent families have been directly associated with the estate, the present Enighed ruin, with its distinctive architecture, re- presents an historic site of considerable significance. It stands as a monu- ment not only to the handful of Europeans who owned and operated the estate during its heyday, but equally to the hundreds of Afro-Westindian laborers who also lived there and without whose strength, skill, stamina, courage and resoursefulness a tropical wilderness could never have been tamed. 20 BIBLIOGRAPHY Manuscript Sources Danish National Archives, Copenhagen Matrik1ene and Land1iste (land Register) St. Jan 1728-39, 1786-1915. Census, St. John 1841-1880. Auktionsprotoko11er, St. John 1720-1916. Landbreve, St. John 1720-21. Fo1ketaelling, St. Thomas/St. John 1870-1890. Landfoged,St. John 1727-33, 1741-52, 1749-1770. Landmo1ingsprotoko1, St. Thomas/St. John 1764-1827. Skiftebrevsprotoko11er, St. John 1769-1916. Registrerings og. Vorderingsprotoko1, St. John 1797-1916. Skiftedocumenter, St. John 1754-1915. Justits oq. Domsprotoko1, St. John 1844-1856. Matricul [Tax Lists), St. John 1787-1916. Danish Royal Library, Copenhaqen Prints and Maps Collection: West Indies 1700-1917. Danish National Museum, Copehnhagen Prints and Maps Collection: West Indies 1700-1917. U.S. National Archives, Washington, D. C. Record Group #55; Records of the Government of the Virgin Islands and Records of the Government of the Danish West Indies. u.S. Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. William Westergaard transcripts relating to the Danish West Indies. Prints and Maps Collection, West Indies. U.S. National Park Service, St. John Mss. Report (in Danish) on St. John fortifications by Peter Oxholm, August 30, 1780. Recorder of Deeds Office, St. Thomas Enighed Estate Records. 21 Enid M. Baa Public Library, St. Thomas Newspapers (microfilm): The Royal Danish American Gazette (Christiansted), 1770-1802. ?t. Thomas Tidende (Charlotte Amalie), 1815-1849, 1852-1917. Despatches from U.S. Consuls in St. Thomas, 1804-1906 and St. Croix, 1791-1876 (microfilm). Prints and Maps Collection. Oral Sources Interviews Miss Elaine Sprauve ~1iss Idalia Lans Mr. Rafael Valls Mrs. Kay Ellington Mr. Don Adams Captain Loredon Baynes Captain Halvor "Neptune" Richards Mr. Paul Boulon Dr. Gilbert Sprauve Miss Alice Stevens Miss Clarice Thomas Miss Gerda Marsh Mr. Herbert Samuels Mr. Frederick Gjessing Pri nted Sources Bibliographies and Guides to Sources 9/7/76 9/8/76, 9/23/76 9/6/76, 9/23/76 9/13/76 9/13/76 9/23/76 9/23/76 9/5/76 9/24/76 Bro-J¢rgensen J.D. and Rasch, Og. AA., Asiatiske Vestindiske og. Guineiske handelskompagnie~Vejledende Arkivregistratuer XIV, 1969. Danish Rigarkivet, Koloniernes Centralbestyrelse, Vejledende Arkivregistraturer XX, 1975. Griffin, A.P.C. A List of Books on the Danish West Indies, Government Printing Office, 1901. Hodge, Derek, Bibliography of Data on the Virgin Islands Available in the von Scholten Collection, Public Library, St. Thomas, V.I., 1967. Reid, Charles F., Bibliography of the Virgin Islands, 1941. 22 Virgin Islands, Bureau of Libraries and Museums, Catalog of Microfilms available in the Von Scholten Collection of the St. Thomas Public Li brary, 1970. Secondary Accounts Anderson, John, Random Notes on the History of St. John, 1970. Anderson, John, Night of the Silent Drums,1975. Andre, P., The Danish West India Islands, 1876. Anon. Letters from the Virgin Islands, 1843. Antonsen, Inge Mejer, "Beth1ehem Plantation: A History, II The Daily News, 1 August 1975. de Booy, Theodore and Faris, John T., The Virgin Islands, Our New Possessions and the British Islands, 1910 .. Br¢ndsted, Johannes, ed. Vore Gam1e Tropenko10nier, 1966. Cav1ing, Henrik, Det Danske Vestindien, 1894. Cochran, Hamilton, These are the Virgin Islands, 1937. Colby, Merle, The Virgin Islands, A Profile in Pictures, 1940. Crantz, David, The Ancient and Modern History of the Brethern, 1780. Dewitz, August K.L. von, Danisch-Westindien, 1899, 1907. Dookhan, Isaac, A History of the Virgin Islands of the United States, 1974. Eggers, H.F.A."Flora of St. Croix and the Virgin Islands, West Indies," Bulletin of the Dept. of the Interior. U.S. National Museum, 13, Smithsonian Institution, 1879. Eggleston, George T., The Virgin Islands ... 1959. Gosner, Pamela, Historic Architecture of the Virgin Islands, 1971. Hale, R. W., Guide to Photographic Historical Materials in the United States or Canada, 1961. 23 Hatch, Charles E. Jr., Reef Bay ("Par Force") Estate House and Sugar Factory in Virgin Islands National Park, National Park Service, Historic Structures Report, Part I., 1969. Hatch, Charles E., Virgin Islands National Park, St. John (liThe Ouiet Island") with SteCial Reference to Annaberq Estate, Cinnamon Bay Estate, Nationa Park Service, Wash. D. C., 1972. Holmes, John, Historical Sketches of the Missions of the United Brethern for propogating the gospel among the heathen ... , 1827. Holdridge, Desmond, Escape to the Tropics, 1937. Jarvis, J. Antonio, The Virgin Islands Picture Book, 1948. Jarvis, J,. Antonio, History of the Virgin Islands, 1952. Johnson, Clarence L., St. John and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands of the United States, National Park Service, 1950. Knox, John, A Historical Account of St. Thomas, D.W.I., 1852. Koladis, R.S., St. John by Boat and by Car, 1974. Ledru, Andre-Pierre, Voyages aux I1es des T{neriffe, la Trintte", Sa~inte Thomas, Sainte-Croix et Porto Rico, 1810. Lloyd, William, Letters from the Virgin Islands, 1838. McGuire, James W., Geographical Dictionary of the Virgin Islands of the United States, 1925. Nissen, JohanP:, Reminiscencesof'a 46 Years' Residence in the Island of St. Tflomas--;h tfle-VestTndies,T838.- Oldendorp, C.G.A. Mission-Histotie on den evangeliske Brodres Mission paa de Carabaiske 0er St. Thomas, St. Croix og St. Jan., 1784. Olwig, Karen Fog, "Estate L'Esparence", paper presented before the St. John Historical Society, 1974. Oxholm, Peter L. De Danske Westindiske 0ers Tilstand i henseende til Population; Cultur og Finance-Forfatn;ng, 1797. Spectator, Our West India Islands, 1862. 24 Stark, Charlotte~ Souvenir of St. John, 1958. Sveistrup, P.P. and Willerslev, R., Den Danske Sukkerhandels og. produktions Historie, 1945. Taylor, Charles E., Leaflets from the Danish West Indies, 1887. Taylor, Charles E., St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John, 1902. The Danish West Indian Society, The Danish West Indies in Old Pictures, 1967. u.S. Library of Congress, A List of Maps of America in the Library of Congress, 1901. Wentworth, Trel awny , The West India Sketch Book, 1834. West, Hans, Bidrag til Beskrivelse over Ste. Croix med en Kort Udsigt over St. Thomas, St. Jean ... , 1793. Westergaard,Waldemar, The Danish West Indies Under Company Rule, 1917. -Zabriske, Luther K. The Virgin Islands of the United States of America ... , 1918. 25 APPENDIX A ENIGHED ESTATE HISTORY, 1786-1946 ESTATE HISTORY 1786-1946* YEAR 1786 1791 1798 1803 1814 1820 1821 1823 1825 1831 1832 1834 1835 1837 OWNER PASTURE & SLAVES/ ACREAGE SUGAR PROVISIONS LABORERS Johannes Wood 225 Johannes Wood deeds Eniqhed to George Hassell & Co. . 225 Johannes Wood reacquires Enighed 225 Johannes Wood dies; ownership passes to the Heirs of Johannes Wood 225 Heirs of Johannes Wood 150 Heirs of Johannes Wood 150 Guert Sprauve de Windt purchases Enighed 150 G. S. de Windt 150 G. S. de Windt 150 G. S. de Windt goes bankrupt; estate reverts to the Danish Crown 150 E. Weinmar acquires Enighed 150 E. Weinmar 150 E. Wei nmar 150 E. We;-nmar di es; ownersh i p passes to his sons Peter Ewald and Ernst Philip 150 ? ? ? 110 ? 25 20 20 24 25 24 20 20 30 ? ? ? 15 ? 5 4 5 4 5 4 4 10 20 44 57 (1790) 66 (1800) 64 50 31 32 34 37 32 39 43 46 42 *We are indebted to Leif Calundan-Larsen for much of the data which appears in this Appendix. 26 ESATE HISTORY 1786-1946 (continued) PASTURE & SLAVES/ YEAR OWNER ACREAGE SUGAR PROVISIONS LABORERS 1840 P.E. and E.P. We;nmar 150 30 20 42 1841 P. L and E.P. Weinmar 150 30 50 45 1845 P .E. and LP. Weinmar 150 35 30 45 1846 P. E. and E.P. Weinmar 200 40 60 40 1847 P.E. and E.P. Weinmar 200 40 10 41 1850 P .E. and E.P. Weinmar 150 30 10 44 1852 P.E. and E~P. Weinmar go bankrupt; estate reverts to the Danish Crown 150 30 35 ,~-, 1854 William Smothergill acqu; res Enighed 150 30 30 1855 William Smothergill 150 19 1 1858 Robert Collymore acquires Enighed and the adjoining Contant estate 300 * 2 19 1859 John W. We;nmar purchases Eniqhed 300 50.5 ? 1860 300 45 15 1862 300 30 ? 1865 300 16 ? 1870 300 10 11 1874 Alfred M. Lebrun purchases Enighed 300 ? 1875 300 2 ? 1877 300 4 12 ? 1880 150 9 8 *Reflects the total combined acreage of Enighed and Contant estates. 27 ESTATE HISTORY 1786-1946 (continued) PASTURE & SLAVES/ YEAR OWNER ACREAGE SUGAR PROVISIONS LABORERS 1883 Jul i us Colberg buys Enighed 150 ? 1885 150 ? 1890 150 ? 1895 150 ? 1899 Jens P. Jorgensen purchases Enighed 150 ? 1905 150 10 ? 1910 150 ? 1914 150 ? 1918 A.B. White buys Eniqhed 150 ? 1941 Alice Maud Nielsen buys Enighed 150 ? 1944 Municipality of St. Thomas/St. John buys Enighed and in 1945-46 sells parcels to Cory Bishop, Mario Watlington, Sylvia Massac, Christian Samuel, Herman Smith, Vivian France and Josephine Williams. 28 APPENDIX B RESIDENTS ON ENIGHED, 1803-1870 SLAVES ON ENIGHED, 1803 * OWNER: HEIRS OF JOHANNES WOOD MALES Peter (driver) Zachaeus Fel i x Chri sti an Andreas Andreas (carpenter) Amos Moses Manuel Manuel (sailor) Di 1 i gent Charlo Cubma (maroon and VALUATION 600 rd.vc 370 -- 470 -- 600 -- 450 -- 670 -- 570 -- SOD -- 670 -- 600 -- 440 -- 550 -- said to be dead) 000-- Polydor James MALES Will Jack John "Stumphoved ll Frederick Liverpool Martin Adam Johannes St. Jan Johannes St. Thomas Johannes Frederik Dani el Bent Gottlieb Jacob Johnni (sailor) VALUATION 500 -- 400 -- 230 -- 430 -- 530 -- 450 -- 350 -- 280 -- 350 200 150 400 -- 80 -- 350 -- 600 -- 565 -- 550 -- 330 -- 300 -- Providence (--) 500 George (cooper) Plymouth (--) Alexander Benjamin Jimmy 50 -- *From St. Jan Registrerings-og Vurderingsprotokol, 1797-1807, fol. 39. Royal Danish Archives. 29 500 300 SLAVES ON ENIGHED, 1803 OWNER: HEIRS OF JOHANNES WOOD FEMALES VALUATION Amalia 500 rd.vc. Jushua 550 -- Dora 430 -- Johanna Bourdeaux 570 -- Mathilda 400 -- Sara 320 -- Salmy 550 -- Cecil i a 300 -- Maria 600 -- Santa 560 -- Sebi 11 a 630 -- Galatea 200 -- Cea 630 -- Sophi a 320 -- TOTALS: 36 males 27 females 63 slaves 30 FEMALES VALUATION Seraphina 6:10 rd.vc. Martha 270 -- Prisci 11 a 200 -- Marietta (weak and old) a -- Maria Cathrina 500 -- Anna Maria 130 -- Juliana 230 -- Susanne (venereal disease) a -- Anna Margaretha 380 -- Judith 280 -- Anna Christina 180 -- Loui sa 150 -- Juliana 30 -- SLAVES ON ENIGHED, 1831* OWNER: GUERT S. DE WINDT ~1ALES TOTALS: Abraham (carpenter) Jacob (cooper) Johannes Cipio (driver) Johannes Gottlieb Benjamin Daniel Frederick Jurgen Amos James (Blind) Joseph John Jacob August John Wi 11 i am Edward Moses John Hercules Petrus James Henry 18 males 14 fema1es 32 slaves FEMALES Sanchy Sebilla Ann Margaret Juliana Sephima No ra Do ra Louisa Susanna Mar i a. r~a 9 d ale n a Ann Maria Elisabeth Maria Benta Anna Johanna *From St. Jan Skiftedokumenter, No. 12/1831. Royal Danish Archives. 31 ST. JAN CENSUS, 1841 ENIGHED OWNER: MESSRS. E.P. AND P.E. WEINMAR UNFREE SEX BIRTHPLACE Johannes Male St. John Jacob M St. John Abram M St. John Frederi ck M St. John Jurgan M St. John Daniel M St. John Joshua M St. John Pavroe M St. Thomas Peter M St. Thomas Andreas M Africa Bristol M Africa Jim M Africa Washington M St. John John Jacob M St. John Ben M St. John Ach il e M St. John 32 MARITAL MORAL STATUS OCCUPATION CHARACTER marri ed Big Gang good marri ed Cooper good iila r.ri ed Ca rpenter good unmarri ed Big Gang good unma rri ed Big Gang (lOod unmarried Big Gang good unma rri ed Big Gang good ~ .. ; unmarried Big Gang bad unmarried Big Gang bad unma rri ed Big Gang good unmarried Big Gang good unmarried incapable of good work unmarried Big Gang good unmarri ed Big Gang good unmarried Big Gang good unma rri ed Big Gang good ST. JAN CENSUS, 1841 (continued) MARITAL MORAL UNFREE SEX BIRTHPLACE STATUS OCCUPATION CHARACTER Henry Male Africa unmarried Big Gang good John Wi 11 i am M St. John unmarried Big Gang good Hercul es M St. John unmarried Small Gang good Wallace M St. Jonrr unmarried Small Gang good Maj. Daniel M St. John unmarried Big Gang bad Petrus M St. John unmarried Small Gang good ~ Jan M St. John unmarried Small Gang good Wi 11 i am M St. Thomas unmarried incapable good of work Andreas M St. John Small Gang good Johannes M St. John Small Gang good Chri sti an M St. Thomas incapable good of work Mathew M St. Thomas incapable good of work John M St. Thomas Big Gang good Margaret Female St. John incapable good of work Juliana F St. John Big Gang good Louisa F St. John Big Gang good Helena F St. John Big Gang good /--" Susanna F St. John Bi g Gang good 33 ST. JAN CENSUS, 1841 (continued) MARITAL MORAL UNFREE SEX BIRTHPLACE STATUS OCCUPATION CHARACTER Li ttle Helena Fema 1 e St. John Small Gang good Cecile F St. John Big Gang good Marten F St. John Big Gang good Catherina F St. John Big Gang good Maria F St. John Big Gang good Anna Marie F St. John Small Gang good Maria Benta F St. John Small Gang good A. Johanna F St. John Small Gang good Elizabeth F St. John Small Gang good Rebecca Testamaker F St. John incapable good of work Margaret F St. John Sma 11 Gang good TOTALS: 29 unfree men 16 unfree women 45 unfree 34 ~-" ST. JAN CENSUS, 1846 ENIGHED OWNERS: E.P. AND P.E. WEINMAR FREE SEX BIRTHPLACE E. Weinma r Male St. Thomas Margaret Sever Female St. John UNFREE Jacob Male St. John Abraham M St. John Matheus M St. Thomas Frederick M St. John Jurgen M St. John Pauroe M St. Thomas Peter M St. Thomas Andreas M Africa John Jacob M St. John Ben M St. Thomas Henry /Heevrc M Africa 35 MA.RITAL AGE STATUS widower OCCUPATION Manager 36 52 unmarried Housekeeper 49 married Cooper 48 married Carpenter 67 married Carpenter 39 unmarri ed Big Gang 45 unma rri ed Big Gang 45 unmarri ed Big Gang 30 unma rri ed Big Gang 44 unmarri ed Big Gang 23 unmarried Big Gan9 40 unmarried Big Gang 30 Unmarried Big Gang MORAL CHARACTER good good good good good "bad ll good good good good good ST. JAN CENSUS, 1846 (continued) MARITAL MORAL UNFREE SEX BIRTHPLACE AGE STATUS OCCUPATION CHARACTER John Wi 11 i am Male St. John 18 unmarried Big Gang 900d Hercules M St. John 17 unmarried Big Gang good Wall ace M St. Eustatius 17 unmarried Big Gang good Petrus M St. John 11 unmarried Small Gang good Andreas M St. John 17 unmarried Bi g Gang good Johannes M St. John 18 unmarried Big Gang good JamesjJans M St. John 11 unmarried Small Gang good Cha rl es M St. John 3 unmarried incapable good of work Thomas M St. John 2 unmarri ed incapable good of work Wi 11 i am M St. John 10 unmarried incapable good of work Robert M St. John unmarried incapable good of work Joseph Theodore M St. John 1 unmarried incapable good of work Nancy Female St. Thomas 50 House servant qood Juliana F St. John 49 Big Gang good He 11 ena F St. John 42 Big Gang good Susanna F St. John 25 Big Gang good 36 /~'" ST. JAN CENSUS, 1846 (continued) UNFREE SEX BIRTHPLACE Little He 11 ena Female Cecil e F Marten F Cathri na F Maria F Ann Mari a F Ma ri a Benta F A. Johanna F Anna Elizabeth F Rebecca F Maryset F Anna Luisa F Rosena F TOTALS: 23 unfree men 17 unfree women ---W-unfree _2_free persons St. St. St. St. St. St. St. St. St. St. St. St. St. 42 total residents John John John John John John John John John John John John John 37 MARITAL MOR,l\L AGE STATUS OCCUPATION CHft,RACTER 24 House servant good 40 Big Gang good 19 Big Gang good 22 Big Gang good 42 Big Gang good 22 Big Gang good 14 Big Gang good 14 Big Gang qood 9 Small Ganq qood 7 Small Gang good 9 Small Gang good 2 incapable good of work incapable qood of work ST. JAN CENSUS, 1850 ENIGHED OWNERS: P.E. AND E.P. WEINMAR RES I DENTS SEX BIRTHPLACE E. Weinmar Male St. Thomas Margaret Sever/Seaben Female St. John Petrus Cawbeck M St. John John Frederick M St. John William Henry M St. John Jacob Francois M St. John Hellena F St. John Wi 11 i am M St. John Frederick M St. Thomas Abram M St. John Jacob M St. John Frederi ck M St. John Andreas M Africa 38 AGE 40 58 35 30 20 35 28 14 38 52 53 43 48 MARITAL RELIGION STATUS OCCUPATION Danish C. widower Owner Danish C. unmarried Housekeep i "'--_/' Moravi an unmarri ed Boat Captain Moravian unmarried Sailor Moravian unmarried Sail or Moravian marri ed Fisherman Danish unmarried House servant Danish unmarried House servant Danish unmarried House servant Moravian married Carpenter Moravi an widower Cooper Moravian unmarri ed 1st Class La!:: Moravian unmarri ed 1st Class' -',b '\ ' '- ,~/ ST. JAN CENSUS, 1850 (continued) MARITAL RESIDENTS SEX BIRTHPLACE AGE RELIGION STATUS OCCUPATION Ben Male St. Thomas 44 Moravian unmarri ed 1st Class La John Wi 11 i am M St. John 22 Moravian unmarried 1st Class La Hercules M St. John 23 Moravian unmarried 1st Class La Andreas M St. John 21 Mora vi an unmarried 1st Class La Johannes M St. John 22 Moravi an unma rri ed 1st Class La ,--------'" John Jacob M St. John 27 Moravian married Driver 1st C Juliana Female St. John 55 Mora vi an unmarried 1st Class La Hellena F St. John 46 Moravian unmarri ed 1st Class La Susanna F St. John 29 Danish unmarri ed 1st Class La Madlien F St. John 23 Moravian married 1st Class La Catherina F St. John 20 Moravian married 1st Class La Maria F St. Thomas 46 Catholic unmarried 1st Class Lc Paul M St. Thomas 38 Moravian unmarried 1st Class Lc Anna Maria F St. John 26 Moravian unmarri ed 1st Class Lc Awanda F St. Thomas 26 Catholic unmarried 1st Class Lc Maria Beatha F St. Thomas 18 Moravian unmarried 1st Class Lc Jorzen ~1 St. Thomas 50 Moravian unmarried 1st Class Lc Henry M Africa 30 Moravian unmarri ed 1st Class Li 39 ST. JAN CENSUS~ 1850 (continued) MARITAL RESIDENTS SEX BIRTHPLACE AGE RELIGION STATUS OCCUPATION Wallace Male St. Eustatia 26 Moravian unmarri ed 2nd Class Lac James M St. John 15 Moravian unmarried 2nd Class Lab Cha rl es M St. Thomas 15 Moravian unmarried 2nd Class Lab Ann Eliza Female St. John 13 Moravian unmarried 2nd Class Lan Rebecca F St. John 12 Moravian unmarried 2nd Class Lar Margrethe F St. John 14 Moravian unmarried 2nd C1 as!, I.b '~/ Matheus M St. (John 81 Moravian unmarried Pauper Thomas M St. John 6 Moravian unmarried Chil d of Labor Robert M St. John 6 Moravian unmarried Chi 1 d of Labor Joseph Theodore M St. John 4 Mora vi an unmarried Chi 1 d of Labor Charles Augustus M St. John 7 Moravi an unmarried Chil d of Labor' Anna Louisa F St. John 6 Moravian unmarri ed Chil d of Labor Anna Rosewood F St. John 5 Moravi an unmarried Chi 1 d of Labot Carl Augustus M st. John 4 Moravi an unmarried Chil d of Labol TOTALS: 29 males 15 females 44 total residents 40 /-_ .......... ST. JAN CENSUS, 1857 ENIGHED OWNER: ROBERT COLLYMORE RESIDENTS Robert Collymore Ma ry W. Co llymore Charlotte Collymore Robert Collymore Helena Joan Robert John Wi 11 i am Martha SEX M F F M F F M M F BIRTHPLACE Barbados Barbados Barbados Barbados St. John St. John St. John St. John St. John 41 AGE 26 26 57 3 47 50 13 34 12 MARITAL RELIGION STATUS OCCUPATION Episcopal married Planter/Owner Episcopal married wife Episcopal widow vi sitor Episcopal unma rri ed son Moravi an married Cook Moravian married House Servant Moravi an unmarried house boy Moravian married Dri ver Moravian unmarried daughter ST. JAN CENSUS, 1857 (continued) RESIDENTS John Seben Lucia L ittl e Lucia Petros Lucas Thomas Wall ace Maria Catherine Grace Susanna Charles Augustus Juliana Joseph Theodor TOTALS: 11 Males 12 Females SEX M F F M M M M F F F F M F M BIRTHPLACE St. Croi x St. Croix St. John St. John St. John St. John St. John St. John St. John St. John St. John st. John St. John St. John 23 Total Residents AGE 60 65 6 55 25 17 41 57 12 71 45 11 61 12 RELIG ION Moravian Moravian Moravian Moravi an Moravian Moravian Moravi an Moravian Moravian Moravian Moravi an Moravian Moravi an Moravian MARITAL STATUS married married unmarried married unmarried unmarried unmarri ed unmarried unmarried unmarri ed widow unmarried unma rri ed unma rri ed OCCUPATION 1st Class Labor wi fe granddaughter Boatsman 1st Class L?-"'or \ Cookboy \ __ / 2nd Cl ass Labor 2nd Class Labor 3rd Class Labor 1st Class Labor nephew Invalid Grandson /~-" ST. JAN CENSUS, 1860 ENIGHED OWNER: JOHN W. WEINMAR RESIDENTS SEX John W. Weinmar M Elizabeth Weinmar F Carolina Weinmar F Carolina E. Weinmar F C.W. Weinmar M Petru M Helen Petru (wife) F John M Lucia F Louisa F BIRTHPLACE St. Thomas St. John St. John St. Thomas St. Thomas St. John St. John Tortola St. John St. John 43 AGE 46 36 10 7 5 46 42 52 56 7 RELIGION Lutheran English English English English Moravian Moravian Moravi an Mora vi an Moravian MARITAL STATUS OCCUPATION married Owner married Wife unmarried Daughter unmarri ed Daugher unmarried Son married Fisherman married Cook marri ed Pastureman married Washer unma rri ed their god chil ST. JAN CENSUS, 1860 (continued) MARITAL RESIDENTS SEX BIRTHPLACE AGE RELIGION STATUS OCCUPATION Helene F St. John 22 Moravian married House servant Jacob M St. John 13 Moravian unmarried Pasture boy Susannah F St. John 43 Lutheran widow Washer Joseph Theodor M St. John 13 Moravian unmarried Pasture boy Carl Augustine M St. John 13 Moravi an unmarried Pasture boy Catherine F St. John 10 Moravian unmarried House gi rl ! Johanna F St. John 6 Moravian unmarried doing noth1,-,g Mari a F St. John 5 Moravian unmarri ed doing nothin9 Mary F St. John 60 Moravian widow 2nd Class Labor Grace F St. John 68 Moravian widow 2nd Class Labor TOTALS: 7 Males 13 Femal es 20 Total residents 44 /--, ST. JAN CENSUS, 1870 ENIGHED OWNER: JOHN W. WEINMAR RESIDENTS John W. Weinmar Elizabeth Weinmar MalvinWeinmar Caroline ~leinmar Petrus Sheu Helgma R. Gumbs Lucretia Edward SEX M F F F M F M F M BIRTHPLACE St. Thomas St. John St. Thomas St. Thomas St. John St. John St. Croi x St. John St. John AGE 54 44 20 16 69 58 40 30 24 RELIGION Lutheran Episcopal Episcopal Episcopal Moravian Moravi an Moravian Moravian Moravian MARITAL STATUS TRADE marri ed Planter wi fe * daughter* daughter* married Fi sherman married Cook married Overseer unmarried 1st Class Labor unmarried 1st Class Labor *banished from husband, father and home until the father is allowed to make an unmolested livelihood by his property. 45 ST. JAN CENSUS, 1870 (continued) MARITAL RESIDENTS SEX BIRTHPLACE AGE RELIGION STATUS TRADE Richard M St. John 8 Moravian unmarried 3rd Class Labor Susannah F St. John 11 Moravi an unmarri ed 3rd Class Labor Joseph M St. John 12 Moravi an unmarried 3rd Class Labor Regu1 us M St. John 8 Moravi an unmarried 3rd Class Labor Wi lforth M St. John 11 Moravi an unmarried 3rd Class Labor Sarah F Tortola 22 Moravi an unmarried Seller TOTALS: 8 males 7 females 15 Res; dents 46 APPENDIX C ST. JOHN STATISTICS, 1728-1940 ST. JOHN STATISTICS* TOT,A,L YEAR SUGAR ESTATES SLAVES FREE NEGROES HH ITES POPULATION 1728 29 677 123 800 1739 24 1414 208 1622 1755 ? 2031 112 2243 1773 27 2330 104 2434 1789 ? 2383 16 167 2566 1800 26 1992 15 113 2120 ~. 1822 ? 2200 50 180 2430 1835 16 1971 ? ? 2475 1846 15 1790 ? ? 2450 1860 13 ? ? 1574 1870 1 ? ? 1054 1880 1 ? ? 944 1890 4 ? ? 984 1901 a ? ? 925 1911 a ? ? 941 1917 955 4 959 1940 a 718 4 722 * SOURCES: William Westergaard, The Danish West Indies Under Company Rule (1671-1754); P.P. Sveistrup, Bidrig til de Tidligere Dansk- ~ Vestindiske 0ers 0konomiske Histoire; Char1es E. Hatch, Virain Islands National Park. St. John Island (liThe Quiet Place") ... ; E.H. Perkins to Hamilton Fish, February 11, 1870 in U.S. Consular Despatches, St. Croix; Census of the Virgin Islands of the United States, November 1, 1917 (Washington, D.C., 1918). 47