The Narrative

Introduction

In the West Indies, the name Shillingford is indelibly associated with Dominica. From Dominica, Shillingfords have migrated to Jamaica, and to almost all the islands of the Eastern Caribbean, including the French Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. And for a hundred years, Dominica Shillingfords have been migrating to the United States and Canada, and in the 1950s and 60s large numbers went to the UK. All of these Shillingfords, or their parents, have their roots in Dominica, hence the Dominica Shillingfords or the Shillingford of Dominica.

There are four intriguing aspects of the story of the early Shillingfords in Dominica.  First, we see that the Dominica Shillingfords we know today have three main branches.  They are the Thomas Howard (THS) or Colihaut branch, the Albert Cavendish (ACS) or Roseau branch, and the Kelly Shillingford or US branch. Second, as we researched the Family Tree, another interesting observation was the numerous families and individuals who were Shillingford by blood through a female ancestor.  For example, half of the Royers in Roseau are Shillingfords through Charlotte (Shillingford) Royer. The third aspect was discovering the significant contributions made by Shillingfords to the political and economic development of Dominica – to the island’s early experience with home rule, local manufacturing, rum production, and the development of the citrus and banana industries.

The fourth and final aspect, and one that deserves a little more comment, was that the Dominica Shillingford men of older generations certainly had many children, with their wives, their significant other, or simply, with their mistresses.  For vigorous, isolated colonials in those days, this was not unusual, whether in Dominica or Jamaica, Africa, Brazil, or the American South. See, for example, the life of Anna Madgigine in nineteenth century Florida [1].   Some of these Shillingford men, indeed, had many children, a few as many as 20 or more.  Apart from the isolation of these men, the women themselves were not unsympathetic to these conjugal relationships. Most of them were of African, Carib/Kalinago or of mixed ancestry. Life in the villages for them was one of constant hardship, work, and social marginalization.  Bearing children for the estate owner meant improved economic and social status, even if this was outside marriage.  In addition, and most important, the children of these unions were supported handsomely by their fathers. They were raised like princes, and sent to the best schools in the region, such as Harrison College in Barbados and Mount St. Benedict in Trinidad. Today, life in these villages has changed significantly. With roads crisscrossing the island and rural electrification everywhere, the Shillingford men today are no longer isolated as their forefathers were, and they now follow a more traditional family norm, mostly.