To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root.

GEORGE ROBERT GOMEZ, MB ChB 2 June, 1896 - 7 September, 1931 (Restoration of original photo using Gemini AI - April 2026) Early Life and Education George was the sixth of nine children born to Joseph Gomez and his wife Christina Pereira, at their family home at Guanapo Street in Arima, Trinidad. My grandmother, Elsie Mabel Gomez, was his oldest sister, and he was a thirteen year-old school-boy when she married my grandfather, Charles S. T. Sheppard . George received his secondary education at St. Mary's College, Port-of-Spain - a school administered by the Spiritians (Holy Ghost Fathers), a Religious Order of the Catholic Church. It is modeled on the English Grammar School System. There his academic brilliance has been recorded in several of the school's various year-books. In the Year Book 1913, Cambridge Local Examinations, George is placed 11th in the whole of the British Empire ! In 1915 he not only won an Island Scholarship (a monetary value of £600) to continue his education at University, but was also awarded the Jerningham Gold Medal for his exceptional Upper Level Examination results, which placed him first in Trinidad. This was recorded on a plaque which still proudly stands in the grounds of the college today, along with other scholarship winners throughout the years. World War 1 was still taking place, and George chose to postpone going to university. Instead, he enlisted to serve with the Second Merchants' Contingent of Trinidad. At age 20 he left with the Trinidad contingent for England and after six months' training there, he was sent with the Devonshire Regiment to India. Two undated letters sent to St Mary's College by Private George Gomez from India make fascinating reading as they refer to several places where he has been and make comparisons with places that he knows from his school years. They also give the reader some idea about the tedium of army life and George's plans addressing this. These letters are part of a large compilation of letters from former students enlisted in the services. They are in the college's special edition year book, 'War Memorial Number', Dec., 1919 and can be seen here. After the war came to an end in 1918, George went to Scotland, where he commenced his studies in medicine at the University of Edingburgh, qualifying as a medical doctor and surgeon. About 1920 while on holiday in Oban on the west coast of Scotland with other medical students, he met Jessie Aitken Torrance, also on holiday there with her parents and her sister Margaret ("Peggy"). A romance followed and they became engaged. George graduated MB ChB in 1924 and the couple were married in October that year in Glasgow, Scotland. Dr. George Gomez and his wife Jessie Torrance 4 October 1924 - Glasgow, Scotland Colonial Service Dr. Gomez had been offered a post in the Colonial Medical Service in Nevis, (then British West Indies), and consequently they left Scotland for the Caribbean, visiting Trinidad to introduce Jessie to his family before going on to Nevis to take up his new position of Medical Officer at the Alexandra Hospital, Nevis on 21st December, 1924. Dr. Gomez became highly respected and loved in the community. George and his wife Jessie had three children born in Nevis - Euphemia, Joseph and Jessie. In 1927, George was transferred to the Cunningham Hospital in St. Kitts, and the family moved there and took up residence at "Stonehaven". In St. Kitts another baby was born, Audrey Christine, but sadly she died in 1930 - just months before the death of her father. Father and daughter share the same burial place and headstone in St. Kitts. It was a tragic time for Jessie, who also lost her father in Scotland around that time. This family portrait may have been taken following the death of baby Audrey about 1930. It was probably the last picture of Dr. George Gomez with his family. Untimely Death The dramatic story of Dr. Gomez dying at a young age while he conducted an appendectomy operation on himself in Nevis has been told and re-told in the family. However, we now know with certainty that this was not entirely factual. The Chief Medical Officer, Dr. E. R. Branch, who was stationed in the Cunningham Hospital, the major medical facility in St Kitts, though not qualified as a surgeon, performed the emergency operation, assisted by Dr. W. B. R. Jones of nearby Nevis. Other doctors and nurses, including his wife Jessie, were in attendance. His operation was successful in so much that he removed the appendix, but this was not enough. Tom Bannerman, son of Jessie Gomez (seated center with her father in this family photo) who lives in Australia, went on a fact-finding pilgrimage to his roots of Trinidad, St. Kitts and Nevis, in a quest to find out more about his grandfather. What he has found is astounding, and we must thank him for providing all this new information about our esteemed family member. In October 2014, Tom visited us here in Holland and brought with him a wealth of photos of newspaper clippings that he found in his research, which indicate that Dr. Gomez was a prominent figure who met with an untimely death when he was only 35 years old. In Tom's words: "The material I found leaves no doubt that the doctor’s death was a huge blow to the island. With his demise, the islands lost their only surgeon. Additionally, it is clear that he was held in considerable esteem by a great many in St Kitts and nearby Nevis. He was considered a generous and excellent physician to all, especially the many poor. His funeral was a very big event indeed for that place. Because of his services as a soldier in the recent Great War, his funeral included some military references. Additionally, masonic elements formed part of the occasion. I didn’t know he was a freemason." In the video below, Tom is in Holland at our home, and is reading the report of his grandfather's death and burial from a newspaper dated 8th September, 1931. See also: DR.GEORGE GOMEZ - PHOTOS THE GOMEZ SAGA - NEVIS

THE GOMEZ FAMILY Gomez Family, Trinidad Picture taken on the day of Elsie's engagement to Charles Sheppard - 1907 l/r: George, Edith, Elsie, Charlie Sheppard, Joseph, Audrey, Vincent. Centre: Joseph (Joe) Gomez & Christina (Pereira) Gomez Front: Ivy & William. The family photo shown above was sent to my grandmother Elsie Gomez by her uncle Joe Pereira, by way of a postcard. This is the back showing Elsie's address and a note from Joe. He was a photographer who owned and operated Pereira Studios in Tuscon, Arizona. Post stamps show it was mailed in Chicago 31 October 1907 and reached Trinidad 15 November 1907. Joseph Gomez and Christina Pereira were my father's maternal grandparents, my great-grandparents. So far we haven't been able to confirm Joseph's parentage, nor the date of his marriage to Christina. We keep searching and are hoping that we're getting closer! About Christina, we know that she was born in Trinidad on 8 April 1866, the eldest daughter of Presbyterian Portuguese immigrants. Her father was João (anglicized John) Pereira from Portugal, and her mother was Antonia Alexander, born in the island of Madeira. Christina was the eldest girl in a family of six children. Her siblings were (in chronological order) John, Mary, Andrew, George, and Joseph. Of these, only Andrew and her sister Mary remained in Trinidad, while the others emigrated. Mary Antoinette was also known as Marykin, and she married Albert Mendes. This was the start of a family relationship and close friendship with the Mendes family that developed even deeper throughout the years. In 1888, we find Joseph and Christina living in Arima, Trinidad where their first child was born on 26 May. This baby girl was Elsie Mabel , who was to become my paternal grandmother and matriarch of the large Sheppard family. A land deed of 1887 in Joseph's name describes him as a Shopkeeper, Port of Spain; other documents throughout his life describe him as Clerk, Merchant, Manager and Draper. The Miller's Public Supply Stores was one of the largest emporiums in Port of Spain established around 1835, when Irishman John Miller left his employment at Wilsons (a large cocoa and sugar agent) and started a business of his own. The firm had a main building on Frederick Street, with branches in Princess Town and Arima. Our Joseph Gomez became the Manager of their Arima branch. Between 1888 and 1905 Joseph and Christina had four sons and five daughters, the youngest of whom died when she was a baby. It appears that Joseph and Christina moved from Arima to 12 Sorzanoville, Belmont, Laventille where their next three children - Audrey, Joseph and Edith were born. The family then returned to Arima around 1893 and where their home was on Guanapo Street. In July 1900 they lived in Queen Street, Arima. We know this from information on the birth certificates of their last four children. Though we have no photographs, their daughter Ivy wrote a nostalgic poem called "To Arima" that paints a vivid picture of her childhood home. This is in a book of poems called Roses in the Rain , published by Ivy in 1976 when she was seventy-nine years old. Joseph, Christina and their children all attended the joyful wedding of my grandmother Elsie to Charlie Sheppard in 1909. It seems that by then they had moved to nearby Sangre Grande where Joseph had started a business. But barely two years after that beautiful family wedding at the Mendes family home at Victoria Square, their lives would change irrevocably. The New Year 1912 dawned with the shocking news that Joseph had suffered a fatal stroke at his home. Sunday 1st January 1912 must surely have been the darkest day of their lives for Christina and her children. Joseph was just forty-seven years old and the widowed Christina was forty-five. The newspaper of 8 January describes the sad event. Sheppard Family Archive Here I must pause for a personal reflection on the adage "history repeats itself". Little did the widowed Christina know then that in 1931 her eldest daughter Elsie would also experience the unspeakable grief of losing of her husband Charlie when he was just forty-five. Nor did my grandmother Elsie know that this would also befall two of her granddaughters. In 1965, Kathleen Sheppard lost her husband suddenly when he was just twenty-eight, five days after the birth of their third daughter. My own husband died suddenly at forty-five, leaving me a young widow with five children in 1984. We know for sure that in times of grief and loss, it is our families who see us through the dark days - and so it must have been for our Christina over a hundred years ago. As the years went by, the younger children continued their schooling and life carried on. George, who was 15 years old when his father died, became an exceptional student, winning an Island Scholarship in 1916. World War 1 had been declared in 1914 and young George enlisted to serve before starting his university education. During those anxious war years the only communication was by letters that could take up to three months to arrive. This poignant note from mother to son was discovered at the back of a photo mailed by Christina to George while he was in India with the Devonshire Regiment. In years to come, Christina in Trinidad would also learn of the untimely death of this son, Dr. George Gomez , on the island of St. Kitts when he was only thirty-five. More heartbreak for her and the family. Christina's father had died in 1902, but her mother Antonia lived to be eighty-one. Having contracted pneumonia, she passed away at her home in Sangre Grande on 26 August, 1922. A large number of family and friends attended her funeral, as reported in the Port of Spain Gazette of August 29, 1922. Sadness enveloped the family once more that year when my grandmother's sister Audrey died in childbirth with her second child just two months after Antonia's death. Courage, faith and the support of family saw them through the awful tragedy. In her golden years, Grandma Gomez lived in Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. Her youngest daughter Ivy never married, neither did her son Vincent. Vin and his sister Ivy, though they were both deaf, owned and operated The Rite Photo Studio, also in Wrightson Road. Ivy lived with their mother and together they raised Audrey's son Wilfred. Grandma Christina Gomez lived to be eighty-three and knew several of her grandchildren. Hers was a loving, motherly life of resilience. FOUR GENERATIONS -circa 1911 l/r The Matriarch Antonia (Alexandre) Pereira, born in Porto Moniz, Madeira, Portugal, 1840 Jessie (Sheppard) Brash, her great-grandaughter Christina (Pereira) Gomez, her daughter, Elsie (Gomez) Sheppard her granddaughter, my grandmother The two widows are wearing dresses of traditional black, Christina having recently lost her husband Christina Gomez née Pereira Two Gomez sisters Audrey (left) and Edith. Centre is Edith's husband, Thomas McCartney The Children of Joseph & Christina Many Thanks to Jessie (Hendry) Tamas , Brian Franco, Jenny (Franco) McNamara and other family members for their valued contributions to this story. ~ Valerie Sheppard 1 August, 2021

Charles Sebastian Theodore Sheppard (1885 - 1931) Photo restoration using Gemini AI April 2026 MY GRANDFATHER Charles , who was more often called Charlie by his friends and family, was born on 21st October, 1885 in the historic town of St. Joseph, Trinidad. He was the second child in a family of five children. His parents were Alfred Sheppard , an Englishman from Sussex, and Virginia de Freitas - daughter of Madeiran immigrants seeking a new life in the West Indies. Little is known of Grandpa Charlie's early childhood, other than he was the son of a police sergeant with the Colonial Police Force in Trinidad, who was in active duty at a time when there were at least three violent social uprisings in Trinidad. The year before Charles was born, The Hosay Massacre (also known as the Hosay riots or the Jahaji massacre) took place on 30 October 1884 in San Fernando, Trinidad when the British colonial authorities fired on participants in the annual Hosay procession. Charles' first years were spent in St. Joseph, where his father was working as a policeman and where his sister Amalia was also born. The family moved to Princes Town where Sergeant Alfred Sheppard had been posted after the riots, and where his two younger siblings were born. Charlie experienced the sad loss of both of his baby brothers when he was a 9 year old boy. Both little brothers were buried side by side in the Presbyterian section of the Paradise Cemetery, San Fernando. Next, we know for sure that Grandpa Charlie was living in Port of Spain as a 20 year old. By then he had already caught sight of the strikingly beautiful, blue-eyed brunette Elsie Gomez , a young lady whose grandparents were Portuguese. A courtship had started and Elsie's description of their rendezvous and first kiss at Carnival time recalls all the excitement and romance of the moment. Grandma Elsie wrote in her memoirs: "The wall was high, so a contrivance was made by placing a barrel and a box raised to the height of the barrel that my family and friends could stand on so that the masqueraders could be seen from over the wall. I was just sixteen years old and no one could stop me from being first to be standing there because I knew that my dear boyfriend would also be coming. I lived with my grandmother so naturally had my chores to do even though it was the Carnival Day, so early I got up and finished everything in time. Much too early for the crowds but not too soon for him to come. He and I sat on the board and talked so shyly to each other, then we would jump up to see some foolish disguised person or band of revelers go by. After a while I was tired and the heat of the sun was fiercely burning on the wall, so I decided to jump off the wall, stand and found myself right in the arms of my darling who immediately kissed me for the first time. I was so astonished and too excited for words so what do you think? I just flew into the house and rushed like mad to the piano and played as I never did before. He sat on a chair next to me and accompanied me with chords. My grandmother and sister came out of their rooms and made signs to each other. From then I knew that no obstacle could ever separate my darling from me. Two young lovers with a long journey to go. My story goes on to say that the happy boy and girl always loved each other until a marriage took place among a very happy home and family and continued happiness reigned with the young people enjoying the many good wishes of so many friends and relatives." At the time of their marriage in 1909, Charlie was employed as a clerk at the department store Wilsons Limited in Port of Spain, Trinidad. In 1930 Wilsons was taken over by Salvatori, Scott & Co. Ltd. Charles became a partner and Accountant in that firm where he worked for the rest of his life. Elsie wrote in her memoirs that her husband's business was going well, and as their family increased, he was able to purchase a beautiful, large home at #30 Richmond Street , Port of Spain. Charlie played the mandolin and piano, and there was always a piano in their home. Elsie's memoirs describe a happy home and holidays spent by the seaside where "the children enjoyed to their fullest all the bathing, fishing, etc. Their father always saw that other children joined his in their happiness." "The home in which my children grew up was very beautiful and surrounded by a setting of golden Buttercups, Bougainvillea bursting out its glorious branches of purple and red and even rusty shades, Poinsettias, and the gracious plumes of the Queen of Flowers. Music pervaded the air, father and children being the musicians." According to oral history, Charles and Elsie traveled to England on holiday regularly. Sadly, on the last trip they made, they were to get the heartbreaking news that their baby son Arthur had died on 1st September, 1928. He was just four months old. According to my cousin, George Gonsalves: "Grandpa used to take Grandma to England every other year as soon as the latest baby was weaned. That year, Jessie, who was in her 19th year, was included in the travel plans. My mother (Madge ) was left in charge and was assisted by Bertha . Diphtheria was rampant in Port of Spain at the time. One had to be careful and to avoid families where it was present. Mum said the disease would take out whole lots of siblings. It was not unusual to see the names of four or five children on the gravestones in the cemetery, the result of an infestation of diphtheria. Not long after the travellers left, Arthur began exhibiting signs of an illness. The doctor was called and after awhile it was determined that he had diphtheria. It is not certain where he got it from, but they used to go out for walks with the baby in the pram." Charles Sheppard’s journey—from the son of a police sergeant amidst social unrest to a partner in a leading firm—is a quintessentially Trinidadian story. Sadly, our dear Grandpa Charlie's health deteriorated in the years that followed. He passed away three years after the death of baby Arthur, when he was just 45 years old. Their union lasted 23 years, during which they had produced a family of thirteen children. Elsie never remarried, but continued bravely to successfully raise their large family. She lived to be 80 years old, and enjoyed a full life, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Photo restoration by Gemini AI, April 2026 Charles Sheppard at 44 years old This is the last known image of our grandfather. Above: Wilsons Limited in Port of Spain, Trinidad where Grandpa Charlie Sheppard was working at the time of his marriage in 1909. Wilsons changed hands and became Salvatori, Scott & Co. Ltd.. By 1917 the business became The Trinidad Stores. He was a Director and Accountant with that firm up to the time of his death in 1931. My Grandparents - Charles Sheppard and Elsie Gomez at the Manse of St. Ann's Church of Scotland, Port of Spain, 20 January 1909 The marriage of Charles Sebastian Theodore Sheppard and Elsie Mabel Gomez took place on 20th January, 1909 at the Presbyterian Church, St. Ann's Church of Scotland, St. Ann's Road, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. We examined the marriage record and took the above photo of the register in the Trinidad archives, but were scolded that it was forbidden! Too late! From the register we find that at the time of his marriage at age 23, Charles was still living at his parents' home at 117 Edward Street, Port of Spain. Elsie was 20 years old, and her address was 4, Zampty Lane, Erthic Road, Belmont. The Minister who conducted their marriage ceremony was Mr. P. Simpson, and their witnesses who signed the Marriage Register were Joseph Cabral and Elsie's sister, Audrey Gomez. Elsie Mabel was born on 26 May, 1888, in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Her parents, Joseph Gomez and Christina Pereira, were both of Portuguese descent. Elsie was the eldest of their nine children. Both of her parents were present at her wedding; however, her father Joseph passed away just two years later, on 31 Dec 1910 - at age 47. Charles' oldest brother Alfred who had also attended their wedding, died in the January of 1910, succumbing to bronchitis, when he was just 25. Two very sad losses for the family in the same year. Elsie's mother, Christina, lived to be 83, and was able to enjoy many of her grandchildren born to Charles and Elsie. Charlie's father Alfred died just 8 years after the wedding, but his mother Virginia lived till 1936 and knew all of her grandchildren. The wedding reception was held at the home of Mr. Albert Mendes, at the corner of Shine Street & Park Street on Victoria Square, Port-of- Spain. Albert's wife was Mary Pereira, Elsie's aunt, and Albert was also Elsie's godfather. It appears that Charlie and Elsie were close to Albert and Mary, as in later years, Albert appointed Charlie to be one of the Administrators of his Estate, in which he bequeathed $500.00 to Elsie. Albert was the brother of Alfred Mendes Snr., great-grandfather of the British Academy award winner, Sam Mendes. News of the marriage appeared in the newspaper's social column, giving a lovely description of the occasion. The couple spent their honeymoon at the Santa Carlotta Estate - a cocoa plantation near the coast which was owned by Alfred Mendes Snr. Alfred was an Elder of St. Ann's Free Church and a good friend of the family. By 1924, Charles and Elsie had 11 children, pictured below. Elsie Mabel recorded details of her Wedding Day in her Bible, now passed down to her daughter Sybil. She wrote:- Bestman: Joseph Cabral Chief Bridesmaid: Audrey Gomez ; Edith Gomez; Alice Mendes Flower girls: Laurie, Phyllis and Birdie Peake, Thelma Fereira, Ivy Gomez and Ida Mendes Memories: A very happy wedding held at the home of my Godfather, Mr. Albert Mendes, Victoria Square. Many young people and children attended. In this wonderful wedding photo, we see the bride and groom Charles and Elsie with their family and friends, standing in front of Albert and Mary Mendes' residence, where the reception was held. The boy standing front left is Willie Gomez, the bride's brother. I understand that the little flower-girls next to him are all of the Peake family, not relatives, but children of Mr. Peake, the gentleman in the white tunic, a policeman who came from England along with Alfred, and remained good friends Charles' mother Virginia is standing next to her son, and behind her to the left is his father Alfred. The flower girl standing next to the bride on the right side is Ivy Gomez , the bride's sister. Immediately behind her, his face partly hidden, is Sebastien de Freitas, the groom's grandfather. The gentleman standing between the bride and groom in the next row is Elsie's father, Joseph Gomez, and her mother Christina can be seen just to the right of Elsie. Charles and Elsie Sheppard with their family in 1928 Taken on the same day in 1928, in the backyard of their home on #30 Richmond Street l/r Elsie with baby Arthur, Florence (Flo) , Audrey , Andrew , Sybil , Robert , George , John , Bertie , Ida , Joseph (Boysie) , Madge, Jessie All of the children got married and had families of their own. Click here for their wedding photos.

The Gomez Saga by Tom Bannerman Tom Bannerman is a grandson of Dr. George Gomez. The following account is taken from a letter that Tom wrote to his mother Jessie on 15 March, 2014, describing his trip to the Caribbean, and in particular what he discovered about the lives of her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Gomez on the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. Tom's mother was not quite three years old at the time of her father's death. Her brother Joseph was four and their older sister Euphemia was barely six. I had prepared myself with photocopies of every document concerning the West-Indies that I could find at Kincumber. As well, I read as much as I could find of the various documents kept in your boxes pertaining to that episode in Grandma’s life. Additionally, I had used this material to make searches on the internet of many subjects related to this. Also, you may remember, I left with you a memoir of the former Administrator and, later, Governor of the Leeward Islands, Sir Reginald St. Johnston, which included, among its chapters, matters about his commission in St Kitts and Nevis during the period Grandma and your father, Dr George Gomez, were living in those islands. So prepared, I immediately found several subjects in Basseterre that had come to my earlier attentions. One, the old ‘Treasury’ building – it appears in an interesting snap of a large patriotic group that includes Grandma and various dignitaries – was just across the road from my hotel! Over my time there I went on to find many more subjects that had been some part in my grand-parents’ lives. I have taken many photographs of them. ‘Stonehaven’, your home in St Kitts, was near the village of Molineux, on the central northern coast - more on this later. The grave of Dr Gomez and Audrey Gomez, was high on my search-list. It stands close to the center of Springfield Cemetery in Basseterre and was easily spotted from 100 yards, so distinct is the form of its tall, light-grey headstone. On close inspection, I found that a Glasgow firm, Gray & Co., had been responsible for its creation. Obviously, the headstone had been shipped across the Atlantic, suggesting to me that Grandma may never have seen it on site. Her memory of the grave would have been of the carpet of flowers left by a great many mourners. The stone’s lengthy leaden text showed signs of small collisions made, no doubt, by the catapulted debris of over eighty years of tropical tempest. Though the large, capitalized “GOMEZ” at its base was as clear as ever, its lead-infill letters had vanished. Just up the hill from this large block is Government House, where the doctor played tennis, no doubt, and Grandma attended meetings to do with things like the founding of the Girl Guides for the island. By the way, St. Johnston was a doctor himself, so it is quite likely he often sought the company of your father and his medical colleagues, the population of St Kitts being very small. Numerous newspaper announcements declaring the governor was “At Home” at certain hours suggests there would have been many opportunities for social exchanges with the regal representative. A letter written by Dr Gomez to Grandma when she had returned to Scotland in the autumn of 1927 to show her two children, Effie and Joe, to her parents in Clydebank, though posted from the Nevis address, clearly indicates that the doctor certainly played tennis at such a place. Also adjacent to the cemetery is the site of the former Cunningham Hospital, where your father was rushed to following the sudden onset of his subsequently fatal condition, dying there on the fourth day. Undoubtedly, he must have worked there as well as in other places, such as Stonehaven, which is the name given to the former estate around ‘Stonehaven’, the former residence of the planter. This residence is still leased to doctors, by the way. By chance, when I was shown it, the current medical officer emerged, about to leave on some errand. He was quite fascinated by what I had to say and show about the residence, and he encouraged the two of us to wanderer about, taking photographs. The old stone building needed a lot of attention to its outside. The doctor told us that he had had to replace the roof, so at least that was properly covered with a corrugated cover. Timberwork rot here and there, and long vines and other vegetation covered much of the walls. Zack, my guide for this day, saw it as a sign of poor management. The abundant fruit of various trees had been left unharvested, covering the fertile ground with rotting matter – an inexcusable waste as far as Zack was concerned. He reminded me that many poor people living about would have gladly made good use of it – he picked some oranges himself. Typically, a pair of enormous mango trees formed part of the small orchard next to the building. I recalled Grandma telling me her story about the locals being allowed to shake the tree to collect food. These trees were so big that it could hardly be possible to shake their trunks. Perhaps they included the very tree she spoke of so long ago. The back of the house was particularly decrepit, like a scene from Kipling’s jungle stories of ruined palaces of old. We had been told by the doctor - and surely it was the case - that the interior was in good order; I can’t imagine he wished to live in squalor, but it was impossible to peek through any window such was the confusion outside. A verandah was filled with various boxes, all higgledy-piggledy. The wall facing the distant Atlantic Ocean was quite high. At its base were cellar doors. This was a typical arrangement in the islands and supported Grandma’s claim that the locals sought protection in her house from tempests. About the place, numerous smaller and much more fragile timber dwellings - called chattel houses, I was told later in my trip - attested to the poverty and needs of the locals. In Grandma’s time, even these humble buildings, the size of an ordinary room in any Australian home, would have had thatched roofs, prone to instantaneous destruction in any hurricane. Returning to the Cunningham Hospital: this site had been transformed just after Uncle Joe’s visit in 1979, at which time he had seen another sad reminder of island impoverishment. A fire had gutted some of it. This may account for his disappointed judgement that the “front was too dilapidated to take” a photo. Today, it is a very nice-looking collection of institutions: a public library, a high school and a college. Had he seen it as I did, his opinion would have been quite different, I am sure. I used the library myself on two occasions. In the Government Headquarters building, I was given volumes of newspapers to study in which I found numerous articles that included references to the doctor, and several additional articles mentioning Grandma such as reviews of charity-concerts – with lists of songs - and articles on the newly formed Girl Guides. The material I found leaves no doubt that the doctor’s death was a huge blow to the island. With his demise, the islands lost their only surgeon. Additionally, it is clear that he was held in considerable esteem by a great many in St Kitts and nearby Nevis. He was considered a generous and excellent physician to all, especially the many poor. His funeral was a very big event indeed for that place. Because of his services as a soldier in the recent Great War, his funeral included some military references. Additionally, masonic elements formed part of the occasion. I didn’t know he was a freemason. I read many newspapers – editions close to two years in total. In none of these was anyone else allotted anything close to an equivalent column-space, such was the significance of this sad occasion. His illness, death and funeral took place over a week. Each day, some announcement appeared. The fourth day saw his death. This is given a full page. (He was operated-on by the Chief Medical Officer, by the way. This occurred on the second day, during which time Dr. Gomez is reputed to have been sufficiently cognizant to suggest procedures to the other three doctors attending him. I think this might explain the more than likely myth that he had “operated on himself.” Very interestingly, Grandma is included as one of the attending nurses, so she must have been a witness to at least some of the procedures. While on this self-operating point, I found an article in a newspaper Dr Gomez would have received that attested to a Berlin doctor, Dr. Forssmann, having operated on himself. The article was dated March 6, and placed in the April 18, 1931 edition of ‘The St. Kitts-Nevis Daily Bulletin’, less than half a year before the doctor’s death. It was quite an operation that saw the daring medico insert a two-foot tube from his elbow along an opened vein into his heart! Even more remarkably, with this in place, he walked up a flight of stairs to be x-rayed! “Later he was none the worse.” In this time of such daring experimentation, perhaps there is some truth to the claim that my grandfather had indeed “operated on himself.” He was the only surgeon on the island, after all. A lengthy obituary and consequent articles on shortcomings in medical staffing of the islands run for another three days. On other matters, I was shown a “blue book” – so called because of the colour of the paper used in its publication. Blue Books were a compilation of annual medical reports and similar items, all prepared by the islands’ (St. K & N) District Medical Officers. These included articles written by Dr. Gomez. The doctor’s “old chauffeur”, Edmund Matthew, who must have been sixteen when first employed as his driver, became the subject of some of my investigations while looking for ‘Stonehaven’. It transpired that Edmund had lived only a few houses away (if those others were there at the time) from ‘Stonehaven’. His home, now derelict, like so many buildings about the place – usually the result of hurricanes and absent tenants/owners – was still standing, though roofless and becoming dilapidated. There to see was his garage. In the nearby Holy Family Catholic Church’s lawns, close to the church-door, were the graves of the aged driver and his even older wife, Ellen. The graves were so close together – Edmund’s “above” Ellen’s - that they may have even touched, suggesting both the great strength of a former union and the hope of an eternal one. I had been directed to the churchyard by a neighbor who, as a child, referred to the old taxi driver as ‘El mundo’ – the world. This was his nickname, never said to his face; the polite form of address was “Uncle Edmund.” He drove his taxi for as long as he lived, I was told. The dates on the stones were: (Edmund) 2.2.1911 – 12.5.1989, seventy-eight years, and (Ellen) 8.12.1911 – 30.10.2001, eighty-nine years. I had been taken to ‘Stonehaven’ and introduced to this source of local knowledge - a successful grocery-store owner who had only recently expanded his business - by a delightfully eccentric historian, Winston (Zack) Nisbett of Basseterre. As our conversation became increasingly animated, it was revealed that a daughter of Edmund, Beulah Nicholls, was the wife of a proprietor who ran a retail business on the ground-floor of the same building as my hotel! Consequently, on my return later that afternoon, I introduced myself to him and arranged for Beulah to meet me later that evening in the hotel’s bar. We would have a marvelous talk. She was thrilled with the very vague and small photocopies of snaps of her late-father, taken by Uncle Joe back in 1979 when he had returned to the islands to seek his own history there. Her son, Randy, soon joined us, and took photos of my vague facsimiles of his grandfather. Evidently, my little stories of Edmund made very exciting news to both of them. Also at the Government Headquarters Building I was shown by the very efficient and patient Director of Archives there, Victoria O’Flaherty, micro-fiche copies of the registered births of all four children: Euphemia, Joseph, Jessie and Audrey. Curiously, Aunt Effie’s registration is supported by a William Gomez, an engineer of Charlestown, the capital of nearby Nevis. This, presumably, must be the “Uncle Bill” who Grandma identified in a photograph taken in Anguilla (28 June, 1926.) The recorded dates of birth are: 11 Dec, 1925; 14 March, 1927; 8 October, 1928; and 20 February, 1930, respectively. I attempted to obtain copies of birth certificates - and a death certificate of Audrey - from the nearby Health Centre (Connell St, Basseterre), but was fobbed-off by a clearly disinterested young person there claiming records existed only from 1950. Zack was very unimpressed by her attitude and suggested privately to me that it was all too typical of the poor regard so many in the islands have towards history. I should add that some time later in my stay in St Kitts, Zack introduced me to yet another of his countless “friends”, a hopeful candidate seeking office in the island’s next election, whom, when told of the incident, was adamant that this was nonsense. I intend to write to the Health Centre later in the hope something more positive comes of this. It might be helpful if you and Aunt Effie supported the plea. There are likely to be records, but these may well be in a poor state and difficult to source. Returning to William Gomez, the archivist suggested it was probable that William, if indeed an uncle to the children, had encouraged his brother (or cousin?) George Gomez to seek his medical practice in or near Nevis. Of course, it may be the other way around. I had expected to visit Nevis after three days on the bigger St Kitts, but such was my success in finding material in the latter island that I found I delayed the ferry-trip across to that pretty island to my last full day. I was up very early so I could take the first ferry, scheduled for 6am. My hotel being only a few hundred yards away from the pier meant I had the shortest of walks. Though the islands are merely a few miles apart, the distance between Basseterre and Charlestown is eleven miles, I think. The trip lasted fifty-five minutes. Along the straight passage, a spectacular sunrise announced Nevis’s tropical glory, silhouetting, by its glorious rays, the great volcanic form that dominates the landscape. Wonderful clouds drifting across the great orb created their own delightful and ever-changing diffusions. Once ashore, within minutes I found ‘Longstone House’, the temporary residence your parents had taken in Nevis while “waiting for Evelyn Villa”, according to Uncle Joe’s annotation on the back of a snap he had taken of the same building during his visit in October, 1979. I had researched this building some weeks before leaving for overseas, discovering that it was a landmark building in Charlestown. You may be interested to know that it appears to me that its previous residents included the family of Hastings Charles Huggins (1857 – 1923), a colossal figure in fin de siècle Nevis. Huggins was a remarkable fellow – a “mulatto man”, to use the accepted term in the Caribbean to denote mixed race - born into poverty, like so many in the islands, but by his death had accumulated staggering wealth by means of shrewd business-practices. His last residence was this once-fashionable building. Sadly, it has long since lost its glamour. Today, it houses unremarkable commercial businesses. Upstairs, where you would have been housed, is now a dull café. I bought refreshments there then took several photographs, both inside and outside the building, before leaving to look for a Wesleyan Mission church. The term, “Wesleyan Mission”, had been notated by you on the back of a photograph as the place where Uncle Joe had been christened on “Thursday, 31st March 1927”. This small slightly over-exposed snap features your smiling father holding his baby son sitting on his forearm. The pair is accompanied by Grandma, Reverend Fred and Mrs McKenzie Turner, and Mrs Sylvie Brown - your nurse/nanny – who stands next to Nurse Hendrickson. The group appears to be gathered at the bottom of a step in front an elevated entrance, presumably part of the Wesleyan Mission. The Reverend Fred, by the way, who had entered the mission in 1909, is not long for the world. He dies, in harness, the following year. On the next block west of ‘Longstone House’ was what must have been the church. I managed to get some interior shots taken through glass panes. It appeared to me that it may well have changed little in appearance since it was built. Being so close to your parents’ residence must surely have seen it as their church. I wandered about it for some time. As I often observed during my trip, next to this place of worship was what was believed to be the mustering place for the island’s slaves. The singers of hymns suffered the wails of its neighbours. A small, easy-to-miss sign announced this sad history. I had immersed myself in reading-material on the subject of slaves after purchasing several famous books on it while visiting San Francisco’s Museum of African Diaspora, earlier in the trip. One of the points continually made in these studies was the hypocritical actions of the good Christians, whose solemnity papered over their hideous odium. I stopped for breakfast in a modest café just a little along the road, closer to the pier. Attracted to it because inside I had spied an old lady serving behind a small counter, I hoped that someone of her age might have knowledge of the whereabouts of ‘Evelyn Villa’. Recognizing my Western appearance, she suggested I could get bacon and eggs a little up the road, but I replied that I’d prefer what she had on offer as I’d come to sample the local product, a spicy chicken leg and some rice or bread, I forget which. Later, paying my bill, I made my enquiry. She considered the question then suggested I cross the street to a pharmacy where I could find a Mr Evelyn, apparently an old man whose business it was. Sure enough, Mr Evelyn, the pharmacist, was quite old. He was born the same year as the snap, 1927, or perhaps it was a year or two later. He soon became absorbed by my story. ‘Evelyn Villa’ had been his own residence while his wife lived. Following her death, about twenty or so years previously, he had moved out. The building had then been leased to an American artist, but a few years later, with a hurricane ruining his business, the man left, leaving the home empty to this day. The merciless tropical climate took its usual toll, so the once grand mansion lost much of its earlier charm. However, I was welcome to inspect it. It was just up the road, in the direction of the cricket ground, which I had found myself in my earliest meandering. Before leaving, he suggested I visit various museums about the place. It was clear that he had considerable interest in the history of Nevis. I took his advice, spending the day walking all over the place, becoming a little affected by the sun despite wearing my +30 sunscreen and my wide-brimmed cricket hat. Reaching the old home in minutes, I found several workmen outside its big yard. Introducing myself, I discovered I was addressing Mr Evelyn’s brother. Among other things, he told me the old house once claimed an uninterrupted view of the nearby cricket ground – presently, a more contemporary dwelling sat between it and the ground. The name ‘Evelyn’ comes up in historical notes as the name of a planter. It is likely that the villa was once an estate home. As my trip progressed, a pattern formed: my grand-parents’ residences were comfortable homes likely built many years earlier as estate homes. Four days earlier, in St Kitts, I had been taken to dinner by an Australian man and his English wife. Having just stored their yacht in preparation for a return home to Brisbane the next day, they had decided to end their Caribbean sojourn at a very expensive restaurant in the former Ottley Plantation. I had been taxied near there that morning in my first attempt to find ‘Stonehaven’, but declined the driver’s suggestion that I see the old estate - time was getting on and I was already two hours beyond my schedule. Looking through the window as we passed it there, high up in the hills, I wondered if I had made a mistake as parts of its architecture reminded me of what I could barely discern from Uncle Joe’s snaps of ‘Stonehaven’, though, obviously, it was without the latter’s more modest scale. So, given this second opportunity, I heartily accepted the invitation from the couple when it was offered over drinks on the balcony back at ‘Seaview Inn’. Its beautifully gardened grounds were stunning. The three of us were rendered speechless as we slowly walked across wide, manicured lawns edged with spectacularly arranged tropical plants. Dusk’s pink heaven appeared through screens of huge trees usually found in aged botanical gardens. The air was perfumed. An avenue of tall coconut palms of great age took our gaze deep into the hills beyond. Re-modeled and renovated buildings also re-announced, for those who could hear, the glory of the former plantocracy, but behind their elegance and splendor crept the shameful shadow of slavery. Returning to the subject of Nevis, my pedestrian journey took me to several other places certainly part of my grandparents’ world. These included Government House, the nearby hot bath house and Alexandra Hospital. The governor’s residence was high up on a hill. It was here that the doctor definitely played tennis and, I assume, did a lot more. Nevis’s population during the mid to late ‘20s was a lot less than that of its neighbour so social life must have been particularly predictable and limited, I should think. I took the customary snaps. The nearby Nelson Museum was a little disappointing, but the small display must have been the best that could be cobbled together within the meager budget allotted by the Tourism Ministry. Also a short walk away was the famous hot spring and its remarkable bath-house. Apparently, this had been developed as part of the Caribbean’s first hotel, which is saying something given the age of the former colonies. The old bath-house, which must have been used by your family – it was not far away from ‘Longstone House’ and even closer to ‘Evelyn Villa’ – must have been quite an experience when it was maintained, but now it had become poor relic, a curious ruin of former grand times. Fortunately, a nearby modern pool is available for use. The water was quite hot indeed. I can’t imagine I could have stayed in it for very long at all. If I understood the geography and history of the place, the spring released as a narrow stream into the sea not far away, providing water for Drake, Raleigh, Nelson and so on. I followed it to its very small mouth, which opened at the head of a post-card beach. Not a soul was there. I found myself romanticizing about those Tudor explorers and other pirates, and Horatio, R.N., all of whom must have stood on the very spot. The climb to Alexandra Hospital, which I made when the sun was at its zenith, was rewarded with the knowledge that my grandfather had once been the District Medical Officer in charge of this important institution. It has changed, of course, but the old Georgian architectural forms still revealed themselves. I had hoped to get information about his residency there, but had to do with being given a name and an e-mail address. Something may yet come of this. I returned on that day’s penultimate ferry-ride to St Kitts, satisfied that I had covered even more than I could have hoped for. Tom Bannerman at Springfield Cemetery next to the Cunningham Hospital, Basseterre, St Kitts- 2014 See also: GEORGE ROBERT GOMEZ DR.GEORGE GOMEZ - PHOTOS

George Robert Gomez Trinidad school years (Click on photos to enlarge and scroll through) December, 1914 List of successful First Class Honours students in college. George received distinctions in English, Latin and Mathematics. Island Scholar 1916 General Merit - 1915 George is at the top of the College. CIC War Memorial publication Past students who served. George Gomez is seen top centre. Private Gomez - India (4th left) Go to his Letters from India Chief Medical Officer - St. Kitts & Nevis Dr. Gomez, the surgeon (Click on photos below to enlarge and scroll through) Alexandria Hospital Now a heritage site, this is where Dr. George Gomez worked as Chief Medical Officer, Nevis. DSC03673.jpg Dr. Gomez salary: 375 pounds, travel allowance 30 pounds, position of Medical Officer District 3, appointed 5/3/29. Date first appointed to Colonial Government 21/12/24. Authority to conduct private practice. Condolence card The Boy Scout Association of Nevis's condolence card, dated the day of the funeral, 8 September, 1931. The doctor had died at 2.45pm the previous day. He was buried in the morning, less than a day later. At 8am that morning, arriving on the 'St. Ursula' from Nevis, were numerous mourners including the Scouts of the Ist Nevis Troop. George was the Assistant Scout Commissioner and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Boy Scouts Local Association. 22nd September, 1931 The St. Kitts-Nevis Daily Bulletin 9th September, 1931 The doctor's flower-covered grave, Springfield Cemetery, next to the Cunningham Hospital, Basseterre, St Kitts. The cemetery had not been long opened, hence the desolate appearance. The grave around July 1932 By this time, Jessie Gomez had returned to Scotland with her three young children. Probate Notice 1st October, 1931 The St. Kitts-Nevis Daily Bulletin Message from Dr. Gomez' widow, Jessie. Jessie, Joseph and Euphemia Gomez The Gomez children circa 1935, after they had left Nevis and settled in Scotland with their mother, after the death of their father in 1931. See also: GEORGE ROBERT GOMEZ THE GOMEZ SAGA - NEVIS

Ivy May Gomez Although I never knew my grandmother’s sister, Ivy May Gomez, I had often heard loving recollections about her from my father. Aunt Ivy seemed to have been a very special person who was not only extraordinarily kind and thoughtful, but also very talented. She was born to Joseph and Christina Pereira in 1897, the sixth child in the family of nine. Ivy was born in Queen's Street, in the town of Arima, Trinidad. At the time, her father Joseph worked at Millers Stores Ltd. as a clerk, according to her birth certificate. Later, the family moved to Sangre Grande. Sadly, Ivy lost her father when she had just turned 13 years old. According to the records, Joseph Gomez died of Cerebral Apoplexy (Stroke) at his home in Sangre Grande on the 31st December, 1910. He was only 47 years old, leaving Christina a widow at the young age of 44. I can only imagine the terrible shock and loss his children and wife suffered. The funeral left from the residence of Alfred Mendes, where just a year earlier the whole family had been celebrating the marriage of Ivy's sister Elsie Mabel to Charles Sheppard . Twelve years later, tragedy and sadness once again struck the Gomez family. On 6th October 1922, Ivy's older sister, Audrey died in Grenada at the young age of 33, during childbirth with her son George. Left alone with a four-and-a-half year old boy and an infant son to raise, her husband Louis Franco sent George's older brother Wilfred to his aunt Ivy in Trinidad. By then, Ivy lived in Port of Spain with her widowed mother Christina Gomez, and together they provided a loving home and motherly care for Wilfred. George was sent to his father's maiden sister, Louise Franco, in Grenada who also lovingly raised the young boy at the home where she lived with her parents, John and Clementine Franco. His grandfather John Franco was a successful wine merchant and lived above his shop on Halifax Street in St. Georges, where he owned several other properties. From the records we know that Ivy accompanied her sister-in-law, Jessie Gomez, (George's wife) on a trip to Scotland after the birth of their second child, also named Joseph. Her travel dates were 29th July 1927 - 11th November 1927 and on her return voyage, her occupation was listed as Cashier. "Perhaps she was once again helping to look after the children," suggests Jessie Tamas Hendry, Ivy's great-niece. Ivy and Jessie's grandmother stayed in touch through letters. Jessie said that she knows from one of Ivy's letters to her Grandma that she was interested in our family history. In one letter of February 1973 Ivy wrote: "I hope one day to try to find out Grandma Pereira's maiden name if the books have not been damaged in the riot of 1908. Not all of them were. But the Red House is another dangerous spot and the administration is awful. The greatest carelessness exists and documents are being sold on or left lying about in a neglected way." (Photo courtesy Brian Franco) Wilfred (about 11), Ivy, their pet Jinks and Grandma Christina Gomez née Pereira taken in their garden around 1928/1929. The chimney in the background was located on the Port of Spain wharf. Ivy would have been about 32 and her mother about 63. (Photo courtesy Brian Franco) The home Ivy shared with her mother and nephew Wilfred at 64 A Wrightson Road, Woodbrook, Port of Spain, Trinidad. (Photo courtesy Jenny McNamara Franco) During her lifetime, Ivy wrote well over a hundred poems, several of which she had published in a book in 1972. In a letter to her sister-in-law Jessie Gomez dated 5th July, 1973, she wrote about what must have truly been one of the highlights of her life: "Two days ago a soirée was arranged for me to have my poems read by tape-recording at St. Ann’s Church Hall. Mr. Cameron, so good, had set them to soft background music of an orchestra of 101 strings. That is a wonderful record. People of both St. Ann’s and Greyfriars churches were invited and poor little Ivy feeling like if it was her wedding day set off with an elegant hairdo. I wanted to sit sideways but Mr. Cameron said he would like me to take a bow before they start, as some may not know me, and another bow at the end. But Miss Rawle, the lady in charge, would not let me move from the front but sit facing the audience near a little table. The function was well attended and got off to a start with Mr. Cameron playing all suitable poems to suit the audience. Many of the Geddes Grant family attended. Sir Lindsay Grant, K.I., O.B.E. T.C. and Lady Grant. His sister, Mrs. Forbes and sister-in-law Mrs. Willard Grant. I said a few words while taking a bow. 'Thanks so much for coming. I may say like the erstwhile abdicated King Edward of England that at long last I am giving you some poems. My heart the violin - and my lips the bow.” Well, they were all thrilled with the poems and Sir Lindsay was very, very impressed and gave a long note of thanks. When it was over, all the ladies and Maurice Brash and Boysie deluged me with kisses. I could not wash my face that night." Ivy gave an autographed copy of her book of poems "Roses in the Rain" to her nephew George Franco who lived in Grenada. The book was passed down to George's daughter Jenny, who has kindly shared its precious pages. Particularly touching is her poem " Farewell to the Sangre Grande Train". The Trinidad Government Railway existed between 1876 and 28 December 1968 and was originally built to connect Port of Spain with Arima. After the railways shut down permanently in 1968, Ivy wrote this poignant poem which was was published in the Trinidad Guardian on 1st January, 1969. The poem recalls her sadness when, as an eight year old, she had to wave goodbye to her mother from the platform when she returned to their home in Sangre Grande, leaving her behind in Port of Spain for schooling. “Mother goodby”, my heart did cry, For I could only stand and sigh While whistle’s hoot did bear her home And I wished soon again, she’d come You see, for then I was aged eight Not grown to womanhood’s estate To go to school in town I must Though for this cause my heart was crushed.” This, and several other poems describe her surroundings, experiences and feelings, growing up in Trinidad in a gentler era, now bygone. She recalls tender memories of her father and childhood home. Her writings and observations are, in fact, a wonderful time capsule as seen through her eyes. Click on the cover below to open the book and step back in time into Ivy's world through her poetic expressions. "Roses in the Rain" A collection of Poems by Ivy Gomez Ivy stayed abreast of current affairs and was inspired to write poems on memorable occasions. On 9 -11 February 1966, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited Trinidad & Tobago. Ivy wrote a poem of welcome for them, and the following article appeared in the Trinidad Mirror newspaper on 13 March, 1966. This article about her "Poem to an Emperor" was published the following month in "Evening Hours" dated 15th April, 1966. Ivy May Gomez "Taken in the early 1970's. Aunt Ivy came to Grenada to attend the wedding of Jennifer Hosten , who was Miss World 1970. The picture was taken in the backyard of the Great House in L'anse Aux Epines. She was all dolled up for the wedding. Jennifer had previously paid a visit to Trinidad and Aunt Ivy managed to get through the crowd and presented her with a poem I think it was, so she was then invited to the wedding." - Jenny McNamara Franco Vincent Gomez Ivy's brother Vincent Gomez, taken at the Pereira Studio in Tuscon, Arizona In her later years, Ivy shared a home with her brother Vincent Gomez at 132 Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. There the siblings ran a photo studio named The Rite Studio. Vin had previously spent considerable time with his two uncles John and Joseph Pereira who had immigrated to America and had a well-known photography business - Pereira Studios - in Tuscon Arizona. It was there that young Vin developed his love for photography and received training in the business. Vin worked as a photographer with Pereira Studios for several years, In 1932 he became a naturalized American citizen in Tuscon, Arizona where he continued to work in the family's photography business, as Pereira Studios continued to operate even after the death of his uncle, Joseph Pereira, in 1936. Records show that having first left Trinidad for the USA in 1913 when he was just 19 years old, he finally returned to his island home from America in 1951 when he was 58 years old. Several family members of my generation recall childhood memories of having their photos taken by Uncle Vin at the Rite Studio. Said Jenny McNamara: "Uncle Vin had a tripod with a cloth. He would go under the cloth then come out and jump up and down to make us smile." Unfortunately, both Ivy and Vin became deaf in their latter years. Vincent died on 14 November 1963 when he was 70 years old and Ivy passed away in 1976 at age 78. Neither of them married and left behind no children. Ivy lived a life of caring for others, and we are grateful for the memories left behind in her very own words of poetry. Her story needed to be told. I wish I'd known Aunt Ivy and Uncle Vin - what stories they could have told. Many Thanks to Jessie Tamas Hendry, Brian Franco, Jenny McNamara Franco and other family members for their valued contributions to this story. ~ Valerie Sheppard 30 September, 2020

Elsie Mabel Gomez Sheppard (Click on the photos to enlarge them, and use the arrows to scroll through the album.) Elsie, Charles and family Elsie and Florence MA2.jpeg Elsie with Joan de Sousa (Bodu) Her eldest grandchild "Down the islands" Barbados Elsie with her youngest son Andrew Elsie with Andrew and Robert Cutting her birthday cake Image.jpg

Sheppard Family from Trinidad visit relatives in Wem, Shropshire My great-grandfather, Alfred Sheppard was born in Chichester, Sussex, but went to Trinidad with his regiment as a young man, in the British military. He married Virginia de Freitas , a young lady of Portuguese parentage, and made Trinidad his permanent home. In this picture, he and Virginia, together with Virginia's father and daughter, are in Wem, Shropshire visiting his brother Charles and family. The picture has been handed down by Charles' daughter Nell to her Trinidadian cousin John Sheppard who immigrated to England. This is a restored version of a unique, undated vintage photograph. We know it is no later than 1916, the year in which Sebastian (Sebastião) de Freitas (centre) died. The seniors are all seated in front, while the younger generation stands behind. Here's a "Who's Who" of the photo: 1. Charles A. Sheppard , son of #11 and #8, brother of #2, #4, #6, brother-in-law of #3, cousin of #5 2. Cyril Sheppard , husband of #3, son of #11 and #8, brother of #1, #4, #6, cousin of #5. Cyril and his wife Gertrude were married in 1921, so I assume they were engaged here. 3. Gertrude Annie Sheppard née Williams, wife of #2, sister-in-law of #1, #4, #6, daughter-in-law of #8 and #11 4. Ivy Enid Sheppard , daughter of #8 and #11, sister of #1, #2, #6. 5. Amalia Amy Sheppard (Trinidad born) , daughter of #7 and #10. Cousin of #1, #2, #4, #6. 6. Nellie Fisher Sheppard , daughter of #11 and #8, sister of #1, #2, #4. Sister-in-law of #3, cousin of #5 7. Sgt. Maj. Alfred Sheppard (my great-grandfather), husband of #10, father of #5, son-in-law of #9 - all visiting from Trinidad. Brother of #11, Uncle of #1, #2, #4, #6. 8. Ellen Mary Sheppard née Fisher, wife of #11, mother of #1, #2, #4, #6, mother-in-law of #3, sister-in-law of #7 9. Sebastien (Sebastião) de Freitas (my great-great grandfather ) father of #10, grandfather of #5, father-in-law of #7. 10. Virginia Sheppard née de Freitas (Trinidad born - my great-grandmother ), wife of #7, daughter of #9, mother of #5 11. Sgt. Charles Sheppard , brother of #7, father of #1, #2, #4, #6, father-in-law of #3, uncle of #5

Virginia de Freitas wife of Alfred Sheppard My great-grandmother 24 January 1862 - 21 September 1936 The Register of Births in the Town of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, for the Year 1862 The entry for Virginia de Freitas is second from the bottom of the page My great-grandmother Virginia de Freitas was born at 15 A Sussex Street, Port of Spain, on 24 January 1862. Her parents were Sebastien (also written Sebastiano and Sebastião) and Maria de Freitas née Cairus.* She was the older sister of Charlotte de Freitas, born about 1865. Records indicate that Sebastião had arrived in Trinidad from Madeira 16 years earlier with his family when he was just an eleven year-old boy. According to Trinidadian historian, Dr. Jo-Anne S. Ferreira: "The first group of 197 refugees traveled on the ship William, from Glasgow, having arrived in Port-of-Spain (the capital of Trinidad) on September 16, 1846, just 4 months after the arrival of the first Madeiran immigrants. More than two thousand left Madeira for Trinidad, St. Kitts, Antigua and St. Vincent. In Trinidad, also mostly Catholic at the time, but where freedom of worship and religious tolerance were recognised, the Church of Scotland, small but growing, welcomed them. However, they could not escape their compatriots - they faced other Madeirans who had previously settled in Trinidad and had to deal with the same prejudices they thought they had left behind in Madeira. Like their impoverished compatriots who had come in search of a better life, many Presbyterian refugees arrived in Trinidad in a state of destitution. After experiencing difficulties in finding employment - some having been forced to work under contract upon their arrival - Presbyterians were also able to take on a new life by starting small businesses." "In Trinidad, after being helped and welcomed by the community of the Greyfriars Church on Frederick Street in Port-of-Spain, they built their own church in 1854 under the leadership of Reverend Henrique Vieira. The church was called the "Scottish Church of St. Anne" (because of its location on the corner of St. Ann/St. Anne Street, now Charlotte Street, and Oxford Street). It was generally identified as the “Portuguese Church” because the Portuguese language and Portuguese Bibles and hymns were still in use 27 years after the arrival of the first refugees." Sebastião (Sebastien) de Freitas It is recorded that our Sebastião and his father Antonio were among these earliest Portuguese Presbyterian refugees in Trinidad who, despite their poverty, contributed to the building fund of St. Anns's Church of Scotland . On Virginia's birth record in the Trinidad registry, her father's occupation is "Labourer". The record shows that he registered the birth himself on 30 January, 1862. As the informant, Sebastien, was required to sign his name. Since he could not write, he put "X" next to his name, which was witnessed by William Henry Cazabon. Family stories relate that Virginia's mother Maria was a Portuguese/English interpreter for the Courts, though that has not yet been proven. We have been told by our elders that our great-grandfather, Alfred Sheppard , was looking for a church to go to when he arrived in Trinidad. One of his colleagues told him about the Presbyterian church Greyfriars. He went there but was not accepted because he was non-conformist. Somebody else told him to try the Free Church of Scotland, which was not so "stuffy". This he did, and was warmly accepted into their fold. It was there that he met Sebastien and Maria's daughter Virginia de Freitas, and it was there that they became man and wife. Virginia was nineteen years old when she tied the knot with 26 year old Alfred Sheppard from Sussex on 25 June 1881. Thus started her life as a the wife of a policeman, which was no doubt fraught with many moments of worry for his safety. The handwritten entry in the Sheppard family Bible states that Virginia's father died on 24 February, 1916. Her husband Alfred passed away the following year, leaving her a widow at fifty-five years old. They had been married for thirty-six years, and had known the anguish of burying three of their children. Virginia lived to be 74 years old and died at her home in Shine Street, Port of Spain on 21 September 1936. My great-grandparents Virginia (de Freitas) and Sergeant Major Alfred Sheppard with Virginia's elderly father, Sebastien de Freitas (my great-great grandfather) They all traveled from Trinidad to England where they visited the Sheppard family in Wem, Shropshire . * The de Freitas surname originates in Portugal. The names of Virginia's parents are recorded in the Registers of Trinidad as Sebastien, and her surname as Cairus. However, we sometimes find clerical spelling errors made at the time of registration, and we wonder about the accuracy of the surname Cairus, as it is not a recognizable Portuguese name. Could it be that the clerk entering the data in the registry misunderstood "de Caires" and wrote, "Carius"? We have also seen her father's name recorded as Sebastiano, Sebastien and Sebastian (the anglicized version).

ST. ANN'S/GREYFRIARS CHURCH OF SCOTLAND Trinidad I am a descendant of Portuguese people - both Jewish and Protestant - who became religious refugees because of persecution for their faith, vividly recorded in the annals of history. I dedicate this page to the memory of my Madeiran Presbyterian ancestors. In 1834, Trinidad was a British colony, and many of the emigrants were Scots. That year, the Greyfriars Church of Glasgow sent newly ordained Alexander Kennedy to Trinidad to minister to them. Rev. Kennedy was from Ayrshire and arrived on the island in January 1836. By the following year work had begun on building a church. The foundation stone for Greyfriars Church was laid on 10th April 1837, and the church was completed in 1838. Eight years later, Sebastian (Sebastião) de Freitas arrived in Trinidad from the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira. He was my paternal great-great grandfather. Sebastião was among a group of Portuguese refugees desperately fleeing severe religious persecution in their homeland for daring to convert from Catholicism and practice their Protestant beliefs inspired by the Scottish missionary Rev Dr Robert Reid Kalley . Many of these immigrants who fled from Madeira had to leave behind their homes and possessions, determined to start a new life that promised to be free from the oppression and oftentimes cruelty that they suffered. The earlier Presbyterians in Trinidad, under the guidance of Rev. Alexander Kennedy of Greyfriars, greatly assisted the new arrivals from Madeira who didn't understand English. The Madeiran refugees were allowed to worship at Greyfriars and there was a small building to the east of the church which was used for the housing of some of the extremely poor of the congregation. It is said that during the Cholera (1854) many were attended to there. With sheer determination, hardwork and resilience, this small group of Madeiran Portuguese, now with freedom to practise their faith in Trinidad, set out to build their own church. In 1854, St. Anns Church of Scotland was completed and dedicated. At last the Presbyterian Portuguese community had their own sanctuary where they could be ministered to and enjoy fellowship in their own language. As described in the historical information published for the 150th Anniversary of the church: “They felt a particular pride in the new edifice, because their own hands helped in the building of it. Under the able superintendence and wise leadership of their pastor, the Rev. Henrique Vieira - who had a practical knowledge of building construction - many of the members labored willingly in the work: some bringing sand, stone and lumber, for making pews; while some of them arranged to join in paying for a pew between them.” As seen in the records of marriages, baptisms, funerals and other special occasions, this church has been central to the history of my Trinidad family for many generations. Because of its significance in the lives of so many of my predecessors, as well as many family members who still worship there, I have gathered some historical information giving a background about the church, and the Portuguese whose lives revolved around it. Sebastian (Sebastião) de Freitas (my paternal great-great grandfather) Madeira 1835 - Trinidad 1916 He was a founding member of St. Ann's Church of Scotland, Trinidad Back l/r: My great-grandfather Alfred Sheppard & Virginia De Freitas who, according to Alfred's own entry in the Family Bible, were "united in marriage at The Free Church of Scotland,on 25th June 1881". Virginia's father Sebastien (Sebastião) de Freitas is standing next to her on the right. Seated: l/r Alfred and Virginia's daughter Amalia (Amy) Sheppard with Audrey Gomez. Sources: The Portuguese Presbyterians by Rev. Clifford R.L. Rawlins St. Ann's Church of Scotland 150th Anniversary Historical Sketch The unfortunate fate of the historic Greyfriars Kirk on Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain, torn down by the greed for land, sloth of its elders, and comic nonchalance of the State, has signalled perhaps the death of the Scots Presbyterian Church in this nation which began its mission here in 1836, under the leadership of the Rev. Alexander Kennedy. 
 Around 1845-46, there was considerable turmoil in Madeira in 1845-46 when the good and charitable works of the Rev Dr Robert Reid Kalley caused the conversion of over 5,000 natives from Catholicism. These refugees sought the shelter of British warships in the Madeiran area which took them to St Vincent and Trinidad. In the latter island, they were taken into the bosom of Rev Kennedy’s Scottish Presbyterian Church, but were looked down upon by the established local Madeiran community which saw them as heretics. These first Madeirans in the island had originally come in the post emancipation period around 1836-38 as indentured labourers, but the vicissitudes of tropical climate had decimated them and many walked off the estates and became merchants and tradesmen in the poorer parts of the city. This first Madieran group was staunchly Roman Catholic. About 500 of the Protestant arrivals did not stay long in the island and immigrated to the USA shortly before 1850. Those who remained sought to build their own church as a symbol of their piety. They had the support of Henrique Vieira of Madeira who was himself a victim of persecution. He searched for a site for the church and located one on St Ann’s Road (upper Charlotte Street was then called St Ann’s Road because it led directly to St Ann’s via Queen’s Park East) which cost $800. By dint of fervent and heartfelt pleading, Rev Vieira raised the sum for the purchase of the land and set to work building a small chapel of stone and wood which was called the Portuguese Church, United Free Church and Free Kirk, but was officially the St Ann’s Church of Scotland after its location on what was then St Ann’s Road. It was opened in 1854 just before a cholera epidemic ravaged Trinidad and swept away many of the faithful who had laboured in the construction of the chapel. The founding of the church was described in 1887 as follows: “In 1848 it was reported to the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland that there were 900 Maderenses in the island. Mr de Silva, a catechist at first, was at length ordained as their pastor. His ministry, however, cut short by death, lasted only for a year. He was succeeded in 1850 by Mr Henry Vieira, in the first instance, as catechist, but in 1854, having been ordained by the Free Church Presbytery of Glasgow, he became pastor. In 1872 Mr Vieira accepted a call from a number of Maderenses who had settled in Illinois, but during his ministry in 1853, the Free Church in St Ann's Road had been built. In 1873, the Rev D M Walker, minister of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, a very worthy man, was selected as pastor, and accepted the appointment. For a time Mr Walker preached once every Sabbath in the Portuguese tongue, he having rapidly learned the language.” By 1890, the chapel was showing signs of dereliction and one of the parishioners was none other than George Brown, the famous architect and builder who had come out to the island in 1880, and to whom Trinidad owes its archetypal ‘gingerbread’ house architecture. Brown designed a simple yet elegant stone building, larger than the old one. Some of the stone used in building the walls was obtained from The Cottage which was the residence of the Governor, built at the end of the 18th century and which stood on the grounds of the present Hilton Hotel. This structure was the official residence until the erection of a new one in 1876 which is now called President’s House. In 1912, the church acquired a nearby building once used as a Masonic Lodge and a pipe organ. A fine stained-glass window was added in 1919 in memory of Ernest W Havelock, a young minister who enlisted as a soldier in World War I and who was killed in action in 1916. The St Ann’s Church of Scotland is still a quaint yet important reminder that with willpower, teamwork and leadership, great things are possible. (Article reproduced with kind permission of the late author's aunt, Patricia Bissessar ) THE ST. ANN'S FREE CHURCH Historian Angelo Bissessarsingh The Havelock Memorial is a stained-glass window depicting The Sower, installed at the church in 1919 to the memory of the much loved Rev. Ernest W. Havelock, the seventh Minister. Rev. Havelock ministered from 1910-1916, when he left to serve in the Great War where he was killed in active duty at age 33. A newspaper report of his memorial service can be seen here . Following in the footsteps of several generations of family members, my cousin Carol-Lyn Hart is a member of the congregation. Here she is pictured with her beautiful painting of The Havelock Memorial, which she donated to the church. Carol-Lyn Hart née Johnson is the daughter of Florence Johnson née Sheppard and Colin Johnson. Carol-Lyn's 2021 painting of St. Ann's Church of Scotland The beautiful painting of Greyfriar's Church by Michel Jean Cazabon This historic building was demolished in November 2014 In this article, historian Angelo Bissessarsingh explores the historic significance of Greyfriars and its founding, in an attempt to raise consciousness over what can only be described as a severe blow to national heritage The demolition of Greyfriars Church Most Trinidadians today associate the Presbyterian Church with the Canadian Mission to the Indians which began in 1868 and was quickly associated with the conversion and education of thousands of indentured labourers and their descendants. There was, however, a very much older Presbyterian mission which began in the very last days of slavery and at the dawn of Emancipation with the ostensible aim of working among the many former slaves in the British colonies. Trinidad was one of the first colonies selected for this movement and the energetic Rev Alexander Kennedy and his wife were sent forth to the island. The Reverend was born in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1804 to a farmer and was educated at Edinburgh and Glasgow. He married Mary (daughter of a merchant) and was ordained in 1835. On January 25, 1836, after an intense sea voyage of six weeks, the Kennedy family arrived in Port-of-Spain, though not without some discomfort. As recorded in Alexander’s journal: “We gladly record our gratitude to Almighty God for preserving us amidst the dangers of the deep, and upholding us amidst much personal affliction. Not many days after sailing, Mrs Kennedy was taken dangerously ill, so that for several weeks we scarcely dared to cherish the hope that she would survive so long as reach the land whither we went: but He, whose we are and whom we serve, heard our prayers, disappointed our fears, and has now restored her to almost wonted strength. It is God only that can bring back from the gates of death—that can turn the darkness of sorrow and affliction into the light of joy and health." The arrival of the Kennedys was heralded in the Port-of-Spain Gazette with warmth and they were immediately embraced by a large and supportive cadre of people, including many Scots who were merchants, planters or planting attorneys. The first sermon was preached on February 9 in a rented house, and shortly thereafter, a search for a permanent place of worship began. Rev Kennedy hired a building that was formerly a playhouse and known as the “Old Theatre” on Cambridge (now St Vincent) Street, north of its intersection with Park Street. While the structure was being retrofitted as a church, service was held at the Hanover Methodist Church. Referring to the makeshift “church”, Rev Kennedy himself remarked: “It was not the most convenient and appropriate place that could be wished for the worship of God,” Shortly thereafter, he began searching for a site for a proper chapel. He investigated a plot of land opposite Brunswick (Woodford) Square. This land was acquired from the Cabildo (Town Council) for the princely sum of 300 pounds and on April 10, 1837, a foundation stone was laid. With Rev Kennedy’s direction and energy, a fine building with stone walls rose rapidly on the site opposite Brunswick (Woodford) Square. So rapidly did the construction take place that the tenders advertisement was soon succeeded by this proud advertisement: “NOTICE: Greyfriars Church will be opened for divine service on Sabbath the 21st current. Public worship to begin at eleven o’clock am and at four pm. A meeting of the subscribers to the Trinidad fund for the erection of a Presbyterian Church in Port-of-Spain, to be occupied by the Reverend Alex Kennedy, will be held in Greyfriars Church, on Friday the 19th current at 5 o’clock pm, when a statement of the expenditure of the funds will be read, and receipts for the amount submitted at the meeting.—Port-of-Spain, January 12, 1838.” The cost was over £4,500, which was entirely provided by subscription. In an example of true resilience and self-reliance, the congregation declined an offer of assistance from the colonial government. A short description of the original building was penned by H J Clark in 1887 as follows: “As most of you are aware, the church was originally considerably shorter than it is now; it was a plain oblong building with a low porch in front and a small vestry at the back. The seats were of the most approved Presbyterian pattern, unvarnished, straight-backed and with doors, all duly numbered in the home style of olden days.” In 1841 a manse was erected for the accommodation of the Kennedys near the kirk at the cost of £1,000, which was raised entirely in Scotland through the diligence of the Rev Kennedy. The completion of the manse was marked by sorrow, however, since the year before, the Kennedys had returned to Scotland for a short visit, when Mrs Kennedy gave birth to a girl named Margaret Tannahill. The child died very soon after the family returned to Trinidad and was interred under a small marker in a little enclosure along the south wall of the church compound. Alongside little Margaret’s grave, another marble plaque was inserted that simply read: “Laurence—Infant son of Alex. And Jane Sprunt.” Laurence was the child of Mr Alexander Sprunt who was treasurer of Greyfriars in the time of the Rev Kennedy. The third and last burial in this cemetery of the innocents at the Kirk occurred on September 11, 1868, when George Mac Farlane Brodie, another baby boy, was laid to rest. In the details of the recent sale of Greyfriars to developer Alfred Galy, no mention has been made of these graves, so we may safely assume that if the church falls victim to a bulldozer’s blade, as many now fear, the last resting place of these three infants will suffer a similar fate. In 2014, the 176-year-old Greyfriars Church in Port-of-Spain was demolished by the businessman who owned it. (Article reproduced with kind permission of the late author's aunt, Patricia Bissessar) The historic Greyfriars Church before it was demolished Photo Credit : Iere Aerial Photography Greyfriars, which was demolished in 2014, was home to the first Portuguese refugees who arrived in Trinidad in 1846.

Family history through AI enhanced photographs Fashionable Sheppard sisters in the 20s l/r Ida, Jessie, Madge at their Richmond Street, Port of Spain Home, Trinidad In this new section, it will be fun to have a look at the changing styles and fashions from the Victorian era to modern times. With the use of AI, I will attempt to enhance worn and damaged photographs to reveal fascinating details of attire. It has always impressed me to see how impeccably dressed children and young adults appear in our large collection of family photographs. Ladies in stylish dresses and accessories, men in dapper outfits, some wearing fashionable gold pocket watches on chains. Some of our ancestors are captured in impressive looking military uniforms. I hope to delve into the significance of their attire, and uncover details about their rank and position. I aim to explore the historical context behind these uniforms and what reveal about their lives and roles in society. It will be a look at how fashion can tell us so much about our heritage. It's in the works - stay tuned!

Hurricane Janet, Barbados 22nd September 1953 My great-grandmother's account My great-grandmother was Lillian Lobo. She lived on the south coast in a house called "Raeburn", now demolished. She wrote to her youngest daughter about Hurricane Janet. In the letter she tells that Frank, her son who lived in Trinidad, came to visit and help her. Marylin is Frank's daughter who was staying with her grandmother at the time. Raeburn, Hastings Nov 6th 1955 My dear Freida, This is a very long overdue letter but I know you will understand, I have been through such a terrible ordeal for my age, what with the storm and a few days after we had a downpour of rain and the roof poured like a tap turned on. I lost my nerve and had a hearty cry. The hoods to the windows blew off and broke the Everite of the roof and glass window. They went in Miss Chandler’s yard. Crowds of shingles blew off, gutter-heads, down pipes all blew down and broke. The downstairs door - the break water iron and big stones dashed against the door and broke it open and the sea all came in. We did not have light for eleven days, only 2 lamps and torches. No telephone, the well to the toilets all filled up with sand and choked one. I had to pay $15.00 to 2 men to clear it. I had to put on 16 bundles of shingles. I had 3 workmen for 4 weeks from one thing to the other, but it could have been worse. The church got hit the hardest, I believe 5 out of every 6 houses were flat, thousands are homeless. Plenty of nice new houses in Marine Gardens the roofs came off and the people had to run for shelter. You remember Kenneth and Reyland Davis’s house Santa Neta opposite The Rocks, well that has only the 4 walls standing. They had to run next door, lost everything. Frank came over to see what had happened to us 2 days after, because no planes were flying during that time. He stood a day and a half and brought over plenty groceries for me knowing we may have been short and he said the water came to his eyes coming over the island to see the houses flat. He would not even go any further he said his nerves wouldn’t stand it. All the beautiful trees blown down and the leaves scorched. We are all bare now. If it had have lasted 1/2 hour longer our gallery roof started to lift. The wind was 125 miles an hour. Outside sounded just like a lot of cats howling. Poor little Marilyn threw up 3 times for the day. And then trees across the streets, telephone posts . . . Kenneth and Reyland Davis’s house "Santa Neta" opposite The Rocks