Within this section you will find over 100 articles which have appeared in publications of the Society, have been the subject of our hikes and wanderings and/or are simply of interest to anyone with a love of St. John and its rich history.
If you’d like to submit an article for consideration in a future newsletter or quarterly journal, please be aware of the following guidelines.
- Word count should be between 500-1,000 words. Articles longer than 1,000 words are accepted on a case-by-case basis, so please contact us in advance for pre-approval;
- Please single space after periods;
- Article should be concise, on topic, and most importantly, relate to V.I. or Danish West Indies history; and
- The article’s relevancy to St. John should be clear.
Please send articles to the attention of newsletter editor Andrea Milam at: ContactUs@StJohnHistoricalSociety.org.
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May 2007That’s My Cousin, But I Don’t Know How
(Presentation by Veronica “Ronnie” Phillips) “Genealogy….why do it?” Veronica “Ronnie” Phillips challenged SJHS members and guests at our December 12 evening meeting. She asked us to imagine being an orphan. Gazing into a mirror, we might wonder if we looked like our mother or father, or a once-removed relative. Growing up, we might wonder how and where our ancestors grew up. Discovering our own artistic…
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May 2007Earth Day 2007 Festivities
By Bruce Schoonover and Robin Swank Earth day 2007… preserving and protecting the environment This year, in connection with the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park Earth Day festivities, the St. John Historical Society highlighted its efforts to preserve and protect the Annaberg Country School ruins at Mary’s Point, by sponsoring a coloring contest for all children. Children were given a four-page coloring booklet which recited…
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May 2007Lameshure Bay Estate of the 1950s
Frank Stick’s map of St. John showing the outline of Lameshur and Hope Estates Consolidation of properties has always played a huge role in the ownership of estates on St. John. By the late 1700s, we have seen that what we now think of as the Lameshur Estate was, in fact, composed of multiple former estates–consisting of something less than 500 acres. This same consolidation…
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Apr 2007Huguenot at Lameshur: Captain Ingiald Mourier
(Syracuse University Professor Emeritus Daniel Smothergill is a SJHS member who traces his ancestors back to 19th century St. John.) Denmark is well known for having allowed citizens of other countries to settle in its West Indies possessions. The English, in particular, took advantage of the policy and at one time owned a large number of the estates on St. John. This has special significance…
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Apr 2007Lameshure Bay Explore
Yawzi Point’s Great Lameshure Estate House Its rounded entry steps overlook the cotton magazine (By David Knight, summarized by Robin Swank) On Saturday, March 17th, a record 78 hikers met at VIERS to join SJHS President David Knight for a tour of the physical remains of three contiguous estates (Great Lamesure, Little Lamesure, and Bowe) which were consolidated in the latter half of the 18th century…
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Apr 2007English Creole-The Spoken Word on St. John
Mr. Elroy Sprauve, Educator; SJHS Board Historian. (Presented by Mr. Elroy Sprauve, March 13, 2007, summarized by Robin Swank) “ ‘Creole’ is a language patterned from two or more languages by people who live and work together,” Mr. Sprauve began. With wit and charm, he gave lively examples of how English and African, along with Dutch and probably some Spanish and French donations coalesced into…
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Mar 2007Presentation by Susan Lugo & Field Trip to the Caribbean Genealogy Library
(Summarized by Robin Swank) If you wish to trace your ancestry, help someone trace theirs, or are just interested in written historical records, head across the water to become familiar with a real St. Thomas gem, the Caribbean Genealogy Library (CGL). [Contact the Library via email at CaribGenLibrary@attglobal.net or via telephone at 340-714-2136. Visit at Al Cohen’s Mall in Havensight.] Susan Lugo co-founder of CGL. Co-Founder Susan Lugo…
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Feb 2007Exploring Lieven Marche Bay Estate Ruins
(By David Knight, summarized by Robin Swank) If you want to learn something new, take a hike!!! Many of the hikers who joined President David Knight on January 13th had visited Brown Bay, but only a few were previously aware of the Hermitage or Lieven Marche Estates, or of the earlier subsumed and less-documented estate houses and industrial plants that remain along the coral-strewn north…
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Jan 2007Mary’s Point Hike
(By David Knight, summarized by Robin Swank) SJHS President David Knight welcomed about thirty members to our December hike on Mary’s Point. We met at the Francis Boiling House on what was once the Betty’s Hope plantation, which straddles a strategic isthmus separating Mary’s Creek and Francis Bay. At the outset David informed us that he is going to lead us to several little-known estate…
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Jun 2006John Gottliff: The Man Behind Buddoe
Slavery in the Danish West Indies ended abruptly on July 3, 1848, contrary to the intentions of the Danish Government and Governor General Peter von Scholten. It ended because several thousand enslaved individuals on St. Croix staged a largely non-violent demonstration that forced a reluctant Peter von Scholten to proclaim freedom for all of the “unfree” on St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix. This,…
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Jun 2006St. John’s Week-long 4th of July Festivities Aren’t Just About United States Independence
Under considerable pressure from both home and abroad, in 1847 King Christian VIII of Denmark took the first cautious steps toward emancipation in the Danish West Indies islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix. On July 28th, he proclaimed that all children born into slavery would from that day on be considered free, and that all unfree in the colony would become emancipated…