Sources & Bibliography Cherry Garden Great House

The historical profiles provided on this site were synthesized from a combination of primary 17th and 18th-century records, genealogical databases, and academic texts on Caribbean history. Below is a detailed breakdown of the specific sources used to reconstruct the lives of the Dickinson and Gomersall families.

1. Jonathan Dickinson (1663–1722)

• Primary Source: God's Protecting Providence (1699) Dickinson, Jonathan. Original Journal.
  What this document reveals: Dickinson’s own published journal is the primary source for the specific dates, the name of the ship (Reformation), the cargo details, and the anthropological account of the shipwreck and the indigenous tribes of Florida.
• Biographical Commentary: Jonathan Dickinson's Journal (Yale Historical Publications) Andrews, Evangeline Walker & Andrews, Charles McLean (Eds.). Yale University Press, 1945 & 1961 reprints.
  Context: This is considered the definitive academic text. The editors' introduction provides the deep background on Captain Francis Dickinson (Jonathan's father), the 1655 conquest under Penn/Venables, and the details regarding the family's conversion to Quakerism.
• Minutes of the Common Council of the City of Philadelphia (1704–1776) City Archives of Philadelphia.
  Political Record: These official minutes confirm his election as Mayor (1712, 1717), his tenure as an Alderman, and his role as Speaker of the Assembly.

2. Colonel Ezekiel Gomersall (1663–1734)

• Official and Other Personages of Jamaica from 1655 to 1790 Feurtado, W.A. (1896).
  Context: This is the standard reference for verifying Jamaican colonial titles. It confirms Gomersall's specific rank as "Colonel of the Regiment of Horse" and his status as a Member of the King's Council.
• The Tryals of Captain John Rackam and Other Pirates (1721) Printed by Robert Baldwin, Jamaica.
  The Pirate Trials: The details regarding the witness Dorothy Thomas (testifying about the "largeness of their breasts") and the women's strategy of "pleading their bellies" come directly from the original court transcripts of this trial over which Gomersall presided.
• Journals of the Assembly of Jamaica Volume 2 (Various entries 1710–1730).
  Land Ownership: Various entries reference Gomersall’s petitions to the government and establish the land boundaries of his holdings in St. Andrew.
• Monumental Inscriptions of the British West Indies (1875) Lawrence-Archer, J.H.
  Burial Record: This text records the exact inscription on his tomb in the Kingston Parish Church, which is how we verify his death date and titles.

3. Ezekiel Dickinson (1711–1788)

• The Jamaica Quit Rent Books (1754) Colonial Census Records.
  Land Holdings: This census lists "Ezekiel and Caleb Dickinson" as owning 7,055 acres, verifying their status as some of the island's largest landowners of the mid-18th century.
• Papers of the Dickinson Family of Kingweston Somerset Heritage Centre (Reference DD/DN).
  The Family Feud: These archives contain the correspondence detailing the bitter legal disputes between Ezekiel and his brother Vickris Dickinson. Specifically, file DD/DN/4/1/16 covers the disputes, while DD/DN/2/25/1 covers the plantation deeds.
• Legacies of British Slave-ownership Database University College London.
  The "Absentee" Life: This academic project tracks the ownership transmission of estates like Appleton and Pepper from the Dickinsons to the Harmans, documenting the shift to absentee ownership.
• A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 11 Victoria County History, 1980.
  English Estates: Verifies Ezekiel Dickinson's purchase and ownership of the manor house at Bowden Park.

4. 19th Century: Gordon & Marescaux Eras

Sources regarding the transition from the Dickinson family to George William Gordon and the eventual sale to Oscar Marescaux.

• Report of the Jamaica Royal Commission (1866) H.M. Stationery Office, London.
  George William Gordon: This massive government inquiry into the Morant Bay Rebellion contains the specific details of Gordon's arrest, his ownership of Cherry Garden, and the financial state of his properties at the time of his execution.
• Map of the County of Surrey (1880s) Thomas Harrison, Government Surveyor.
  Oscar Marescaux: Later survey maps from the late 19th century identify "Cherry Garden" as the property of Oscar Marescaux, verifying the transfer of title after the Gordon era.
• Historic Architecture of the Caribbean Green, David. (Various architectural surveys).
  The House Structure: Architectural historians attribute the current facade of the Great House—specifically the wrap-around verandahs and the mahogany interior paneling—to the renovations commissioned by Marescaux in the late 1800s.