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By Will Johnson
On his mother's side his ancestry can be traced to Vice Commander Johannes Solomon Gibbes (1785) who was born in 1733 and who died and is buried on Sint Eustatius in 1802. The Vice Commander was married to Margaretha Stokvis of Rotterdam. Together they had 13 children. She died in 1817 on Sint Maarten.
Johannes is the Patriarch of the Gibbes family. Through the marriage of Susannah Illidge (4th generation after the Commander) to the Reverend William Tipley Waymouth (1851), pastor of The Methodist Church, the Gibbes family became important to the history of St.Maarten.
Susannah's mother, Louisan Augusta Gibbes in 1826 married George Illidge. In 1850 the Reverend Waymouth came to St.Maarten as Methodist Minister after having served fifteen years in the West Indies. In that same year (1850) his first wife Elizabeth Horne passed away. In 1851 he married Susanna Illidge whose mother was a staunch Methodist and owner of the famous 'Brick Building' on Back Street which still stands. However to the chagrin of all in the nineteen sixties the outer walls were cemented over.
Josiah Charles was born on August 6th, 1852, and his father the Reverend Waymouth died at St.Kitts in 1856 during the Great Cholera epidemic while carrying out his duties administering to his flock.
From his first marriage the Reveren Willaim T.Waymouth had the following children:
Maria Eleanor Waymouth who later married Jan Helenus Ferguson Esq. Also Elizabeth Waymouth who married Willem Bennebroek Gravenhorst Esq. A son W. J. Waymouth a sugar planter who moved to St.Thomas and then to Puerto Rico. He was also the owner of the Ebenezer estate. He died in 1927 in Puerto Rico.
From the second marriage he had a daughter Louisan (born 1854 died 26 September 1920) and a son George as well as Josiah Charles Waymouth (born August 6th, 1852 and died April 29th, 1935) at the age of 82.
At the age of ten Josiah was sent for six years to study at the Wesleyan College at Bath England (1862-1868).
From 1869-1873 Josiah after a brief stay on his native island went to Philadelphia and returned to St.Maarten in 1874. From 1878 to 1881 he was a school teacher at the Lower Princes Quarter School. Monthly salary was $ 16.67.
From 1884 to 1888 he served various times as Notary and Judge Commissary. In 1898 he taught school in the Brick Building which had been purchased in 1894 by the Methodist Community. This was the former home of his maternal grandfather the Hon. George Illidge. On March 22nd, 1895 his mother died. On October 18th, 1899 at the age of 47 he married Ada Helena Hortensia van Rijgersma aged 32.
They had the following children:
Ada Susanna Maria born October 8th, 1901. She later became a schoolteacher and married one of her Saba pupils Louis Johnson some eleven years her junior. Also
Henrietta Eloisa born May 20th, 1902. At the age of 14 on April 4th 1917 she married Johannes George Carl Every of St.Eustatius who was forty years old. He owned among others the 900 acre Brothersons sugar plantation on St.Kitts.
Anna Louisan born December 20th, 1904 and married in June 1928 to Mr. C.S. Dickson of St.Kitts.
Also a son, Charles Cornelius born October 16th, 1906 who died September 19th, 1911 at the age of four of Typhus fever which was raging at the time.
In 1906 he went to the United States and came back on May 23rd, 1911.
What Waymouth should be best remembered for is the fact that he started Sint Maarten's first newspaper. On his return from the United States in 1911 he brought with him a printing press. On Thursday June 22nd, 1911 he started his newspaper called "St.Martin Day by Day". This newspaper went on until May 1st 1920 when his printing press broke down. While he was in the United States Mr. Waymouth had learned the printing trade.
Never one to give up on May 1st 1924 he started a fortnightly 4 page quarto entitled 'New Life'. This paper lasted until November 30th, 1925 (35 issues). As he only had sixty subscribers he could not afford to continue. In the last issue of the paper he concluded: "With the last issue on November 30th of New Life (No.35) ended all grounded hope of any attendant eventful success. With the most economical yet efficient printing apparatus for turning out a four-page quarto fortnightly issue there was never at any time a subscription list of over 60 paying supporters. Continuation on such lines would have spelt madness.
"We the writer therefore concluded to discontinue the publication of any periodical and turn our thoughts in another channel which would embalm the memories of by-gone and better days and afford satisfaction to those whose own actions and those of their ancestors figured therein."
What he was alluding to was his masterpiece and Sint Maarten's first ever book written by a native namely "Memories of St.Martin N.P. 1852 -1926.
He has the following to say about the effort he put into writing this wonderful little book.
" It was on the 26th day of January in the year 1926 when the writer's sister-in-law, Miss Trintje di Tempo one of the daughters of the revered old Government Physician Elingszoon van Rygersma was paying a visit to her nieces at St.Martin, the writer's children, that the present little volume began to assume its present tangible form. Since then for a period of two years and four months, ending May 1928 with painstaking diligence the work has been pushed to completion."
It is written in colorful old English used at the time I suppose. Language such as,"St.Martin having weekly intercourse with St.Kitts." No. No. It is not what you think. What he meant was that there was a weekly schooner or sloop connection between the two islands.
The little book gives a wealth of information on the old St.Maarten families and events which took place in the years he described such as hurricanes, tidal waves, earthquakes and so on. He also refers to many of the schooners I have been writing about which belonged to Saban captains and provided the mail and passenger service between the Windward Islands and Curacao.
In 1989 when the Postal Services were honouring people who had contributed to the literature of these islands I naturally submitted his name. However despite a long search on my part no one could come up with a photograph of him. I therefore submitted the name of Mr. Steve Kruythoff who in 1938 published his book entitled The Netherlands Windward Islands. I will write more about him in a later article.
Louis Johnson the widower of Sue Waymouth was living in Florida at the time. I wrote to him as well, and to my delight he sent me a copy in perfect condition of his father-in-laws book. He told me to keep it in remembrance of him. He too did not have a photograph though. Needles to say among my large collection of books on the West Indies this book is among my greatest treasures. Years later after the Internet I got an e-mail from a man claiming to be a great-grandson of Josiah's. He said he had read in my book 'For the Love of St.Maarten.' that I had a copy of the book and since his mother was a niece of Sue Waymouth she asked if I could return it. You bet!!
The book gives a lot of the history of the Methodist Church. Whereas the church was primarily known to propagate the Gospel among the slaves in opposition to the slave owners, the church on St.Maarten developed quite differently. From the very beginning the leading white families such as the Illidge's, the Van Romondt's and the Watheys joined the Methodist church and were its biggest supporters.
He also describes the many tragedies which took place including the loss of his son-in-law. In the hurricane of August 28th, 1924 the French schooner "Verdun" was lost in a hurricane in Nevis. Fourteen people were lost. When I started to work in the Courthouse in Philipsburg in 1960 people on St.Maarten were talking about it as if it had happened the day before. That much of an impact did it have on the people.
Among those lost were, Mr. J.G.C. Every,owner of Brothersons Estate and many other businesses and properties. I have a vanity set in my bedroom which belonged to him and has his initials engraved on it.
Also lost was his brother Gilbert. As the Every's were such an important family on Statia and elsewhere I will write a separate story on that family in future.
Also lost was Mr. T.B. Vlaun the owner of the schooner. The Mayor, and also the Judge of French St.Martin, Mr. Fleming and Mr. Mundane. Also Mr. Flemings son Claude. Also Captain Deodat; The Mate Andre', four sailors Desir, Celestin, Maurice and James, a Guadeloupe cook and the carpenter Gaston Chance (eldest brother of former Minister Leo Chance).
The schooner 'Harris" was lying off Statia on the 27th, and managed to make it to Simpsonbay with cargo and 20 passengers. The schooner came ashore and was lost with all her cargo and the luggage but the passengers escaped with their lives.
Mr. Waymouth's home was located where "Va-Va" Flanders theatre was built. I can still remember it still standing. The two storey building opposite L'Escargot restaurant on the front street also belonged to Mr. Waymouth and he lived there for some time as well.
Once many years ago when I was on Statia staying at the Old Gin House I heard Mr. Lampe's voice outside. I was in a hurry to get to the airport and went out through a side door so as to avoid him. However he caught me still. He had an envelope with him and said;" I know you like all this old stuff so I brought you a copy." I thanked him and at the airport I discovered to my delight that it was a copy of St. Martin's first newspaper 'St.Martin Day by Day.'
And so we continue to try to honour those who in their unselfish work for their country and fellow humankind should never be forgotten.
Click here for a larger version of the photo.
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