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Distribution of Dividends From a Distant Past: 1930s: From Jamaica Gleaner, July 22, 2015
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Dividends
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Vestiges of Family Entrepreneurship
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The patriarchal and more flamboyant male elements of the extended family have left evidence of some of their business ventures above, dating from the 1930s and the 1960s. Women of the families were sometimes left with the quiet task of compensating for the social misadventures and indiscretions of the males of the tribe.
The real and abiding dividends to the tribe are not the inadvertent accumulation of economic value over time of investments made in the past, but is, of course, the rich harvest of people who have lived within the nurturing embrace of our extended families and have transmitted human values to succeeding generations and thereby enriched the world by their presence.
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A Gallery of Some Human Dividends
Accruing to the tribe from
Past investments
Of DNA
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- John Girvan (1798-1878)
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- Margaret, Thomas Henderson and William Girvan, Children of Thomas #2 1838-1886 and Mary Ann Girvan
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- John Thomas (Jack) Girvan, (1828-1892) and Jane Ann Thom (1831-1872)
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- Mary Girvan, Daughter of John (Jack) and Jane Ann Thom
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- David Thom Girvan
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- Josephine Girvan
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- David Thom McWhinney Girvan
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- Thom Girvan (left) and Gaston Girvan, Two sons of David and Josephine Girvan
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- Family Gathering circa 1947, Kingston, Jamaica
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- Family Gathering, New Year’s Day, 1947?
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- Undifferentiated Mass of Pickney, Cousins and Siblings, 1947?
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- Wedding of Beryl Girvan to Herbert Crosbie, Kingston Ja. 1948
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- Linnette and Alan Cooke
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- The Sisters Girvan: Left to Right, Gloria, Linnette, Beryl and Edna
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- Daughters of David and Josephine Girvan: These sisters left us a legacy of sibling love seldom witnessed over such long life spans. They left us a legacy of cousin bonding which is deeply rooted in the psyche of the descendants of Thom, Edna, Beryl, Linnette, John and Gloria Girvan.
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- Top left to right: Cecil and Edna Dewdney, John Girvan, Beryl Girvan Crosbie. Thom Girvan, Allan Cooke: Bottom, left to right Gloria Girvan Akin, Linnette Cooke, Rita Girvan, 1959
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- Family Party: Some Male Cousins: Dewdneys, Girvans, Cookes, 1988 at Dew Farms
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- Family Party, 1988: Aunt Edna, Aunt Linnette, Jean at Dew Farms
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- Akins and Girvans: Dining Cousins: Vancouver 2005
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- Seated left to right: Tal Dungie, June Girvan, David Girvan, Thom Dewdney: Standing left to right: Allister Cooke, Trevor Dewdney, Garry Girvan, Norman, Louis Girvan, Aston Boothe
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- Cousins and Siblings Laughing at You.
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- Cousins at Allister and Jean’s, 2008: Cousins Socializing
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- Nakita and June and Alister
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- Dudley, Norman and Louis: Visiting Cousins in England
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- Cousins Hanging out, Ben, Reina and Kieran
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- Table Full of Cousins: Jorgensens, Feldman Kiss, Macdonalds, Girvans, Randalls
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- 50th anniversary, 2014
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- Victoria, B.C., Deanne, Anita, Jasmine, Norman, Robert Randall, Reina and Kieran, June 2013
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- Honouring Norman at U WI, 2009
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- Family Party, 1988: Lisbeth, Aunt Edna, Aunt Linnette, Derrick
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- Kirsten, Nichola and baby Allison
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- Thom and Rita Girvan and Sons David, Robert and Norman, Daughter Margaret
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- Dewdneys and a Feldman-Kiss
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- Front row left to right, Emily, Kathie, Lauren, Back row L to R :Julie, Garry, Deanne and Taylor, Vancouver, 2006
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- Taylor, Ryley, Leighton, Nikki: Back Row, L to R: Garry, Deanne,Emily, Kathie, Lauren, Julie and Richard, 2006
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- Akins and Company, Ltd. Minus Richard, 2006
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- The Day Dunoon Road was Displaced to Vancouver Island: Trevor, Garry and Thom: Aging Cousins
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- Emily, Lauren and Taylor, Vancouver Island, 2006
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- Nikki and Ryley at Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, Bc
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- Allison and Duncan, British Columbia connection (Dunie)
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- Alex and Norman in Alberta, Canada with Rhea, Samantha and Ben, Norman’s Grand Niece and Grand Nephew
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- Reina, Duncan and Kieran
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- Jasmine and Norman, Victoria, B.C. 2013
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- Allison, Don and Gabriel
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- Duncan, Gabriel, Kieran and Reina, British Columbia connection
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- Maya Grace Akin Born 2014
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- Memorial to Alan and Linnette Cooke
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- Memorial to Gaston Girvan
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- Norman looks at headstone for David Thom Girvan and Rita Dolores Girvan, his parents
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- Passing the torch from a past generation to the present and the future
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- Batik: Woman and Man Harvesting: Anonymous African Ancestors: See post scriptum below.
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Post Scriptum: The Batik of the woman and man harvesting in the gallery above, although a somewhat clumsy, gratuitous and potentially patronizing attempt to state the obvious, is a necessary symbolic acknowledgement of the richness of our genetic heritage. Genealogical research has confirmed with some precision the particular European parts of our heritage, but the African parts remain locked into the cruel anonymity of the slave trade. Unfortunately empty symbolic gestures must suffice.
So were you able to determine if those dividends belonged to your family?
Michael K. Blanchard, M.B.A.
Yes indeed Michael. The first of the documents makes reference to my father, Gaston Girvan and the second was issued to me by my uncle John Thom McKinley Girvan. The dividends are more symbolic than real. They have no real, tangible financial value. Nice to hear from you. Best wishes to you and the Henry family.
Garry G.
Here’s to the kids of dividends that count! Having recently finished my doctoral degree and having the blessing of a visiting faculty position at Bucknell University, I have been humbly reminded of the “Dr. Girvan,” whose reputation as an engaged intellectual and social justice advocate is far-reaching. I was asked by Dr. Linden Lewis — the Caribbean-American scholar and Dean of Social Sciences at Bucknell — whether I was related to ‘the’ Norman Girvan. Norman’s work and generosity had evidently had an impact on this fellow scholar-activist. Uncle Norman, thank you for your demonstration that scholarly work needs to be engaged with transforming the real world. These dividends of valuing and working towards fair and just relations in the world have also come from my parents, Deanne and Garry and my Aunt June, all positive change agents in their own right.
Editors note: That’s my girl. the third Dr. Girvan, as far as we know.
Hello,
I am a Delevante descended from Josephine Delevante Girvan and her father Abraham Delevante. How can I get in touch with you.
Thanks
Hello,
Here is my email address: My name is Garry Girvan, I am delighted to hear from you. Josephine Girvan occupies a revered place in the memory of a couple of generations of Caribbean Girvans. She remains an icon even 60 years after her death in our family’s stories. Please report anything which may shed light on her genealogical origins. We are hungry to learn about the person who wears an almost saintly mantle in the extended family of the Girvans of Jamaica and their descendants in the U.S,, Canada, and Panama.