Hello Paul:

Thank you for alerting us to your novel "Ancestors." I read several of your articles about your family history and was struck by the name of "Crook." The "Crooke" name is also found in West Florida.

Considering the time frame and era that you've documented, perhaps there is a possible link to families in West Florida. During the second Spanish interlude in the Floridas, (1780's to 1821) the region including parts of the Caribbean was dominated by the Scottish traders, Panton Leslie, Forbes and Innerarity. Their alliances and intrigues with the British and the Spanish are legendary. There is a strong presence of the Innerarity family in Jamaica. The Scottish traders also had a base in the Bahamas. You can find a searchable database on the Panton Leslie Papers at the Univ. of Florida.

I'll make sure to forward your link to Cynthia Rosiers (Innerarity). She has visited the archives in Jamaica and successfully found records on her family.

So you can see why your Crook(e) name is intriguing.

Regards,

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