When Rosa Ann Watt DNA994 was born on October 1, 1871, in Manchester, Jamaica.  Her father, Henry Watt was 36 and her mother, Catherine Smikle, was 21. She married Charles Benjamin Sewell on February 20, 1901, in Jamaica. They had ten children in 29 years. She died on October 26, 1950, in Davyton, Manchester, Jamaica, at the age of 79.

 

Life in Jamaica in 1871

Manchester is a rural parish in south‑central Jamaica; and in the 1871 census was under British colonial rule.

Population consisted of an Afro‑Jamaican majority; smaller groups of mixed heritage, white planters, free peasants, an emerging Chinese population and other migrants.

Births occurred mainly at home; with limited hospital access, and often only in towns like Mandeville, the capital of the parish. Midwifery was largely informal; skills passed down through older women, with no state training.

Many families combined Anglican, Baptist, or Moravian religious teachings with African‑derived customs. Birth support was often by female kin and local “nurse” or midwife. Use of herbal remedies are documented in medical and missionary reports; examples include teas for pain and cleansing. Protective rituals, charms, and prayer were used around labor and newborn care, though details varied by community.

British law shaped registration and legitimacy, but many rural births went unrecorded. Poor and formerly enslaved people relied on community networks, while wealthier families could hire doctors. Christian baptism or dedication commonly followed birth; some also retained African naming patterns.

Records show little formal recognition of disabilities, but families often adapted care within their household resources.

Siblings of Rosa Ann Watt

1877-1931  Jestina Watt (Morgan)

1878                   Elizabeth Watt

1880-1961         Catharine Adina Watt (Gibson)

1882                   Female

1883                   Female

1886                   Henry Joseph Watt

1886                   George Watt

1888-1954         Theophilus James Watt

1893                   Eustine Watt

1893-1974         John Eliazar Watt

Marriage

Rosa Ann Watt married Charles Benjamin Sewell on February 20, 1901 at the Davyton Union Church. Their witnesses were Joseph Waugh.

The first Generation Sewell Offspring /Children of Rosa Ann Watt (Sewell)

1888-1963         Cyril Alexander Sewell

1894-1920         John Sewell

1899-1999         Estella Sewell

1901-1986         Sarah Ann Sewell (Murray)

1904-1942         Nelvena Sewell

1906-1983         Mae Sewell

1908-1992         Charles Sewell

1911-1995         Josephine Theodora Sewell

1915-2011         Beryl. Isolene Sewell (Ellington)

1918-1947         Inez Roselina Sewell

The Second Generation Sewell Offsprings/Grandchildren of Rosa Ann Watt (Sewell) and Charles Benjamin Sewell

1928-2009         Alvin Sewell

1934-1934         Tex George Sewell

1934-2017         Rosebelle Blackburn (Lemond)

1937-1950         Maizreth Sewell

1937-2010         Octavius Sewell            

1940                  Zeronie N Grant

1940                  Joe Marconi Sewell

1940                  Ervin Burrell

1945-2014         Hazel Sewell

1966-2026         Paul Sewell

The Third Generation Sewell Offsprings/Great-Grandchildren of Rosa Ann Watt (Sewell) and Charles Benjamin Sewell

1958                             Assad Waugh

1959                                         Denise Kennedy-Hamilton

1961                                         Keele Sewell

1961                                         Wayne Lewis-Hutchinson (Calizaire)

1963                                         Slade Small

1966                                         Ray Sewell

1965                                         Althea Josephine Sewell (Gayle)

1966                                         Marion Sewell (Boyd)

1967                                         Stacey Sewell

1968                                         Nafeesa Sewell (Strickland)

1969                                         Ervin F. Burrell Jr.

1970                                         Ann-Marie Lemond (Hume)

1972                                         Renee Lemond

1972-2016                           Ravazian Burrell

1983                                         Bettina Burrell

1974                                         Sanzea Styles

1978                                         Clealla Williams

1980                                         Shauna Johnson (Malcolm)

1980                                         Peter Johnson

1980                                         Petuna Sewell

1981                                         Cynthia Sewell

The Fourth Generation Sewell Offsprings/Great-Great Grandchildren of Rosa Ann Watt (Sewell) and Charles Benjamin Sewell

1986                                         Sajari Hume

1988                                         Matthew L. Hutchinson

1995                                         Kira L. Hutchinson

1995                                         Salim  (Zulu) Lemond

1997                                         Nandy Boyd

1998                                         Amari Boyd

1998                                         Simon Boyd

2000                                         John Mark Boyd

2000                                         Bijon Hume

2002                                         Christopher Boyd

2002                                         Zaid Hume

2002                                         Ervin F. Burrell III

2004                                         Sabrina Malcolm

2005                                         Immanuel  Boyd

2008                                         Mason Eskew

2010                                         Aniyah Burrell

2012                                         Sean-Trace Malcolm

2016                                         Serena Malcom

The Fifth Generation Sewell Offsprings/Great -Great-Great Grandchildren of Rosa Ann Watt (Sewell) and Charles Benjamin Sewell

2022                                         Eleanor Lily Hutchinson

2024                                         Kobe L. Hutchinson