How many teenage boys teach scripture in their spare time?
Sociologist Dr Susan Craig-James posed this question on July 3, to the congregation of the St Michael’s Anglican Church, Whim, Tobago, as she reflected on the life of Norman Mc Neil, a former slave who did not allow his harrowing circumstances to prevent him from uplifting his people through education and spirituality.
Mc Neil was the first headmaster of the former Whim Estate Primary School and a towering figure in the development of the Anglican church in the village and later, Scarborough.
His legacy was celebrated with the unveiling of a plaque at the church, which was presided over by Anglican Bishop Claude Berkley and members of the Norman Mc Neil Family Foundation under the theme, People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice and Development.
A similar exercise was carried out at the Scarborough Anglican Church later that day.
The foundation was established about 18 months ago to not only recognise Mc Neil’s contribution but to continue in his vein by providing resources and opportunities to the residents of Whim and the wider Tobago community.
Some of Mc Neil’s descendants include retired head of the public service Reginald Dumas (great grandson); Mervyn O’Neil (great-great grandson); Rev Dr Roma Hewitt ( great-great granddaughter); and Dr Ryan Allard (great-great grandson).
[caption id="attachment_964239" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Kendra Murray performs a dance on behalf of the Whim community at the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in honour of Norman Mc Neil-The Venerable at Whim Anglican Church, Tobago on July 3. - David Reid[/caption]
Craig-James, who played an integral role in researching Mc Neil’s life, told the gathering via Zoom that research on the late catechist and educator is still ongoing but he “left us neither photograph nor cenotaph.
“However, with the labour of his hands, he wrote an autograph to all generations that so much can be achieved by those who have very little,” she said.
Craig-James said Mc Neil was born on the Dunvegan Estate, Whim, on July 3, 1821, to a mulatto woman named Catherine, 25, and a white father.
Mc Neil had at least 12 known children and was twice married. He died December 5, 1897 at the age of 76. His remains are buried in the Whim Anglican Church cemetery.
Called a “mestee,” the term given in Tobago to one whose parents were mulatto and white, Craig-James said Mc Neil was just 13 when slavery was abolished on August 1, 1834.
Research showed he was a domestic and jobber – people hired to work for others.
Craig-James, alluding to a Trinidad Guardian report on January 30, 1927, said Mc Neil “rose to be the butler at the Whim Great House.”
She said it is very likely that Mc Neil lived on the Whim estate when he was hired there.
“That would explain how he learned to read, if not write.”
Craig-James said opportunities for reading at the time were many on Whim estate as the Moravian missionaries taught there from 1827, at least twice a month. And the estate itself st
