I was told by my parents that one of my ancestors owned a tea plantation on the Island of Ceylon. I never queried this fact until it was too late and there was nobody alive who I could ask for more detail. As usual, there was a smattering of truth in the 'fact' in that my grandfather may well have worked as a tea planter on the island, evidenced by the fact he was described as having the occupation of being a "Planter (Ceylon)" in his WW1 service record.
However, by the time I found out that I probably didn't have a slave owner as an ancestor, I had researched George Bird (photo on the left) who was said to be the father of coffee (not tea) in Ceylon and a pioneer who opened and owned a number of plantations on the island. Interestingly he was said to be the first to use Tamil labourers from southern India in 1828 to clear jungle, build railways and roads to create the infrastructure needed for his plantations as the local labour force were not willing to carry out the hard work needed.
Sadly, as with most pioneers, it was those who came after him as tea planters who made their fortune and George died in 1857, aged 67, in Kandy, Ceylon.
I had for a while wondered if George was one of our line of Bird's but it now seems that if there ever was a connection, it must have been way back in the dim and distant mists of time.
However, by the time I found out that I probably didn't have a slave owner as an ancestor, I had researched George Bird (photo on the left) who was said to be the father of coffee (not tea) in Ceylon and a pioneer who opened and owned a number of plantations on the island. Interestingly he was said to be the first to use Tamil labourers from southern India in 1828 to clear jungle, build railways and roads to create the infrastructure needed for his plantations as the local labour force were not willing to carry out the hard work needed.
Sadly, as with most pioneers, it was those who came after him as tea planters who made their fortune and George died in 1857, aged 67, in Kandy, Ceylon.
I had for a while wondered if George was one of our line of Bird's but it now seems that if there ever was a connection, it must have been way back in the dim and distant mists of time.
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