in the 1860s and '70s:
the Drs Beckett
It appears that three dentists named Beckett, from Canada it seems,
may have been in Jamaica in the 1860s and '70s, possibly brothers -
John, James (J C?) and William. So far I do not have much information
on them, but - we keep looking.
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Dr John Beckett
'Canadian doctor John Beckett in Kingston during the winter of 1861-1862. . .'
John Rapier arrived in Kingston in mid-April 1861; he wrote -
'. . . I met a Dr Beckett from Canada, who has been humbugging the Kingstonians to the tune of $200 per week for the past 3 months under the guise of a dentist . . .'
It seems that later in the year Beckett thought of going to South America, but changed his mind and stayed in Kingston. Apparently Dr Beckett was at the time involved with the bankruptcy problems of one of his brothers in Canada.
This is all the information I have at
present on Dr John Beckett, and it is not
even certain which brother the item below
refers to.
Daily Gleaner, September 13, 1867
Passengers Arrived
In the Caribbean, from Colon:
– Dr. Beckett
latest references to Dr John Beckett:
Daily Gleaner, March 11, 1886
Died
At the residence of M. D. Mynott, No. 47
Beeston Street, at 9 o’clock last night, Mrs.
John Beckett, wife of the late Dr. John
Beckett.
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Dr William Beckett
Dr William was probably in Jamaica from around
1860. Apart from his dental practice, he seems to
have had other business interests, one apparently
being a steam boat, the Pearl, which he ran as a
pleasure craft in Kingston harbour.
Dr Beckett was also involved in some
business activity with Dr Forbes
McBean Chevers of Manchester in the
summer of 1866.
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Dr William Beckett's wife, Margaret, was born in Richmond, Ontario, in 1842. She spent about 15 years of her life with her first husband in Kingston, Jamaica. At least one of their children, Alex William, was born here about 1863. She died in Ottawa on February 19, 1920.
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Dr James C Beckett
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