A History of Elections in the Cayman Islands
[Researched at the National Archives]
According to our records the first formal type of elected Government was first introduced in December 1831. However, prior to this the Islands were administered by a number of Magistrates and Senior Magistrates, and some times even by a Custos, appointed by the Governor of Jamaica. This system of Government worked well while the population remained relatively small but as the population increased a number of problems were experienced
By at least 1823, the Chief Magistrate, James Coe Sr., and the other “Magistrates and principal inhabitants” of Grand Cayman apparently felt they needed a more formal system of lawmaking and set of laws. Accordingly, they asked for and got commissions for several more Magistrates from Governor Lord Manchester.
Then on 13 December 1823, the Magistrates and “principal inhabitants” held a meeting at William Eden’s residence at Pedro St. James. Their first decision was to lease the Pedro property from William Eden for £5. 6s. 8d a year. It would be used as an animal pound, court-house, and jail, with a daily payment of 2s. 11d authorized whenever there was a prisoner.
Other laws were passed at this time, which dealt with roaming livestock, duties on dry goods, provisions, liquor, or any kind of merchandize sold by any non-inhabitant. Another law, which prohibited the sale of liquors, wines, by any slave, was also passed at this time.
Pedro St. James continued to be the seat of Government, with regular meeting held at this location. On 5th December 1831 a meeting was held at Pedro St. James to form a proper legislative assembly with representatives and Magistrates from each district appointed.- forming as it were two houses in imitation of the Council and Assembly of Jamaica.
On 10th December 1831, 2 representatives of each were “elected” for the districts of West Bay, George Town, South West Sound, Prospect, and Bodden Town the method of election is not known. These ten representatives later referred to as the “Vestry” assembled for the first time on 31st December 1831 in George Town, and met again on 2nd January 1832. The eight Magistrates met at the same time but in a different room carefully preserving the classic British form of a bicameral legislature. No law was “deemed valid” until it had received the assent of both houses.
The names of the Magistrates & Representatives at the 1832 meeting were:
January 1832
Magistrates
John Drayton
Robert Stephen Watler
Waide W. Bodden
John S. Jackson
James Coe Jr.
Abraham O Feurtado
Elin J. Parsons
Nathaniel Glover
Vestrymen
George W. Wood
James Wood
James Coe Snr.
W. Eden Jr.
John Goodhew
James Parsons Snr.
William James Bodden
Howard Lindsay Thompson
Samuel Parsons
William Bodden
The following is a summary of subsequent elections results.
1839
George Town
Wm. James Bodden
Thomas S Thompson
Wm. A. Thompson
James E. Parsons
Bodden Town
Richard Carter
Thomas Greenwood
George McCoy
John B. Wood
J. D. Watler
Joseph Bodden Jr.
P. McLaughlin
Spotts & Prospect
James S. Jackson
William R. Bodden
Tabulon Farrell
South Sound
Shin Parsons
John Goodhew
West Bay
William Brown
D. J. S. Bodden
Records not found for some years between, further research may reveal these records.
12TH AUGUST 1909 Meeting George Town, Court House
George S. S. Hirst MBE Commissioner
Justices of the Peace
Edmund Parsons
William M. Coe
W. C. Watler
A. Crighton
William Farrington
R. Coe Wood
J. S. Webster
Vestrymen
George Town
Rev. R. C. Young
A. J. Roberts
C. J. H. Goring
Thomas Coe
Malcolm McTaggart
Prospect
T. P. Thompson
J. D. Watler
Bodden Town
Nunes Stewart
William. L. Powell
Hy. H. Thompson
William L. Bodden
E. J. Lyon
West Bay
Philip Ebanks
J. T. Ebanks
Hubert L. Ebanks
North Side
Thomas Rankine
At another meeting on 16th Septemebr 1909 held at the Commissioner’s Residence in George Town,.the following persons attended:
Justices of the Peace
E. Parsons
William M. Coe
A. E. Panton
W. Farrington
A. Crighton
M. McTaggart
J. S. Webster
Vestrymen
George Town
Rev. R. C. Young
A. J. Roberts
Malcolm McTaggart
Prospect
D. V. Thompson
J. D. Watler
Bodden Town
W. L. Powell
E. J. Lyon
H. H. Thompson
N. Stewart
Wm. L. Bodden
East End
R. C. Kennedy
West Bay
J. T. Ebanks
H. L. Ebanks
North Side
J. Miller
These two meetings were held only a few weeks apart, and the records show that some member were present at both meetings while some were absent for one. The names in attendance show names that do not appear before this [Please note the name of the East End Vestryman]. We do not know when these members were elected. At yet another meeting the following year the records show a different group of Vestrymen representing the different districts, although some of the same persons remain. The list of persons attending this meeting are:
Justices of the Peace
F. Parsons
G. Alexander Crighton
H. Robert Coe Wood
William Conwell Watler
I. S/ Webster
Vestrymen
George Town
Malcolm McTaggart
Thomas Coe
C.J. H. Goring
H. Orrin Merren
J. J. Byrd
Prospect
Denham C. Bush
James Darling Watler
James C. Crighton
Robert Crighton
Bodden Town
H. H. Thompson
Nunes Stewart
Samuel Elmslie Watler
J. S. Bodden
Richard P. Bodden
East End
Gilbert McLaughlin
Anthony Conolly
West Bay
W. J. Bodden
Hubert L. Bodden
North Side
Benjamin Ebanks
1911
During a meeting in 1911 George Town Vestryman, C. J. H. Goring quoted the writer Wm. Shakespeare. The Commissioner, not being a Shakespeare scholar did not understand the meaning of what was said, recessed the house to do research on the particular passage of Shakespeare before reconvening the sitting again later.
1922
In 1922 an Election was held but the records of the results are not complete. These to be added after later research.
1932
The results of the 1932 Elections are more complete. Records show that the Elections took place on different dates of the same month of August, in different Districts. The results were as follows:
George Town
Cuthbert Heath Bodden
James Ashford Panton
Charles Joseph Henry Goring
Henry Orren Merren Jr.
Austin Seymour
Bodden Town
Logan Bodden
Willie T. Bodden
Rev.S. F. Douse
Emile P. Watler
Bunyan Watler
East End
Ennis McLaughlin
Wilfred Conolly
Anthony Conolly
North Side
William Wilbanks Miller
Earnest Ebanks
West Bay
Thomas W. Farrington
Samuel M. Farrington
Thomas A. Ebanks
Lesser Islands (Cayman Brac & Little Cayman)
Edwin Walton
Robert Leitch
Robert C. Foster
Edward H. Foster
An Election was held in August 1948 which was noteworthy. Polling was held in the different districts starting from the 10th August. The first Poll was held in George Town on the 10th August which ended in a tie between two candidates H. M. Coe and another candidate, which made it impossible to declare 5 candidates for George Town, this resulted in a By-Election for George Town, ordered for 14th August. The By-Election, however, ended in a tie again between H. M. Coe and A. Berkley Bush resulting in another By-Election being ordered for the 19th August.
At this point Mr. H. M. Coe wrote a strong letter to the Commissioner expressing his feelings that it seemed impossible to have three elections with two candidates tied three times. He suggested the possibility of tampering, and called for an investigation.
The new By-Election was held on the 19th August, this time with definitive results. The results of the whole Island Elections are listed below for easy reference.
Lesser Islands (Cayman Brac & Little Cayman)
Edwin Adolphus Carter
Charles Gerald Kirkconnell
Keith Parker Tibbetts
Robert Clifton Foster
Prospect
Selwyn Eden
Emmis Forbes
Andrew Bush
Bodden Town
John Bodden
Henry McCoy
Alfred Biddle Bodden
William Benjamin McCoy
John Bunyan Watler
East End
Theophilus Bodden
Lincoln Bodden
Joseph McLean
North Side
Cromwell Ebanks
Bunyan Whittaker
West Bay
Edison McNee Ebanks
J. Stafford Ebanks
Charles Garfield Farrington
J. Prentice Powell
James Cadian Ebanks
George Town
Roy Edison McTaggart
Ormond Lauder Panton
Edgar Ducan Merren
Allen Berkley Bush
Hugh Malcolm Coe
Also during the 1948 Elections a letter was received by the Commissioner from a group of women in George Town, expressing their right to vote and run for Election. Up until this time, women did not vote though there seemed to have been no law prohibiting women from voting. We find no reply to this letter but the matter was raised again in 1956 and finally was settled in 1959. For more details of this women’s campaign please see “Founded upon the Seas”, History of the Cayman Islands Chap. 14
This letter started a controversy, which lasted until 1959 when women finally got the right to vote and run for office. [See complete history in “Founded Upon the Seas”
1956 Elections
Lesser Islands
Keith Parker Tibbetts
Arnold Atherline Foster
Robert Clifton Foster
Charles Gerald Kirkconnell
West Bay
Spurgeon A. Ebanks
J. Stafford Banks
J. Garston Smith
Owen Farrington
James C. Ebanks
George Town
Ormond L. Panton
Edgar Ducan Merren
William Wallace Bodden
Hugh Malcolm Coe
Allen Berkley Bush
North Side
Kenneth Chisholm
Olney Ebanks
East End
W. Allen McLaughlin
N. Rudolph McLaughlin
Lincoln Bodden
Bodden Town
A. Biddle Bodden
Rev. George H. Ricketts
James Berry
Harold Stewart
William B. McCoy
Prospect
Lindberg Eden
Lawrence Thompson
Carl Thompson
In 1959 the Cayman Islands were granted their first Constitution and Universal Sufferage, the Assembly changed from the Assembly of Vestry to the Legislative Assembly and twelve members were elected, there were also three Official Members, and three Nominated Members.
Excerpt from speech made by His Excellency the Governor on 2nd October ,1959 from the Secretary of State for the Colonies on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom.
“ … The first meeting of the Legislative Assembly fort the Cayman Islands under the new Constitution provided for by Order made by Her Majesty the Queen in Council on the 13th of May, 1959 … You have today a Legislative Assembly to which twelve members have been elected for the first time on the basis of universal adult sufferage.”
-Address by His Excellency the Governor to Legislative Assembly for the Cayman Islands.
The new Legislative Assembly was comprised of the following:
President Major A. H. Donald O.B.E. Administrator
Official Members
Hon. James Rufus Astwood
Hon. Earnest Ottey Panton M. H. E. JP
Desmond Vere Watler , J. P.
Nominated Members
Emmis Mortimer Forbes, J.P.
Hon. Capt. Theophilus Rearie Bodden
William Warren Conolly
Elected Members
West Bay
Arthur H. Ebanks
J. Cadian Ebanks
Hon. T. William Farrington
George Town
Dr. Roy E. McTaggart
E. Ducan Merren
A. Colin Panton
Lesser Islands
Noland B. Foster
Keith P. Tibbetts
Bodden Town
Malcolm Eden
James A. Miller
East End
Hon. Wm. Allen McLaughlin
North Side
Craddock Ebanks
Executive Council
Hon. Major A. H. Donald O.B.E. Administrator
Official Members
Hon. James Rufus Astwood
Hon. Ernest Ottey Panton M.B.E. J.P.
Nominated Members
Hon. Capt, Theophilus Rearie Bodden
Elected Members
Hon. T. William Farrington
Hon. William Allen McLaughlin
The 1959 Elections was a turning point for the Elections Process in the Cayman Islands as the women finally had a voice and were able to run for Elections, and hold Office. This move came at a pivotal time in the Islands development, as a large percentage of the men were away at sea and were not available to fill many key posts.
During the early 1960’s a move to establish a West Indies Federation of the British Colonies in the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands took a stand against joining the Federation which would have led to political changes for the Cayman Islands. This controversy lasted almost two years and ended with the Federation being scrapped, Jamaica moving into independence, and the Cayman Islands reverting to full colony status.
The next change to the Constitution came in 1972 as a result of select committees appointed by the Legislative assembly in 1966, 67, and 69 but nothing was achieved until 1972. In June 1970 the Earl of Oxford and Asquith was appointed by the Commonwealth Office to examine the situation and make recommendations. He arrived in January the next year and met with the people in the Cayman Islands. It was soon realized that the people wanted very little changes and certainly no significant constitutional advancements. In the end the new constitution came into force on 22nd August, 1972.It made some significant changes but stopped short of full self government. One of the changes introduced a “Member” and “Portfolio” system of governing for the first time instead of a full Ministerial Government. The 1972 Constitution established the qualifications for being a “Caymanian” and the criteria for voting and running for Political Office.
For more go to:
http://www.electionsoffice.ky/cms/index.php/general-information/62-a-brief-history-of-elections-in-the-cayman-islands
See today’s iNews Cayman for Editorial “It is your right and duty to vote”
this is very cool. i cant believe i found this article. almost every person on the list for cayman islands is my ancestors. i’m a Chisholm. my 3 rd great grandfather and his brothers and cousins. Abraham feurtado, Kenneth chisholm from the north side where the Chisholm‘s are from. The buildings Watler persons all them names are in my dna . and i also know for a fact who my ancestors were. i love this . thank you for who ever had this info.