The lives of members of the Greaves, Mahon and Alleyne families of Barbados, drawn from family records and research. If you can add to or correct any of these accounts, please get in touch.
1857 – 1936 · Chief Justice of Barbados
William Herbert Greaves was born in Christ Church, Barbados on 1 March 1857, to Michael Thomas Greaves and Sarah E. (Birch) Greaves. He attended Codrington College in Barbados, then received his law degree from St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, and was called to the bar at Middle Temple in 1880.
He returned to Barbados as a lawyer and was later appointed Solicitor General in 1887, Queen’s Counsel in 1889 and Attorney General of Barbados in 1896. In 1902 he was appointed Chief Justice of Barbados, a post he held for 23 years until his retirement in 1935. In 1904 he was knighted by King Edward VII.
Sir William married Millicent Josephine Mahon on 6 February 1883 at St Michael, Barbados. The couple had two children, Muriel Greaves and Michael Mahon Greaves. Sir William died on 18 December 1936 at the age of 80.
Sir William and Lady Greaves appear in the 1902 Christmas photograph at Edgehill on the Family Photos page.
1897 – 1955 · Astronomer Royal for Scotland
William Michael Herbert Greaves was born on 10 December 1897 in Barbados to Eustace Charles Greaves and Margaret Bluett (Parker) Greaves.
He attended the Lodge School and Codrington College in Barbados, then studied Mathematics at Cambridge, graduating in 1919 with an MA. In 1922 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. For the next 14 years he worked as Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. In 1938 he became Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and in 1939 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. William served as Astronomer Royal for 17 years.
William married Caroline Grace Kitto on 8 June 1926 at Westbury, Gloucestershire. The couple had one son, George Richard Herbert Greaves.
William died on 24 December 1955 at Edinburgh, Scotland.
1884 – 1971 · First woman in the Barbados Parliament
Muriel Greaves was born on 3 October 1884 at St Michael, Barbados, to Sir William Herbert Greaves and Millicent Josephine (Mahon) Greaves.
She attended Queen’s College in Barbados, then Newnham College, Cambridge, where she earned a BA degree in Mathematics. After Cambridge she returned to Barbados, where she carried out social work. In 1921 she co-founded the Child Welfare Society, serving as Secretary and later as President. She served on the Board of Governors of the St Michael School from 1928 to 1945.
In 1949 Muriel was appointed to the Legislative Council, becoming the first woman in the Barbados Parliament. She was a member for 5 years.
Muriel was awarded the MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List in 1928.
Muriel married Albert James Hanschell on 2 May 1912. The couple had two sons, Albert John and William Henry.
Muriel died on 28 May 1971 at St Michael, Barbados, and is buried at Westbury Cemetery, Bridgetown, Barbados, along with her husband and parents.