Stuart Kendall

Stuart Kendall was the son of freed slaves from Jamaica, Elijah and Helen, who adopted the surname of their former master, Sir Hugh Kendall. Sir Hugh, formerly of Bristol, England, was considered an enlightened gentleman for his day and who abhorred what was known as the West Indies, leading to release a number of slaves before economic hardship and threats from his creditors required retrenchment.

The Kendalls and their son arrived in Isselmere-Nieland in the eighteenth-century along with a consignment of rum, molasses, and tobacco from England's American colonies. Despite knowing how to read, write, and to keep accounts, both Elijah and Helen had to find employment as servants. Their employer, the Marquess of Tueslynn, was, however, quick to spot the cleverness of the couple's young boy, whom he had privately tutored.