Mary Jane Dillon
The matriarch of the Campbell, Clarke, & Benjamin families is the late Mary Jane Dillon, affectionately known as Wea-Wea. Born in Garden Castle District of Llandewey, St. Thomas Jamaica in 1886, Wea-Wea resided in this community and married Jeremiah (Man Man) Benjamin, a tea meeting man (told stories and read the Bible and hymns when someone died)
Wea-Wea had 8 children: Hylton, Felix (Mahga mouth) , Marcus , twins Alphonso (Fonso/Pantan) and Estrana, Wilberforce (Joe), Emerson (Likkle Man/Benji) , and Nelson.
Wea-Wea was a woman of part African and Indian ancestry. Nelson described her as a “churchly woman” who ensured her children went to Sunday school. A firm believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, she was an active member of Garden Castle Baptist Church where she attended church on Sundays and prayer meetings on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday nights. Her grandchildren remember how she encouraged them to individually say their bedtime prayers after which she followed with a closing prayer. She especially loved to sing hymns
Physically she is described as “nice-looking,” slim, and approximately 5’6’’ tall; a neat and clean dresser who often combed her hair in plats with a “tie-head” over it.
She was a cultivator, higler, and homemaker. She cultivated crops in the fields and mountain and walked 17 miles between Llandewey and Kingston market to sell on Fridays and Saturdays. She loved to cook and was known to make the best coconut run-down with green bananas and dumplings, roasted breadfruit, cornmeal porridge sweetened with coconut milk, gungo peas soup, and janga soup. Meals were often prepared in huge pots after which she would “share out” for everyone. Hard-dough bread was among her favorite.
Although limited in means, she was rich in character. Words such as loving, sharing, lived good with her neighbors, peacemaker, non-critical, and blessed are used to describe her. She was quiet, however, no nonsense in character – a strict disciplinarian who “didn’t put up with foolishness.” Tidy and orderly, she often swept “top yard” – her home was symbolically called.
One Sunday in 1958, Wea-Wea became ill while attending church. Having long suffered with high blood pressure, she died the following Sunday at age 72
The life of Mary Benjamin is being celebrated during this family reunion weekend. However, her legacy of goodwill and religious faith continues to live on in the lives of many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, and even great great great-grandchildren