Barton Kirkconnell was a dynamic member of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) during his years in Jamaica and served on the managing committee of the 11th administration in the 1970s. He was a trailblazer in the development of Jamaica's shipping industry and his penchant for excellence helped to make the Port of Kingston what it is today - one of the world's finest.
Barton was born in Cayman Brac, a member of a 'maritime family' of ship owners, shipping agents and ship captains. He moved to Jamaica in his boyhood years to attend Munro College and later worked as a salesman in the marketing department of Adolph Levy and Bros before being invited by Ernest Johnston to join Jamaica Fruit & Shipping (JFS) in 1957.
It was while he was managing director of JFS in 1959, that Ernest Johnston, then president of the SAJ, proposed to the Kirkconnells that they form a 50/50 partnership to operate a shipping service from Miami.
JFS paid £7,000 and the Kirkconnells provided the MV Kirkdale on charter. The vessel took Jamaican cement to The Bahamas, then went to Miami where it loaded cargo for Jamaica, providing a fortnightly service.
The Kirkdale was later replaced by the MV Jamaica Provider, built by Sir Roland Symonette, which was renamed the MV Kirk Express, and the joint venture was registered as the Kirk Line, one of the major lines serving the Port of Kingston. In the 1970s, the Kirk Challenger joined the Kirk Express and by 1980 Kirk Line added the Miami-Montego Bay route to the busy Miami-Kingston route.
In 1976, Barton Kirkconnell and Ernest Johnston grasped the opportunity presented by Alcan's closure of Sprostons, to form Jamaica Freight and Shipping, a subsidiary of JFS, that would undertake operations as port and shipping agents for that bauxite company. It was in 1978, that Barton Kirkconnell passed the baton of JFS managing director to Charles Johnston, but he continued to oversee operations of Kirk Line until 1988 when the Kirkconnells sold their 50 per cent share to United States interests.
He was a man of both vision and action, and was instrumental in building and strengthening Jamaica's trade linkages with other countries of the Caribbean and beyond. Under his management, Kirk Line became a major catalyst of growth for the Port of Kingston and the Port of Miami.
(Adapted from article in Jamaica Gleaner)
Barton was born in Cayman Brac, a member of a 'maritime family' of ship owners, shipping agents and ship captains. He moved to Jamaica in his boyhood years to attend Munro College and later worked as a salesman in the marketing department of Adolph Levy and Bros before being invited by Ernest Johnston to join Jamaica Fruit & Shipping (JFS) in 1957.
It was while he was managing director of JFS in 1959, that Ernest Johnston, then president of the SAJ, proposed to the Kirkconnells that they form a 50/50 partnership to operate a shipping service from Miami.
JFS paid £7,000 and the Kirkconnells provided the MV Kirkdale on charter. The vessel took Jamaican cement to The Bahamas, then went to Miami where it loaded cargo for Jamaica, providing a fortnightly service.
The Kirkdale was later replaced by the MV Jamaica Provider, built by Sir Roland Symonette, which was renamed the MV Kirk Express, and the joint venture was registered as the Kirk Line, one of the major lines serving the Port of Kingston. In the 1970s, the Kirk Challenger joined the Kirk Express and by 1980 Kirk Line added the Miami-Montego Bay route to the busy Miami-Kingston route.
In 1976, Barton Kirkconnell and Ernest Johnston grasped the opportunity presented by Alcan's closure of Sprostons, to form Jamaica Freight and Shipping, a subsidiary of JFS, that would undertake operations as port and shipping agents for that bauxite company. It was in 1978, that Barton Kirkconnell passed the baton of JFS managing director to Charles Johnston, but he continued to oversee operations of Kirk Line until 1988 when the Kirkconnells sold their 50 per cent share to United States interests.
He was a man of both vision and action, and was instrumental in building and strengthening Jamaica's trade linkages with other countries of the Caribbean and beyond. Under his management, Kirk Line became a major catalyst of growth for the Port of Kingston and the Port of Miami.
(Adapted from article in Jamaica Gleaner)
Barton Kirkconnell was a dynamic member of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) during his years in Jamaica and served on the managing committee of the 11th administration in the 1970s. He was a trailblazer in the development of Jamaica's shipping industry and his penchant for excellence helped to make the Port of Kingston what it is today - one of the world's finest.
Barton was born in Cayman Brac, a member of a 'maritime family' of ship owners, shipping agents and ship captains. He moved to Jamaica in his boyhood years to attend Munro College and later worked as a salesman in the marketing department of Adolph Levy and Bros before being invited by Ernest Johnston to join Jamaica Fruit & Shipping (JFS) in 1957.
It was while he was managing director of JFS in 1959, that Ernest Johnston, then president of the SAJ, proposed to the Kirkconnells that they form a 50/50 partnership to operate a shipping service from Miami.
JFS paid £7,000 and the Kirkconnells provided the MV Kirkdale on charter. The vessel took Jamaican cement to The Bahamas, then went to Miami where it loaded cargo for Jamaica, providing a fortnightly service.
The Kirkdale was later replaced by the MV Jamaica Provider, built by Sir Roland Symonette, which was renamed the MV Kirk Express, and the joint venture was registered as the Kirk Line, one of the major lines serving the Port of Kingston. In the 1970s, the Kirk Challenger joined the Kirk Express and by 1980 Kirk Line added the Miami-Montego Bay route to the busy Miami-Kingston route.
In 1976, Barton Kirkconnell and Ernest Johnston grasped the opportunity presented by Alcan's closure of Sprostons, to form Jamaica Freight and Shipping, a subsidiary of JFS, that would undertake operations as port and shipping agents for that bauxite company. It was in 1978, that Barton Kirkconnell passed the baton of JFS managing director to Charles Johnston, but he continued to oversee operations of Kirk Line until 1988 when the Kirkconnells sold their 50 per cent share to United States interests.
He was a man of both vision and action, and was instrumental in building and strengthening Jamaica's trade linkages with other countries of the Caribbean and beyond. Under his management, Kirk Line became a major catalyst of growth for the Port of Kingston and the Port of Miami.
(Adapted from article in Jamaica Gleaner)
Barton was born in Cayman Brac, a member of a 'maritime family' of ship owners, shipping agents and ship captains. He moved to Jamaica in his boyhood years to attend Munro College and later worked as a salesman in the marketing department of Adolph Levy and Bros before being invited by Ernest Johnston to join Jamaica Fruit & Shipping (JFS) in 1957.
It was while he was managing director of JFS in 1959, that Ernest Johnston, then president of the SAJ, proposed to the Kirkconnells that they form a 50/50 partnership to operate a shipping service from Miami.
JFS paid £7,000 and the Kirkconnells provided the MV Kirkdale on charter. The vessel took Jamaican cement to The Bahamas, then went to Miami where it loaded cargo for Jamaica, providing a fortnightly service.
The Kirkdale was later replaced by the MV Jamaica Provider, built by Sir Roland Symonette, which was renamed the MV Kirk Express, and the joint venture was registered as the Kirk Line, one of the major lines serving the Port of Kingston. In the 1970s, the Kirk Challenger joined the Kirk Express and by 1980 Kirk Line added the Miami-Montego Bay route to the busy Miami-Kingston route.
In 1976, Barton Kirkconnell and Ernest Johnston grasped the opportunity presented by Alcan's closure of Sprostons, to form Jamaica Freight and Shipping, a subsidiary of JFS, that would undertake operations as port and shipping agents for that bauxite company. It was in 1978, that Barton Kirkconnell passed the baton of JFS managing director to Charles Johnston, but he continued to oversee operations of Kirk Line until 1988 when the Kirkconnells sold their 50 per cent share to United States interests.
He was a man of both vision and action, and was instrumental in building and strengthening Jamaica's trade linkages with other countries of the Caribbean and beyond. Under his management, Kirk Line became a major catalyst of growth for the Port of Kingston and the Port of Miami.
(Adapted from article in Jamaica Gleaner)
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Records on Ancestry
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1930 United States Federal Census
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Jamaica, Civil Registration Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1878-1995
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Florida, U.S., Arriving and Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1898-1963
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U.S., Newspapers.com™ Obituary Index, 1800s-current
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Florida, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-current
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