Early life Ferdinand Paleologus was the fourth son of
Theodore Paleologus by his wife, Mary Balls, and was baptised in the Church of St. Andrew in
Plymouth on 15 June 1619 (meaning he was probably born in early June), the baptismal register recording him as "
Ffardinando son of Theodore Paleologus an Ittalian".'''''' Ferdinand's full name appears to have been William Ferdinand Paleologus, but the only known reference to the name William comes from documentation of his election as
vestryman in 1649, most other sources referring to him simply as Ferdinand Paleologus.'
As the son of Theodore Paleologus, Ferdinand might have been one of the last living descendants of the Palaiologos dynasty, rulers of the Byzantine Empire from 1259 to 1453. The lineage of Ferdinand and Theodore can be verified as true with the exception of an ancestor called John, purported to be the son of Thomas Palaiologos but absent in contemporary sources, making their descent from the emperors plausible, but somewhat uncertain.' None of Theodore's and Ferdinand's contemporaries doubted their imperial descent.'
Ferdinand had three older brothers; Theodore (who died in infancy), Theodore Junior and John Theodore, and two older sisters; Dorothy and Mary.' After his baptism in 1619, the next record of Ferdinand is his name appearing on the list of soldiers present at St Michael's Fort in
Plymouth Sound in 1639.'
Before then he had likely lived with his father Theodore and his sisters Dorothy and Mary, first in Plymouth and then in Landulph, Cornwall. This listing suggests that Ferdinand, at age 19, had chosen to support the royalist side in the English Civil War of 1642–1651 (the opposite side of his brother Theodore Junior). Unlike Theodore Junior, Ferdinand was not a commander in any capacity but a common soldier.' What happened to Ferdinand immediately after 1639 is unclear, since he is absent from army lists compiled by both the parliamentarists and the royalists in 1642 (though these army lists are lists of officers only).'
It is possible that he was either one of the royalists who chose to flee to Barbados to avoid punishment in England or that he had escaped to Barbados already before the war broke out. A likely explanation is that Ferdinand sought his fortune with his relatives, the Balls family from Suffolk, from which his mother had been. There were no less than three plantations owned by the Balls family on Barbados, including the largest plantation on the island. Ferdinand, and the Balls family before him, were some of the earliest settlers on the island, which had only been discovered around 1620. The British had first settled the island in 1627.'
Life in Barbados , which Ferdinand supported throughout his life , marked with a pineapple (to the left, below "Topp") Ferdinand's presence in Barbados is first attested on 26 June 1644, when he and his older brother John Theodore are attested as witnesses to a
deed. Ferdinand gradually integrated himself with the Barbadian elite. Some time before 1649, he had become a
freeholder, probably with the support of the Balls family, and he married Rebecca Pomfrett, daughter of a local landowner. He built and owned an estate called Clifton Hall, named after the home he and his family had lived in while in Landulph, and owned a small cotton or sugar plantation. Clifton Hall is located on the heights of
Saint John, near
St. John's Parish Church, which Ferdinand supported throughout his life.'''''' Clifton Hall still stands today and remains recognised as one of the largest, grandest and oldest great houses on Barbados. Clifton Hall has changed radically since Ferdinand's time, most of the rooms and exterior dating to renovation and construction projects in the early 19th century. Only the kitchen and staff quarters, alongside two small rooms currently used as changing rooms for the swimming pool, remain intact from the 17th century. In 1649, Ferdinand was elected to the
vestry of St. John's parish. In the early years of the island, such vestrymen were powerful establishment figures. Over the years, he gradually added to his property, being recorded as purchasing more land in July 1662. On a 1685 map of Barbados, a plantation labelled the "Paleologus and Beal" plantation, to the west of St John's Church, is marked with the drawing of a pineapple, meaning that Ferdinand might have cultivated pineapples in addition to cultivating sugar or cotton. Like other owners of plantations, Ferdinand would have employed
slaves at his plantation. In the late 17th century, at least 2000 slaves were imported to Barbados each year. By 1655, Ferdinand was a
churchwarden and in 1656 and 1660 he was a
trustee. He also concerned himself with affairs unrelated to the church, being attested as a
lieutenant in 1654 and as a
surveyor of the highways in 1660.'
He became known on the island as the "Greek prince from Cornwall", and was long remembered by that nickname after his death.'
Death Ferdinand was recorded as absent from a meeting of the vestry in January 1670, probably on account of ill health. His condition would worsen over the course of the following months and on 26 September that year, he made a will, which begins: In the will, half of Ferdinand's estate was willed to his wife Rebecca and the other half to his son,
Theodore (who is identified by the odd spelling Theodorious).'''''' Theodore's inheritance was to be employed for his "maintenance and education, together with the increase of his Estate, until he attains the age of fourteen years". Ferdinand's sisters Dorothy and Mary were willed twenty
shillings each and further money and items of value were willed to Ferdinand's godson Ralph Hassall and his friend Edward Walrond.'''''' The will was amended on 2 October, to state that Rebecca was to inherit the entire estate if Theodore died before her without children of his own. The will was witnessed by men of influence on Barbados;
Tobias Bridge, George Hanmer and Thomas Kendall. The same witnesses were present when the will was amended, in addition to Abraham Pomfrett, Rebecca's brother. Various inaccurate dates for Ferdinand's death have been provided over the years, mostly on account of the crabbed handwriting in some of these documents. The date provided on his gravestone (erected in 1906) wrongly gives his date of death as 3 October 1678. It is likely that he died on, or soon after, the date his will was amended, 2 October 1670. He was buried at the cemetery of St. John's Parish Church. == Legacy ==