On 29th January 1852, the birth was registered in Kingston, Jamaica, of Hyman Frederick Cohen..... The Jewish Cohen family were originally plantation owners – and just possibly slave-traders. By 1852, the plantation business had long been in decline and Frederick Augustus Cohen, the future composer’s father, was in the diplomatic service. Professional reasons, combined with local epidemics, induced the family to transfer to England early in 1856. They soon changed their surname to Cowen, though they settled in the “Little Venice” area of London, then the Jewish quarter par excellence, and maintained their contacts with the London Jewish community.