John Hamilton of Tobago

Slave-owner in Tobago, early grantee of land there, dying in England c.1800. Son of John Hamilton wright and architect of Glasgow (1716-1754). Father of Rev. James Hamilton, John Hamilton of Dover and Arthur Philip Hamilton (each of whom q.v.). Original grantee in Tobago of: Riseland under St Andrew no. 27 (with Muther, Donaldson & Duncan under nos. 17 & 18); Mount Pleasant under St Patrick no. 19; and probably Belmont (as J. Hamilton, with A.Wilson under St George no. 22, the two together with John Hunt under St George nos. 11 & 12) and Bloody Bay (again as J. Hamilton with A.Wilson under St John nos. 11 & 12).

1. Will of John Hamilton of [Bishopsgate Heath, parish of] Old Windsor Berkshire [late of the Island of Tobago] (made in 1796) proved 22/05/1801. He left in trust (his trustees were his wife Susannah, his brother James and brother-in-law Thomas Wilson both of Tobago, Sir William Bruce of Stenhouse and 'Admiral John Lee Douglas', the latter yet to be traced) his estates of Riseland and Indian Walk in Tobago. Much of his will is not legible but he secured annuities for his wife and daughters on the estates and left them in entail. He also left £300 from his personalty in England to a group including his wife, Sir Charles Middleton and Christian Ignatius Latrobe of the Moravian church to fund a Moravian mission on Tobago.

Tables showing the Lots in each Parish, numbered as originally granted - the original Grantee - the name of the Lot, or lots, if one has been acquired, and the present Possessor where there is one' and 'A Table, showing the Estates in cultivation in 1832, and their Owners, in 1832, copied from the list appended to Byres' map of that date, with those in cultivation in 1862', Henry Iles Woodcock, A History of Tobago (Ayr: Smith and Grant, 1867; new impression London: Frank Cass and Company Limited, 1971); http://www.genealogy.com/users/h/a/m/James-Hamilton-13/FILE/0001text.txt accessed 06/11/2013 (the site draws on George Hamilton, House of Hamilton (Edinburgh: Skinner & Co. Ltd, 1933).

1. PROB 11/1357/245.