Edward Sharpe of York Place

Slave-owner and former Chief Justice of St Vincent. Son of Charles Payne Sharpe and uncle of Henry Edward Sharpe (each of whom q.v.). Previous owner of an estate inferred to be Ratho Mill which he had sold by the time of compensation. The compensation for Ratho Mill was claimed by Richard Rees (q.v.) but paid to Edward Sharpe's sister-in-law and his assignees-in-trust [T.] Henry King and J. Hopton Forbes.

1. Will of Edward Sharpe of York Place (made in 1830) proved 16/03/1832. The will opens by stating that Edward Sharpe had lately lost his wife and disposed of his estate in the West Indies. He left his property after specific bequests to Mrs Anne Dowers, sister of his late wife, for her lifetime provided she remained single, and then to 'my' [sic: but the context makes it clear that they are Mrs Anne Dower's] four daughters. Specific bequests included £2000 to his nephew George W. Gibson now in the East Indies; £1000 to his nephew Henry Edward Sharpe (q.v.), late residing at 16 York Street and now in the West Indies; £2000 to Mrs Harriet Gavey his niece of Jersey widow; £600 to Mrs Pauline Williams the widow of Mr Thomas Williams surgeon and apothecary Brompton near Rochester; and £400 to Fanny and Sally the daughters of my late brother Henry Sharpe now in the island of St Vincent. These legacies totalling £6000 he charged 'upon the fund due to me from Mr Rees at the time of my death': the balance of the fund he willed to Mrs Anne Dowers and her daughters. In a codicil dated 01/05/1830, he said that he had assigned £10,000 to J. Hopton Forbes and H. [sic: there is a reference to T. H. King of the Ordnance Office elsewhere in the will] King in trust for Mrs Anne Dowers and her four daughters, being half of what he was owed by Richard Rees; in a further codicil he added a legacy of £1000 to Isabella Augusta Ross, the daughter of John Pemberton Ross.

2. Edward Sharpe of York Place was listed as a subscriber to Charles Shephard's An Historical Account of the Island of Saint Vincent, published in 1832.

1. PROB 11/1797/386.

2. Charles Shephard, An Historical Account of the Island of Saint Vincent (1832) pp. vii-xii.

We are grateful for the help of Colin Cornes with this entry.