FROM THE WEST INDIES TO BRITAIN, 1750-1820 Daniel Alan Livesay

481 Pages·2010·4.94 MB·English

by  Dan Livesay

CHILDREN OF UNCERTAIN FORTUNE: MIXED-RACE MIGRATION
FROM THE WEST INDIES TO BRITAIN, 1750-1820

by

Daniel Alan Livesay

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(History)
in The University of Michigan
2010

Doctoral Committee:

Professor David J. Hancock, Chair
Professor Michael P. MacDonald
Associate Professor Susan Scott Parrish
Lecturer Julius S. Scott, III
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This project has taught me the importance of personal networks, and the
dissertation could not have been finished without help from a number of sources.
Funding came from several different institutions. The International Institute and the
Center for European Studies at the University of Michigan funded an initial foray into
British archives. The Institute of Historical Research at the University of London and the
North American Conference on British Studies provided me another year of study in the
United Kingdom. A Fulbright Fellowship to Jamaica was invaluable in assessing the
colonial context of this project, and short-term fellowships from the Huntington Library,
the American Philosophical Society Library, McMaster University, and the American
Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies allowed me to consult manuscript and rare
printed material in North America as well. A pre-doctoral fellowship with the Rackham
Graduate School at the University of Michigan gave me the needed time to write the
dissertation. Regular support from Michigan’s History Department bridged the gaps
between funding with fellowships and teaching support.
It would not have been possible to complete my research without the assistance of
a number of archivists. First and foremost, I would like to thank Barbara DeWolfe at the
Clements Library at the University of Michigan for directing me to the Tailyour Papers
which began this project. I would also like to thank Robert and Sally Tailyour for
helping me to sort through the family’s history, and for inviting me into their home in
England. Librarians at the National Archives of Scotland were extraordinary helpful in
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my searches, as well as guiding me to private papers which constitute a large portion of
this study. The Montgomery and Compton-Maclean families were very generous to let
me read their private letters, and William Macpherson was exceedingly hospitable,
opening his house and library to me in Blairgowrie. I greatly enjoyed our daily lunches
while on break from reading his family papers. James Robertson was the consummate
guide in Jamaica, helping me to navigate the island’s libraries. He also helped establish
me in Kingston’s historical community. The archivists at the National Library, the Island
Record Office, and the Jamaica Archives were also eager and excited to help me through
my research.
My deepest appreciation is to the History Department at the University of
Michigan. I could not have received better guidance than under David Hancock. His
understanding of the eighteenth century Atlantic, its archives, and its students proved
invaluable. While I have never been pushed quite as hard in my studies, David always
kept his own commitment to me running at an equal or greater pace. I never left a
meeting with Julius Scott without having a number of brilliant and thoughtful suggestions
to consider. Equally, I never left a discussion with Michael MacDonald without being
awestruck at his intellect and mastery of British history. Scotti Parrish was instrumental
in helping me through the literary side of my project, and her comments were crucial in
the final stages of writing. Kali Israel, Dena Goodman, Sonya Rose, Damon Salesa, and
Sue Juster also provided excellent assistance in the early and middle stages of my
research. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to have had such luminous minds on which to
draw. I would also like to thank the staff in Michigan’s History Department: Sheila
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Colley, Lorna Altstetter, and Kathleen King always made sure to keep the complicated
matters of schooling much simpler.
Various chapter drafts were kindly read by a number of people. I would like to
thank Tom Green and Martha Jones for their advice on Atlantic law in the eighteenth
century. The Association of Caribbean Historians also made substantial comments on
my legal chapter. Special thanks go to Gad Heuman, Michelle McDonald, Roderick
McDonald, Swithin Wilmont, Kathleen Monteith, and Rita Pemberton for their extended
discussions. David Lambert, Zoe Laidlaw, and Peter Marshall each gave detailed advice
on an early paper which became the core subject of this dissertation. The faculty and
graduate students at the University of the West Indies in Mona endured two long
seminars on separate dissertation chapters, and gave essential feedback on both. In
particular, I would like to thank Glen Richards for his generosity in inviting me to
present. Deborah Cohen and Amanda Moniz also gave detailed comments on my
chapters as well.
My fellow students at the University of Michigan were crucial to my well-being
in graduate school. The Atlantic Studies Workshop and the European History Workshop
both provided a place for vigorous debate on early ideas. A strong contingent of
eighteenth-century scholars made the process that much more helpful. Jennifer Palmer,
Katie Cangany, Jonathan Eacott, Jeff Kaja, Suzie Linsley, Graham Nessler, and Christine
Walker each provided essential encouragement and support. My roommate in Ann
Arbor, Alex Lovit, and my flat mates in London, Allison Abra and Angela Dowdell,
always made frustrating days more relaxing, and great days that much more enjoyable.
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Family across the U.S. was an endless source of support. My parents, Joe and
Sonja Livesay, never questioned my commitment to a field they knew little about. My
siblings Angela Ransom and David Livesay not only listened to my academic rants, but
provided one of the most precious gifts: helping me move to Michigan. My Ann Arbor
parents, Kevin and Kathleen McGuinness, welcomed me into their home and regularly
fed me with some of the town’s best food. Annie, my dog, pushed me through the last
four months of writing, resting on my lap while I typed out final revisions. Finally, my
greatest debt is to my wife Mary, who endured long discussions of race in the British
Empire, along with extensive stretches apart. Throughout it all, her patience and love
never wavered. This project has taken us to some far-flung places, and I look forward to
where it leads us next.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………...ii
List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………vii
List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………....viii
List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………......ix
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...xi
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1
Chapter
1: The World They Left Behind: Family Networks and Mixed-Race Children
In the West Indies.………………………………...…………………….14
2: Patterns of Migration: Push and Pull Factors Sending West Indians of
Color to Britain…..……………………………………………………....78
3: Inheritance Disputes and Mixed-Race Individuals in Britain………………..151
4: Success and Struggle in Britain...……………………………………………215
5: West Indians of Color in Britain, and the Abolition Question...…………….316
6: Depictions of Mixed-Race Migrants in British Literature…………………...375
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...430
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………437

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure
1.1 “The West India Washer-Women,” by Agostino Brunias, 1779………..………….. 25
1.2 “The Barbadoes Mulatto Girl,” by Agostino Brunias, 1779….…………….…...…...26
1.3 “Joanna,” by William Blake, 1796…………………………………….…………….27
1.4 Percentages of Children Born of Mixed Race, and the Percentage of Mixed-Race
Children Born in Wedlock, St. Catherine, Jamaica, 1770-1808..………………..54
1.5 Percentage of Mixed-Race Children Born in Wedlock, Kingston, Jamaica, 1809-
1820..……………………………………………………………………………..55
1.6 Percentage of Free, Mixed-Race Children with Interracial Parents, Kingston,
Jamaica, 1750-1820...…………………………………………………………....57
1.7 Thomas Hibbert’s House, Kingston, Jamaica, 2008 (erected 1755)…..……………..62
2.1 Deficiency Fines Collected (in pounds current), St. Thomas in the Vale Parish,
Jamaica, 1789-1801.……………………………………………………………..93
2.2 Percentage of West Indians in Student Body (University of Edinburgh Medical
School and King’s College, Aberdeen), 1750-1820……………………………116
2.3 “Johnny New-Come in the Island of Jamaica,” by Abraham James, 1800….…......129
4.1 “A Scene on the quarter deck of the Lune,” by Robert Johnson from his Journal,
April 8, 1808……………………………………………………………………225
4.2 Cartoon by Robert Johnson from his Journal, April 8, 1808……………….……....226
4.3 Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath, London………………………….…………...247
4.4 “Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray,” unknown artist (formerly
attributed to John Zoffany), c. 1780…………………………………………….248
4.5 “The Morse and Cator Family,” by John Zoffany, c. 1783…………...….………...254
4.6 “Nathaniel Middleton,” by Tilly Kettle, c. 1773…………………………….……..259
4.7 “William Davidson,” by R. Cooper, c. 1820…………………………….…………299
4.8 “Robert Wedderburn,” 1824…………………………………………….………….306
5.1 “Sir Thomas Picton,” c. 1810…………………………………………….………...356
5.2 Calderon’s Torture, from The Trial of Governor Picton………………….………..364
5.3 Calderon’s Torture, and “Flagellation of a Female Samboe Slave,” by William
Blake, 1793…………………………………………………...………………..367
6.1 “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” by Josiah Wedgwood, 1787………..…..……...394

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LIST OF TABLES

Table
1.1 Racial Classification of the Mothers of Mixed-Race Children with White Fathers, by
Percentage, 1770-1820..………………………………………………………….39
1.2 Percentages of Interracial Parents vs. Two Parents of Color Amongst Mixed-Race
Children in Jamaica, 1730-1820.………………………………………………...56
2.1 Percentage of white men’s wills, proven in Jamaica, with bequests for mixed-race
children in Britain (either presently resident, or soon to be sent there),
1773-1815………………………………………………………………………131
2.2 Percentage of white men’s wills with acknowledged mixed-race children, proven
In Jamaica, that include bequests for mixed-race children in Britain (either
presently resident, or soon to be sent there), 1773-1815……………………….131
2.3 Professions of testators sending mixed-race children to Britain, by percentage,
1773-1815……..………………………………………………………………..133
2.4 Destinations of mixed-race Jamaicans, by percentage, 1773-1815………………...139

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

APS American Philosophical Society Library, Philadelphia

BL British Library, London, England

DRO Derbyshire Record Office, Matlock, England

GROS General Register Office for Scotland, Edinburgh

HL Huntington Library, San Marino, California

ICS Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library, London, England

IRO Island Record Office, Central Village, Jamaica

JA Jamaica Archives, Spanish Town, Jamaica

LOS Libres Old Series

LPL Lambeth Palace Library, London, England

MBP Sir William Macpherson of Blairgowrie Private Papers, Blairgowrie,
Scotland

MCP Maclean-Clephane of Torloisk and Carslogie Private Papers, Newby Hall,
Ripon, England

MFP Montgomery Family Private Papers, Scotland

NAE National Archives of England, Kew

NAS National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh

NLJ National Library of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica

NLS National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh

NLW National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth

NRAS National Register of Archives for Scotland

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OPR Old Parish Registers

SOASL School of Oriental and African Studies Library, University of London,
England

UESCL Special Collections Library, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

WCL William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
Michigan

WMQ The William and Mary Quarterly

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