William Priddie Esq.

Slave-owner of St Kitts. His will, which is expressive, refers to two estates - Morne's Pond and Salt Pond - and possibly a third, the Pond purchased from Stephen Payne Gallway.

1. Will of William Priddie of Island of Saint Christopher [made in 1792] proved 27 February 1797. He left annuities of £60 sterling p.a. and £100 currency p.a. to his sisters Ann Sancho and Jane Taylor, and to the latter he left the house she was living in [presumably on St Kitts]. He left his nephew William Taylor the use of the house 'at Whitehouse Bay at Salt Pond' for life, after which it reverted and became part of his Salt Pond estate. He also left William Taylor several enslaved men ('Long Peter; Bob; Daniel; Bambra [?]; Peter and Frank') and £300. He left £300 each to six great-nephews and great-nieces, children of his niece Alice Burton, and Alice Burton herself an annuity of £60 p.a. He left an annuity of £100 currency p.a. to James Ottley so long as James Ottley continued to manage the Ponds estate [at a salary of £200 currency p.a.], and [rather oddly] £200 currency p.a. if he quit. He left his daughter Frances Lyon an annuity of £300 p.a., and £150 p.a. from the produce of his estate for the support of her children. He 'gave freedom' to several enslaved people: Nanny Stephens; Nanny Priddie; Phillis and her son Bob; Sally Blair; Nanny Lawrence; Peter; Steenberger; Peter Priest; Hannon; Billy; Cully and Cromwell [the list is unpunctuated in the will], and provided that two further enslaved people, my 'negro boy' William Blake and the 'mulatto man' Billy England, be freed fifteen years after his death, working on his estate[s] until then, with Billy England receiving 'decent clothes' and 4s 6d per week. Phillis's son Bob was to be supported with £20 p.a. and be put to a trade, receiving £10 p.a. during his apprenticeship and £100 on its completion. He left his real estate in Basseterre on St Kitts in trust (his trustees were John Lane and Thomas Fraser of the City of London and Thomas Tuckett and Nicholas Richards of St Kitts) to be sold, along with all his enslaved people not attached to his estates. He authorised his trustees to free an enslaved man John Sankey in exchange for £50 currency. He had he said recently agreed to purchase an estate and enslaved people called the Pond in St George Basseterre from Stephen Payne Gallway of Norfolk for £19,640 of which £3640 had been paid. His trustees were to use the proceeds of his several estates to pay the annuities and legacies under the will and to pay off the balance of the money owned to Gallway, then to accumulate the proceeds in funds until 15 years after Priddie's death when all the estates were to be sold, for the benefit of his daughter Frances Lyons' children equally except for an additional £1000 to the eldest son. In a codicil of 1793 he noted the bankruptcy of John Lane and Thomas Fraser and replaced them with Richard and Thomas Neave as executors and trustees. In a further codicil of 1795 he revoked all legacies to his great-nephew John Osborn Dawson and left him 5 shillings instead; raised the annuity to his sister Jane Taylor to £200 currency p.a.; revoked the legacies to James Ottley and replaced them with £100 currency in remembrance of their 'former friendship'; and shortened the period before sale to 7, 8 or 9 years at his trustees' discretion. In a final codicil he revoked the legacy of £100 to James Ottley, raised a legacy to Richard Priddie to £500 and made him manager of Salt Pond estate.

1. PROB 11/1286/187