Hugh Leslie

1758 - 1812


Biography

Hugh Leslie was described as 'of Powis' and an absentee owner who lived in Aberdeen. He was married to Agnes Anne Lamond. There are conflicting versions of the relationship between the Leslie family and the Powis Gate at Aberdeen. In one version, in 1834 Agnes Anna Lamond received a payout of £2,065 for her former slaves at Castile Fort Pen in Jamaica. Some of the money was used to pay off legal debts, but her eldest son, John Leslie, also used a substantial chunk of it to pay for Powis Gate, an ostentatious entrance to the family estate he was building in Old Aberdeen.The Fraser Leslie Arms are visible on the obverse of the arch, with a shield on the reverse showing the bust of three black men - a link to the family's involvement in a grant of freedom made to their slaves in Jamaica. The entrance now leads to the University's Crombie-Johnston and King's Postgraduate Halls of Residence. However other sources attribute the Gate to Hugh Fraser Leslie (q.v.).

  1. Hugh Leslie was born May 1758 in Old Machar, Aberdeen, son of John Leslie and his wife Christian Fraser, and was buried in Old Machar church 14/04/1812. His wife, Anne Agnes Lamond (1770-1844), is described as 'of Jamaica' at their marriage in Old Machar on 02/08/1788. She was the daughter of James Lamond, merchant in Jamaica, and Esther Gillies, who married in Berwick on Tweed in 1768; she was baptised in Kingston, Jamaica, 23/04/1770.

  2. Both Hugh Leslie and Anne Agnes Lamond are commemorated by the Bishops' Window in St Machar's Cathedral, Aberdeen. The Powis Gates in Aberdeen were erected by their son and heir, John Leslie (1791-1847). The 'black heads' on the gates are part of an armorial panel from the old Powis Lodge in College Bounds. The arms are those of Alexander Fraser who acquired Powis in 1703.


Sources

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/slavery/pdf/ending-slavery.pdf; http://mcjazz.f2s.com/BlackSlavers.htm; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Aberdeen#The_Powis_Gates.

  1. GROS OPR Births 168/B 30 501 Old Machar; GROS OPR Deaths 168/B 100 452 Old Machar; GROS OPR Marriages 168/B 80 67 Old Machar; Familysearch.org, England, Durham Diocese, Marriage Bonds & Allegations, 1692-1900 [database online]; Familysearch.org, Jamaica Church of England Parish Register Transcripts, 1664-1880 [database online].

  2. Aberdeen Press and Journal 12/09/1913: article on Lelsie Memorial window in St Machar's Cathedral. The window was funded by the Burnett family of Kenmay (descendants of Hugh Leslie's sister Christian (1761-1842)). The Burnett family may also have held the family papers since John George Burnett edited Powis Papers (Aberdeen, 1951); Aberdeen Press and Journal 06/03/1971: article by Cuthbert Graham, using the Powis Papers, providing information on the armorial panel.

We are grateful to David Alston for his assistance with compiling this entry.


Further Information

Absentee?
Transatlantic
Spouse
Agnes Ann Leslie (née Lamond)
Children
Hugh Fraser Leslie
Occupation
Plantation owner

Associated Estates (2)

The dates listed below have different categories as denoted by the letters in the brackets following each date. Here is a key to explain those letter codes:

  • SD - Association Start Date
  • SY - Association Start Year
  • EA - Earliest Known Association
  • ED - Association End Date
  • EY - Association End Year
  • LA - Latest Known Association
1800 [EA] - 1811 [LA] → Owner
1817 [EA] - → Previous owner

Legacies Summary

Physical (1)

Estate
Powis House [Built] 

Relationships (2)

Father → Son
Husband → Wife

Addresses (1)

Powis House, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, North-east Scotland, Scotland