Hon. John Hiatt

1. Slave-owner in Jamaica: apparently resident. He died between 1820 and 1823. His sole trustee and executor was John Pink (q.v.).

2. Given the extent of his slave-owning and his seniority (he was a member of the Supreme Court of Judicature in the 1817 Jamaica Almanac Civil List), surprisingly little has been traced of him to date. In 1780 he secured an Act on behalf of six 'reputed' children (William, John, Edward, Elizabeth, Ann and Eleanor) to extend the privileges of 'English subjects' to them. No baptisms have been located for these children. Rebecca Hiatt, daughter of Hon. J. Hiatt, was baptised in St Ann, 22/04/1816.

3. Owner of 31 enslaved people and 12 stock in St Ann, Jamaica, in 1792. The compensation for the enslaved people on his estates was paid to into the Chancery suit of George Neate v Edmund Pink.

4. A chancery petition of 1809 by Henrietta Hyatt of Dalston, aged 18, "[...] Recites that H.H. is the natural daughter of John Hiatt of Dalston by Phillis Hall and that she came to England from Jamaica. She requests that a new guardian be appointed so that he may assent or otherwise to a proposal of marriage made by William Hyde. Petition granted." Phillis Hall is named in the Former British Colonial Dependencies Slave Register of 1817 as residing in St Ann Jamaica, born "about 1801," of "Creole" nationality, and belonging to the enslaver "Honth John Hiatt."

Probably related to Elizabeth Hiatt (q.v.), slave-owner in St Ann in 1792.

We are grateful to Susan Doe for her assistance in compiling this entry.

1. Online family tree at https://clan-cameron.org.au/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I110532&tree=cameron1 [accessed 14/01/2020].

2. CO139/37b (474) William Hiatt, John Hiatt, Edward Hiatt, Elizabeth Hiatt, Ann Hiatt and Eleanor Hiatt reputed children of John Hiatt esq, Parish of St Ann 30.12.1780; Familysearch.org, Jamaica Church of England Parish Register Transcripts, 1664-1880 [database online].

3. 'A List of slaves and stock in the parish of St Ann taken the 28th March 1792 pursuant to order of the Honourable House of Assembly... transcribed from papers presented to the British Museum by Charles E. Long ref. Add. 12435' transcribed at http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Members/mstann1792.htm.

4. Chancery Petition, 1809. Hackney Archives Ref: M4108. Ancestry.com. Former British Colonial Dependencies, Slave Registers, 1813-1834 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.