John Savery Hanson

Slave-owner in Jamaica, surprisingly difficult to trace given his unique name. Genealogical material and the extract below show him as connected with the US, the husband of Catharine Goldsmith and father of Rev. John Halloway or Holloway Hanson.

1. 'Oliver Goldsmith' Niece in Distress. From the New York Tribune. In the town of West Hoboken resides an old lady, blind, crippled, and suffering for the necessaries of life. She is the niece of Oliver Goldsmith. Her father was the brother of Oliver, and his junior by ten years. He was married In the West Indies at the age of 42. Mrs. Hanson was his third child. She was married to John T. [sic] Hanson in 180[illegible]i. Like the wealth of thousands, his fortune was swept away by the liberation of slaves in Jamaica. The Rev. John Halloway Hanson, her only son, died in 1853. He was possessed of rare poetical talents, and author of the "Lost Prince," a book that contains one of the most remarkable problems in history. Her grandson, a young man of great natural ability, was killed in the late rebellion. Mrs. Hanson is now entirely dependent upon the exertions of her only daughter a lady in feeble health. A small sum has been raised for her support by a number of her friends, conspicuous among whom is the name of the Rev. D. Hawker but in consequence of the increase in price of the common necessaries, and the high price of medical attendance, it ia feared her meager income will be insufficient to maintain her declining days in comfort. Are there not Englishmen, Americans and Irishmen, his admirers and many of them countrymen of her illustrious uncle, who can give from their wealth a slight tribute to this destitute woman? All money for this purpose should be sent to Frederick Fitzgerald, Rector of Trinity Parish, Hoboken, N. J.'

GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY A RECORD OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF HER PEOPLE IN THE MAKING OF A COMMONWEALTH AND THE FOUNDING OF A NATION COMPILED UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF FRANCIS BAZLEY LEE VOLUME I (NEW YORK, LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 1910) p. 164.

1. The Louisville Daily Courier from Louisville, Kentucky, August 9, 1866 p. 3.