Samuel Risby Whitehorne II

Samuel Risby Whitehorne (b. 1769), son of James Risby Whitehorne and his wife Jane [Jean?]. Grandson of Samuel Whitehorne of Llandovery estate, St Ann, Jamaica. Married Fanny Constantia Hall (q.v.). Member of the Jamaica Assembly.

1. The Whitehorne family first arrived in Jamaica in the 1670s. Thomas Whitehorne established Laughlands estate and erected a sugar mill in 1674. Upon his death in 1691 he left his estate to his three sons Thomas, Bartholomew and William. Thomas received the bulk, with instructions to help establish his younger brothers on smaller parcels of land once they turned 21. It is not yet clear whether Laughlands and Llandovery were the same estate or different. It is likely (although not yet confirmed) that the Whitehorne line associated with this entry came through the youngest brother William. He married Martha Ashurst and had two sons, William and Samuel. Upon his death he left his estate to his eldest son William and named Peter Beckford (q.v.) guardian of his children. William Jnr. died unmarried, shortly after visiting Jamaica, in 1733, with the estate passing to his younger brother Samuel.

2. Samuel Whitehorne of Llandovery (born c. 1712) was likely the son of the above Samuel Whitehorne. He matriculated at Hart Hall, Oxford (precursor to Hertford College) in 1729. In Jamaica he was part of the planting elite and continued the family's association with the Beckfords. He married at least three times (details below) and died July 1768. James Risby Whitehorne (born c. 1744) was possibly the youngest son of Samuel Whitehorne and Sarah (nee Risby) of Llandovery estate, St Ann, Jamaica. Like his siblings he was born on Llandovery estate. The couple certainly had at least 3 older children: Martha Risby Whitehorne (1737), Samuel Risby Whitehorne (1739), Sarah Risby Whitehorne (1740). Samuel was registered as father to another son Thomas Risby Whitehorne (1744), but his mother was recorded as Mary Beach. It is not clear whether Sarah Risby had died before this date or whether Thomas was illegitimate. If the former it is likely that Mary was also the mother of James. However, other records suggest that Sarah did not die until 1750. Following her death Samuel remarried Elizabeth Howell, with whom he had another son William Risby Whitehorne (1751) and following her death he married thirdly Eleanor Howe, with whom he had Samuel Whitehorne II (1758-98).

3. Sarah Risby, married first Charles Kelly in 1723/24 in Spanish Town, Jamaica. Following his death in October 1731 she remarried Samuel Whitehorne in around 1736. Kelly left his wife his chariot and horses and his house during her lifetime, reverting to his son Edmund after his death.

4. James Risby Whitehorne entered Eton College in 1758, before progressing to Hertford College, Oxford in 1762. After completing his education he returned to Jamaica, becoming a member of the Assembly and Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He owned significant tracts of land in St Ann and Trelawny parishes, including receiving a grant of moiety of 120 acres in Trelawny in 1773 from John Tharp of Trelawny. He died in Jamaica June 1789. By the early 1800s [in fact by 1776] Llandovery estate was owned by William White (q.v.), rumoured to have been lost by James Risby Whitehorne in a card game.

5. James Risby's half brother (possibly brother) Samuel Risby Whitehorne, attended Trinity College, Cambridge and studied law at Lincoln's Inn. He returned to Jamaica, where he became a judge surrogate of the Court of the Vice-Admiralty & a member of the Assembly for St Catherine. He died December 1796 at Carrawina Jamaica. After his death his then wife Jane erected a stone in his memory.

1. Jamaican Wills Whitehorne, Stoddard & Marshall. Available through Jamaican Family Search: http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Members/wills-15.htm

2. Historical Account of Sessional Assembly of Jamaica, p45

3. Anne Powers, summary of will of Charles Kelly. Available through A Parcel of Ribbons.co.uk: http://aparcelofribbons.co.uk/apr/items/show/13

4. The Gentleman's Magazine (1789), p. 573; Foster Alumni Oxford; Powers, A Parcel of Ribbons: Letters of an 18th century family in London and Jamaica (Privately published, 2012), p 38.

5. Rouse, Ball & Venn (eds.), Admissions to Trinity College, Cambridge, Vol. III., 1701 - 1800; The Gentlemans Magazine (1797), p. 350.

We are grateful to Dawn Good for sharing her extensive research into the Whitehorne family with us to compile this entry.