Henry Rawlins

Profile & Legacies Summary

1760 - 1823

Biography

Acting Governor of the Leeward Islands in 1815. Son of Steadman Rawlins (1725-1788) and Mary Johnson, brother of Steadman Rawlins II of St Kitts, and of John, Joseph and Richard Rawlins. Father of [Col.] Steadman Rawlins. Possibly the Henry Rawlins shown as the owner of Hutchinsons estate on St Kitts and certainly the joint owner of two other estates on St Kitts.

A letter from Henry Rawlins to John Conyers (q.v.) describes the situation in St Kitts in 1783: "... the French have destroyed all their fortifications on Brimstone Hill, but I have been told this day that Monsieur de Frenze our Governor at present, says he means to fortify the Hill again, if he does not hear in a week or two of the definitive treaty being signd, if he puts his t[h]reats in execution it must ruin the Island"

Sources

http://johnlisle.us/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I5124&tree=stedman_uk (sourced 03/08/2015); Caribbeana Vol. V pp. 98-100.

Essex Archives, D/DB B8, see https://www.essexarchivesonline.co.uk/Result_Details.aspx?DocID=320597 [accessed 29/07/2020].

We are grateful to Norah Carlin for her assistance with compiling this entry.

Further Information

Spouse

Elizabeth nee Wilkes

Children

Col. Stedman Rawlins

Associated Estates (4)

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

1817 [EA] - 1825 [LA] → Owner

Hutchinson Estate [ St Kitts ]

The purchaser of the Hutchinson estate in 1790 was shown as 'Mr Rawlins'. The estate was in the name of Henry Rawlins as owner between 1817 and 1825: in the latter year the estate was in chancery. In 1828 and 1831 the estate was shown against Henry Rawlins deceased. Henry Rawlins of Nevis died in 1823, so that the identification of the owner of Hutchinsons as the same man might be inaccurate.

1828 [EA] - 1831 [LA] → Previous owner

Hutchinson Estate [ St Kitts ]

1817 [EA] - 1822 [LA] → Joint owner

Mount Sion or Symonds [ Nevis ]

1817 [EA] - 1822 [LA] → Joint owner

Stoney Hill [ Nevis | St George Gingerland ]