Robert Heron

Planter in St Elizabeth parish. Born Stoneykirk, Wigtonshire Scotland, most probably the son of William Heron and Agnes Dalziel. He moved to Jamaica at some point during the late 18th century where he purchased, with his brother Alexander (q.v), the plantation Carpenters Mountain. It is likely that there were further family members operating on the island when he arrived.

Robert died unmarried in 1810 but in his will left property and money to his 'housekeeper' Elizabeth Goudie (q.v.) and their three children: Robert Heron, Margaret Martin Heron (q.v.) and Anna Maria Heron. Elizabeth Goudie was enslaved and owned by Robert during the early 1800s. Their two eldest children were born into slavery. He emancipated her, Robert and Margaret Martin in 1808. A third child, Anna Maria, was born free in 1808. Under the terms of his will he left Elizabeth Goudie an annuity of £15 currency and each child one £20 currency p/a. He also ordered his executors to purchase one acre of land at Alligator Bay and build a house for the family. They were left an enslaved woman named 'Martha and all her future issue for ever' for their use and a 'negro boy named Samuel'. He was buried on Wigton plantation, Manchester, Jamaica.

The bulk of the estate, including the enslaved at Carpenters Mountain, was left to his brother Alexander, who was also appointed executor. Other siblings in still resident in Scotland were also left small legacies and named guardians of his children: his brother William, sisters Jean and Janet Hughan, as well as his "good aged mother" in Scotland The size of legacies left in the will suggest that he was not particularly wealthy.

Will of Robert Heron, transcribed by Richard Mitchell: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~heron1/HERON_Robert_1766/scrapbook.htm

Robert Heron genealogy page. Sources not specified but information appears broadly reliable: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~heron1/fam1422.html

We are grateful to Cynthia Gentles for her help compiling this entry.