Elizabeth Home Countess of Home, formerly Lawes (née Gibbons)

Jamaican slave-owner and builder of Home House in Portman Square London. Shown as co-owner of Swallowfield in St Andrew with Rt Hon. Lord Gresham in 1772, possibly as executors of her brother-in-law Simon Luttrell 1st Earl of Carhampton, but later as joint owner or owner. Most likely she inherited a moity of this estate from her first husband James Lawes, who died in 1733 and was bequeathed the moity in the will of his father (who died in 1731).

The Countess of Hume was listed in the Jamaican Quit Rent books for 1754 as the owner of 1215 acres of land in St Andrew, 500 acres in St George, 765 acres in St Mary, 600 acres in St Elizabeth, 1000 acres in Clarendon, 1085 acres in Vere and 112 acres in St John, total 5287 acres. She is listed as owner of Snow Hill with 1373 acres and 194 enslaved people in St Andrew in 1747 and as co-owner of Townwell and Temple Hall in St Andrew with 2000 acres and 229 enslaved people in St Andrew at the same date.

'A List of landholders in the Island of Jamaica together with the number of acres each person possessed taken from the quit rent books in the year 1754', TNA CO 142/31 transcribed at http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Samples2/1754lead.htm.

CO137/28 pp. 169-175 transcribed at http://www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com/Members/1753Andrew.htm.