William Halsted or Halstead

1. Apparently resident slave-owner in Jamaica, the son of Lawrence Halstead of Jamaica who was dead by 1768. Member of Assembly for St John 1769 and 1770. Died 1774.

2. William Halsted was listed in the Jamaican Quit Rent books for 1754 as the owner of 1029 acres of land in St Dorothy and 1080 acres of land in St John, total 2109 acres. William Halsted and John Jarret were listed in the Jamaican Quit Rent books for 1754 as the owners of 1230 acres of land in St Thomas-in-the-Vale. William [and] Thomas Halsted and John Jarrett were listed in the Jamaican Quit Rent books for 1754 as the owners of 1230 acres of land in St Thomas-in-the-Vale.

3. William Halsted of St John, Esquire. Estate probated in Jamaica in 1775. Slave-ownership at probate: 228 of whom 117 were listed as male and 111 as female. 0 were listed as boys, girls or children. Total value of estate at probate: £14922.06 Jamaican currency of which £13020 currency was the value of enslaved people. Estate valuation included £0 currency cash, £0 currency debts and £127.98 currency plate.

4. The will of William Halsted of St John Esquire was proved in Jamaica, 01/09/1774.

1. Vere Langford Oliver, Caribbeana being miscellaneous papers relating to the history, genealogy, topography, and antiquities of the British West Indies (6 vols., London, Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, 1910-1919) vol. V pp. 232-234, 'Halsted of Jamaica'.

2. '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.

3. Trevor Burnard, Database of Jamaican inventories, 1674-1784.

4. Island Record Office, LOS 42.

We are grateful to Daniel Livesay for his assistance with this entry.