William Vassall of St Elizabeth

19 WILLIAM VASSALL, born 1720, m. Valeria Senior, the sister of Christopher Senior, who was the son of Bernard Senior, the first husband of Margaret, who m. secondly in 1735 Hugh White, Member of Assembly for Westmorland Jam. in 1770, and they were the parents of Mary White, the wife of John Vassall, next hereinafter referred to. William Vassall d. and was bur. on June 28, 1745. By his will, dated Aug. 8, 1744, and proved in Jamaica March (?) 21, 1745, he devised to his wife the dwelling- house he then lived in at Luana in St. Elizabeth, with the run of land belonging thereto, for her life inter alia, and he devised the remainder of his estate to his son 20a John. He appointed his wife executrix, and his " trusty and beloved friend " Hugh White guardian of his children (?) and executor of his will, and in case he should leave the island he appointed his brother-in- law and " good friend Christopher Senior " guardian and trustee, and in case of his death or leaving the island he appointed William Foster guardian and trustee (vide 16 John Vassall for William Foster). On March 20, 1745, he made a codicil to his will, in which he stated that his wife had been delivered of a child (Elizabeth) which had d. (bur. March 5, 1744), and directed that in case all (?) his children should die, then half of his estate should vest in his wife and the other half in his brother 20 John, with remainder over to his # wife in fee simple. In 1751 a Private Act was passed by the Legislature of the island vesting certain tracts of land in the parish of St. Elizabeth, part of the estate of William Vassall, in certain Trustees, therein named, including 20 John Vassall and Christopher Senior, the paternal and maternal uncles of the infant, to sell for the benefit of the eldest son and heir-at-law, John Vassall, a minor. The children of William and Valeria Vassall were : 20a John and Elizabeth, a child mentioned above.

William Vassall of St Elizabeth, Esquire. Estate probated in Jamaica in 1746. Slave-ownership at probate: 364 of whom 175 were listed as male and 189 as female. 60 were listed as boys, girls or children. Total value of estate at probate: £28404.7 Jamaican currency of which £22107 currency was the value of enslaved people. Estate valuation included £0 currency cash, £8992.7 currency debts and £82 currency plate.

John Vassall and his Descendants https://archive.org/stream/johnvassallhisde00cald/johnvassallhisde00cald_djvu.txt [accessed 15/02/2017].

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