Lewis Vassall

Slave-owner in Jamaica, owner of New Savannah in St Elizabeth. Lewis Vassall (1741-1777) was the son of Lewis Vassall (1709-1743) of Braintree, Mass.

The estate of Lewis Vassall was listed in the Jamaican Quit Rent books for 1754 as the owner of 810 acres of land in St Elizabeth. He would have been a minor at this time but his father died when he was an infant and Lewis junior was his residuary legatee.

Lewis Vassall of St Elizabeth, Esquire. Estate probated in Jamaica in 1778. Slave-ownership at probate: 267 of whom 143 were listed as male and 124 as female. 107 were listed as boys, girls or children. Total value of estate at probate: £28856.99 Jamaican currency of which £18025 currency was the value of enslaved people. Estate valuation included £298.28 currency cash, £25 currency debts and £43 currency plate.

John Vassall and his Descendants https://archive.org/stream/johnvassallhisde00cald/johnvassallhisde00cald_djvu.txt [accessed 16/02/2017].

'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.

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