James Hargreaves of Springfield, Lancaster

Mortgage-holder on Pusey Hall in Jamaica, banker of Lancaster, father of Henry Hargreaves and father-in-law of Richard Godson (each of whom q.v.).

1. According to research by Andrew Wiliams, James Hargreaves "was baptised at St Mary’s Church, Lancaster, on 15 March 1752, the eldest son of Henry Hargreaves (1720–86) and his wife Elizabeth, née Birkett (1728–98), who had married two years prior (Lan OPC) [...] Henry came to Lancaster to help Robert Lawson (1701–84) begin a Sugar House on St Leonard’s Gate in 1746.1 He managed the refinery, turning muscovado sugar from the West Indies into white sugar for British consumers, and by 1760 he had become a part-owner, alongside Lawson, Abraham Rawlinson Sr (1709–80), and three other local merchants. Henry’s prestige grew, part of Lancaster’s golden age of prosperity: he became an alderman, twice mayor, and wealthy enough to fund James’ education in literacy and numeracy."

2. "James Hargreaves first travelled to Jamaica in the early 1770s to work as a factor (an agent who received goods on consignment and sold them on commission). His success came as the business partner of his friend George Law of Ulverston (1746/7–1802)" (q.v.). "In January 1780, George Law and James Hargreaves dissolved their partnership because Law returned to England permanently (Royal Gazette A). Law granted Hargreaves and Richard Waithman [...] power of attorney over his affairs in Jamaica and authority to settle all debts. A new company was formed, James Hargreaves & Co, with Hargreaves at the head and Law still closely associated."

3. In 1781, James Hargreaves "worked for John Ashley, owner of Ashley Hall plantation in Vere parish. In March 1781 Hargreaves brokered an attempted sale of the estate 'with or without 50 negroes and 50 head of stock' (Gazette of Saint Jago). In October he helped coordinate the search for an enslaved person, Sawney, who had run away from Ashley Hall four years previously." "Hargreaves also loaned three bonds to Ashley worth £1,000 each and a mortgage on Ashley Hall was granted in security [...] James Hargreaves and George Law also loaned large sums to William Pusey (1741–83), the owner of Pusey Hall sugar plantation in Vere. Pusey was a member of the House of Assembly in Jamaica and in 1781 was its Speaker [...] In 1783 Pusey died in debt to Hargreaves and Law, and the plantation – either through means of sale or inheritance – became the property of Richard Batty (d. 1796), a judge in Middlesex county who was already known to Hargreaves. Beginning on 1 January 1784, Batty was indentured to pay Hargreaves and Law a mortgage of £24,334 12s 10d, with interest. Pusey Hall was a significant estate, with an enslaved labour force numbering in the hundreds. This supply of capital from Hargreaves to the plantation was by far his biggest single financial stake in the slavery business." "In a balance sheet of James Hargreaves & Co, drawn up on 30 June 1784, a debit of £710 1s 6¾d was recorded for 'negroes,' which may represent the total that Hargreaves spent on enslaved labour between 1780 and 1784."

4. "Returned from Jamaica, Hargreaves continued to participate in trade with the West Indies. For this purpose, he created James Hargreaves & Co of Lancaster, with George Law and his brother George Hargreaves as co-partners. They invested in cargoes transported on ships out of Lancaster, including one named Pusey Hall (Lloyd’s 1790, 280), clearly after the Jamaican plantation Hargreaves had helped fund."

5. "James Hargreaves died on 14 June 1804, at the age of 51 (Lancaster Gazette). A bachelor most of his life, in 1802 he married Mary Law (1772–1825) and they had two children before his death [...] Hargreaves left a fortune of 'under £15,000.' He appointed John Taylor Wilson, a solicitor, and Henry Hargreaves of Newchurch, Rossendale, a cousin, as his executors. His house, Springfield, became the seat of his widow, and after her death, of his son Henry (1803–40), and then his son-inlaw Richard Godson (1797–1849), a barrister and Member of Parliament, who had married James’ daughter Mary (1804–1873) in 1825."

We are grateful to Michael Garratt for assistance in compiling this entry.

1. Andrew Williams, James Hargreaves, Merchant of Lancaster and Kingston, Jamaica." Contrebis vol. 40 (2022), p. 16. Available online at: https://lahs.archaeologyuk.org/Contrebis/williamshargreaves.pdf [Accessed 16/01/2024].

2. Ibid., pp. 16-18.

3. Ibid., p. 19.

4. Ibid., p. 20.

5. Ibid., p. 22.