William Davison

Returned Jamaica 'planter', apparently establishing himself as a brewer in Barnstaple, Devon. His estate and enslaved people, which and whom he sold before his move to Britain, has not been traced, but was probably in Westmoreland.

1. William Davison was listed in the Jamaican Quit Rent books for 1754 as the owner of 485 acres of land in St James and 664 acres of land in Westmoreland, total 1149 acres.

2. Will of William Davison late [of the island of Jamaica] planter [but now] of Milverton Somerset [made in 1776] proved 12/11/1777. In the will he left his daughter Rebecca £1000 plus 1/4 of his interest in the buildings at Barnstaple where the brewery has been lately carried on, and £300 in trust for the benefit of Susanna Davison (daughter of Ann Cartwright) then living with him, on condition that she waive her right to 'four negroes' that he had given her some years previously 'and afterwards sold with my estate in Jamaica.' His residuary estate was to be divided between his son William Samuel Davison and four daughters 'Louisa Mary Harriett Sophia Matilda and Frances Davison.' He described his wife Mary as his 'present wife.'

Jamaica Family Search shows William Davison and Mary Corner having three children - William Samuel, Louisa Mary and Harriett Sophia - baptised in Westmoreland in 1765 and 1766.

'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.