Jane Morison Besset (née Gunter)

1817 - 1864


Biography

  1. Baptised in St Elizabeth, Jamaica, 03/12/1817, "aged 13 months, daughter of William Gunter a white person,, and Mary Morrison a free quadroon woman."

  2. At some point between 1826 and 1829, four enslaved people were purchased on behalf of Jane Morison Gunter; they were registered in Kingston in 1829 by her aunt Jane Morison.

  3. Jane Morison Gunter was one of the witnesses when her half-brother William Morison Brown married Elizabeth Kenyon at Walton-on-the-Hill, Lancashire (Liverpool), 29/05/1838. She married Jacques Besset, son of Maurice Besset (West India merchant) in Brompton, Middlesex, 16/05/1839. In 1841 she was living with her husband at 18 Fenchurch Buildings, London (her place of birth was erroneously given as England).

  4. In 1845, Jacques Besset was a witness and alleged victim in a trail for theft brought against Benjamin Hall. Hall was found not guilty but at the trial more information was revealed about Jacques Besset: "I am a Frenchman. I live in Gloster-grove, West, Old Brompton... [I am] A merchant—I carry on business at No. 3, Sherborne-lane, King William-street—I have done so seven years and a half—I export goods to New York, Gibraltar, and various places—goods of my own and others—I previously carried on business in France—I have never been tried or sentenced in France—I was taken up in England on a charge of fraudulent bankruptcy for the purpose of being rendered to the French authorities—an inquiry on that subject has been going on in Paris..." J. Besset Esquire was at 80 Gloucester Grove West, Brompton, in 1848.

  5. In 1861 James [sic} and Jane were living at East Pavilion, Royal Hospital Yard, Chelsea (husband James Basset [sic], age 60, flour dealer, born France).

  6. Jane Morrison Bisset was of East Pavillion, Sloane Street, age 50 years, when she was buried in Brompton Cemetery, 10/08/1864.


Sources

  1. Familysearch.org, Jamaica Church of England Parish Register Transcripts, 1664-1880 [database online].

  2. T71/109 p. 259.

  3. Ancestry.com, London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 [database online]; 1841 census online.

  4. Old Bailey Online, ref. t18451027-1952; London Post Office Directory 1848.

  5. 1861 census online.

  6. . Ancestry.com, Brompton, London, England, Cemetery Registers, 1840-2012 [database online].

We are grateful to David Barker for his assistance with compiling this entry.


Further Information

Maiden Name
Gunter
Spouse
Jacques Besset

Relationships (4)

Sister → Brother
Natural Daughter → Father
Niece → Aunt
Natural Daughter → Mother

Addresses (2)

18 Fenchurch Buildings, Chelsea, London, Middlesex, London, England
East Pavilion, Royal Hospital Yard, Sloane Street, London, Middlesex, London, England