UCL

William Irish Morson

Profile & Legacies Summary

???? - 1805

Biography

Slave-owner of Demerara where he purchased the Mindenburg estate. His will made in 1803 and proved in London in 1822 shows significant monetary legacies totalling over £23,000. He was the son of William Morson (q.v.) of Antigua.

  1. Will of William Irish Morson made in 1803 proved 19/10/1822. He left his daughter Mary Ann £10,000 and his brother John Laforey Morson £2000. He had purchased the Mindenburg from J.S. Masse and Mrs A.G. Melkin [sp?], and had a mortgage from Messrs Boode & Bert of Amsterdam. In keeping with the wishes of his dead wife, he instructed his executors to manumit the 'mulatto girl' Bell with her 'must child' Jane, and the negro woman Fibba and her child Bess: he also provided that if Bell and Fibba wished to return to St Kitts their passage be paid. He manumitted a 'negro woman' Betsey, 'formerly belonging to' his mother, and the 'negroe boy' named Thomas for his attention to his [the testator's] 'dear little boy' Henry. His heir was his son Henry Leigh Douglas Morson, then an infant. In a codicil of 1805, he was reported to have made further lagers, of 50 joes to Bell Akers for her care of him, and of £10,000 to Mrs Elizabeth Clipperwell [?] of Dominica, and a further £1000 to his brother John Laforey Morson.

Sources

Vere Langford Oliver, History of Antigua Vol. II p. 279.

  1. PROB 11/1662/280.

Further Information

Spouse
Miss Akers
Children
Henry Leigh Douglas Morson
Will

Will of William Irish Morson made in 1803 proved 19/10/1822. He left his daughter Mary Ann £10,000 and his brother John Laforey Morson £2000. He had purchased the Mindenburg from J.S. Masse and Mrs A.G. Melkin [sp?], and had a mortgage from Messrs Boode & Bert of Amsterdam. In keeping with the wishes of his dead wife, he instructed his executors to manumit the 'mulatto girl' Bell with her 'must child' Jane, and the negro woman Fibba and her child Bess: he also provided that if Bell and Fibba wished to return to St Kitts their passage be paid. He manumitted a 'negro woman' Betsey, 'formerly belonging to' his mother, and the 'negroe boy' named Thomas for his attention to his [the testator's] 'dear little boy' Henry. His heir was his son Henry Leigh Douglas Morson, then an infant. In a codicil of 1805, he was reported to have made further lagers, of 50 joes to Bell Akers for her care of him, and of £10,000 to Mrs Elizabeth Clipperwell [?] of Dominica, and a further £1000 to his brother John Laforey Morson.

Occupation
Plantation owner

Associated Estates (1)

The dates listed below have different categories as denoted by the letters in the brackets following each date. Here is a key to explain those letter codes:

  • SD - Association Start Date
  • SY - Association Start Year
  • EA - Earliest Known Association
  • ED - Association End Date
  • EY - Association End Year
  • LA - Latest Known Association
- 1805 [EY] → Owner
Mindenburg [ British Guiana | Demerara ]

The will of William Irish Morson made in 1803 showed him having purchased the Mindenburg estate and the enslaved Africans attached to it from J.S. Masse and Mrs A.G. Melkin [?].

Relationships (1)

William Irish Morson
Son → Father
William Morson
Details