Thomas Waterton

Born to a landed Catholic family, became the owner of Walton Hall outside Wakefield in Yorkshire and, later, a plantation in Demerara also named Walton Hall. His brother Christopher Waterton was owner of two other Demerara estates from at least 1797.

According to Charles Waterton's essays, "Our family found its way to the New World in the following manner: - My father's sister [Anne] was remarkably handsome. As she was one day walking in the streets of Wakefield, a gentleman, by name [Michael] Daly, from Demerara, met her accidentally, and fell desperately in love with her: they were married in due course of time, although the family was very much averse to the match. Soon after this, my father's younger brother [Christopher] , who had no hopes at home on account of the penal laws, followed his sister to Demerara, and settled there."

On his death, ownership of Walton Hall in Yorkshire passed to his eldest son, the naturalist Charles Waterton and Walton Hall in Demerara was inherited by his younger children, but was managed by Charles.

[1] Thomas Waterton was married to Ann Bedingfield on 25th April 1780.

[2] Burial 19 March 1805, Walton Hall, Wakefield, Yorkshire, England.

Email from John Whitaker 02/03/2020 sourced to Waterton's essays. "Charles Waterton's Demerara", Overtown Miscellany; https://overtown.org.uk/cw/Charles_Waterton/demerara.htm (unverified).

1. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/822853:9852?ssrc=pt&tid=48601181&pid=272336822587

2. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/2256/images/32355_248887-00575?pId=3799737

We are grateful to John Whitaker and the Forgotten Women of Wakefield team: Helga Fox, Sarah Cobham, Catherine Clarke, Zainab Jode, and Abibat Olulode, for assisting in the compiling of this entry.