William 'King' Mitchell

William Mitchell was the first son of John Mitchell of Doune, Perth by his wife Margaret Ferguson. He married Catherine Hamilton and they had one daughter. William 'King' Mitchell (as he was known on the island) resided in Jamaica for nearly forty years. He was both a plantation owner and an attorney who in his own estimate had 'perhaps 16 or 18’ sugar plantations under his ‘care’ at various times. He informed a committee in 1807 that he had spent over £30,000 on the erection of a sugar works on one of his own estates which included Windsor Park in St. Catherine, Bushy Park in St. Dorothy, New Hall in St. Thomas in the Vale and Georges Valley in Trelawny. Among others Mitchell did business with and borrowed money from the powerful Jamaica planter Simon Taylor.

Mitchell was returned as an M.P. for Plympton on the Treby interest at the general election of 1796. He was an active member of the Society of West India Planters and Merchants and gave evidence before Parliament's West India Committee in 1807. He returned to Jamaica in 1798, likely due to the death of his brother James. Although nominally held by Charles Germain, 2nd Viscount Sackville from 1776 to 1815, in real terms James had held the lease on the office of the Receiver-General, a post which brought in commission worth £6,000 per annum average. Mitchell took a place in the Jamaica Assembly in 1798 and managed to stave off a bill which would have replaced the commission system with a fixed salary. William then succeeded as the lessee of the office of Receiver-General and in 1808 he renewed the lease for a further 19 years from Sackville's younger brother George Germain, although it appears he appointed a deputy to this position. Mitchell's political influence in Jamaica was strong and he was instrumental in securing the position of Agent for Jamaica for his nephew Edmund Lyon.

During her residence in Jamaica Lady Nugent, the Governor's wife, met William Mitchell. She described him in her journal noting that 'Mr. M's delight is to stuff his guests, and I should think it would be quite a triumph to him to hear of a fever or apoplexy, in consequence of his good cheer. He is immensely rich, and told me he paid £30,000 per annum for duties to Government... He seems particularly indulgent to his negroes, and is, I believe, although a very vulgar, yet a very humane man.' This description gives an indication of the lifestyle of a wealthy Jamaica planter - the importance of sociability, generosity and a reputation for benevolence.

As a member of the House of Assembly Mitchell had to apply for leave before returning to England, which he did in 1805. Although it had been expected he would only remain a year he was still resident in London in 1808 when he gave evidence to a committee of inquiry on the distillation of sugar. He resided at Upper Harley Street in Marylebone and was well known for the extravagant social gatherings he arranged for the absentee Jamaicans in London. It is not clear if he ever returned to Jamaica.

Mitchell died at Brighton in 1823 having made a will in 1819 which bequeathed all his Jamaican estates and his property in Scotland to his nephew John Mitchell. He also left over £25,000 in annuities and legacies for his wife and other relatives.

http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/mitchell-william-1742-1823#footnoteref1_rbt5gpz

http://www.ampltd.co.uk/digital_guides/plantation_life_in_the_carribean_part_1/contents-of-reels.aspx

David Beck Ryden, West Indian Slavery and British Abolition, 1783-1807 (Cambridge University Press, 2010), p.77, 243-44.

Ed. Philip Wright, Lady Nugent's journal of her residence in Jamaica from 1801 to 1805, (Kingston, University of the West Indies Press, 2002), p.55-6.

The National Archives, Kew, England, Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 1679.

Mitchell family and estate papers relating to the affairs of the Mitchell family in Jamaica and England, 1725-1883. Gifts and deposits 7/194/1-69, Jamaica Archives, Spanish Town.