John Hilton of Chester Castle

Owner of Chester Castle in Hanover, Jamaica, died c. 1808-1810. Bequeathed £200 currency to his 'mulatto' son John Hilton, £20 currency to his 'quadroon' daughter Mary Hilton and £10 to his 'mulatto' daughter, also called Mary Hilton. The residue of his estate he bequeathed to his nephew 'William Cook of the parish of Westmoreland'.

1. Will of John Hilton of Hanover Jamaica proved 22/01/1811. He identified his property as Chester Castle and Hammersmith Pen. He left each of his brother William Hilton of Yarvin [sic] Cheshire and sister Mary Sylvester widow of the City of London an annuity of £100 p.a. secured on Chester Castle and Hammersmith Pen. He left his niece Hannah Hilton, daughter of William Hilton, £2000; and further legacies of £3000 and £1000 to other nieces and nephews. He left his nephew John Hilton junior the and in St James known as Comfort Hall with the accompanying 'several' enslaved people

Christer Petley, '"Legitimacy" and social boundaries: free people of colour and the social order in Jamaican slave society', Social History, 30:4, 481-498, pp. 492, 496.

1. PROB 11/1518/325.