1749 - 1819
Soldier and exemplar of colonial 'Old Corruption', shown as owner of 41 enslaved people on Evesham Vale on St Vincent in 1817.
Bontein had been Collector of Customs at Martinique, and was alleged by Charles Grey, 1st Earl Grey (with whom he was involved in a conflict after Bontein had agreed in 1795 to share his income from the post with Thomas Grey but refused to share it with Capt. George Grey after Thomas's death) to have accumulated £100,000 from his post.
Will of Sir James Bontein of [Charles Street Berkeley Square in the parish of] St George Middlesex proved 12/08/1823. After some minor legacies, he left his estate to his wife for life and then 1/4 to his daughter Alice and the other 3/4 equally between his sons Edward Trant, James and John Pitt Bontein share and share alike. In a codicil he left an additional £500 to James.
T71/493 pp. 209-213. Bontein's gravestone gives 1749 as his date of birth: genealogical sources show 1752.
Bontein was ousted in 1799 by George Grey: Paul David Nelson, Sir Charles Grey, first Earl Grey: Royal Soldier, Family Patriarch (1996) p. 190.
PROB 11/1674/163.
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Absentee?
British/Irish
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Spouse
Alice Trant
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Children
Alice; Edward Trant; James; John Pitt
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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:
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1817 [EA] - 1817 [LA] → Other
Shown as owner of 41 enslaved people (of a total of 201) on a group of estates including Evesham Vale and Clifton Hill in the 1817 Slave Registration |
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1817 [EA] - 1817 [LA] → Other
One enslaved person shown as belonging to Sir James Bontein was included in the registration return for Hope in 1817 |
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Legatee → Testator
Notes →
Sir James Bontein was married to the niece of Mary...
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Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, Middlesex, London, England
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1761 - ????
"Free quadroon woman" and mother of eleven children; independently wealthy, perhaps through legacies left her by her partners James Tierney (died 1784) and Ebenezer Robertson (died 1825).
Document comprises 4 parts, written recto and verso across 5 folios: 1. An inventory and valuation of enslaved persons at Windsor Estate, St Elizabeth parish, Jamaica, 1814. 2. An inventory and valuation of enslaved persons at Williamsfield settlement, St Elisabeth parish, Jamaica, 1814. 3. An inventory of animals at Windsor Estate, St Elizabeth parish, Jamaica, 1814. 4. A cover note outlining the contents of the document.
© Copyright Legacies of British Slavery - UCL Department of History 2024
CITING THIS RECORD:
'Sir James Bontein of Balglas', Legacies of British Slavery database, http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146644141 [accessed 12th December 2024].
