Will of Archibald Campbell of Minard Jamaica 1799

Jamaica SS

Will of Archibald Campbell of Minard [LOS 66.14, 1799]

[Abstract]

This is the will of me Archibald Campbell[1] of Minard in the parish of St. Ann in the county of Middlesex in the Island of Jamaica Esquire.

I give, devise and bequeath unto my dearly beloved wife Ann Campbell,[2] my esteemed brother-in-law John Campbell of Orange Bay,[3] my worthy friend John Blagrove[4] of the parish of St. Ann and my sons John Campbell, James Blagrove Campbell, Robert Rutherford Campbell and Henry Dugald Campbell[5]...all my estate real and personal...except that estate called Knockbuy...in Scotland and all my other lands and estate in Argyllshire...and except my plate, furniture, horses and mules hereinafter bequeathed by me...to have and to hold unto them in trust that they, my trustees, shall as soon as possible after my decease collect and get in all my outstanding debts, except the rents and arrears of my estate in Scotland, upon this further trust that...there shall be established at my pen near Dry Harbour,[6] also called Knockbuy, fifty acres at least of coffee...[7]

and as soon as my executrix and executors shall consider my pen called Minard to be in good and sufficient order...sell and dispose of all my real and personal estate, stock and slaves in this island for the most money and the best advantage...

To my dearly beloved wife Ann Campbell I bequeath an annuity or yearly rent of £500 Currency during her natural life to be payable out of my estate on this island until it can be sold and after the sale the yearly sum to be received by her out of the monies that arise...and for the better securing thereof it is my desire that a sufficient sum be invested in good landed security in Scotland...which annuity is in full lieu and bar of any dower...and after [her] decease the said monies shall become part of my residuary estate...

And I direct my trustees...out of the monies that arise from the sale of my estates to apply £1,400 Currency in the purchase of new Negro female slaves to be marked or branded on the shoulder AC...for the use of my dear daughter Ann Campbell, the wife of John Campbell of Spotfield[8] during her natural life and to the heirs of her body lawfully begotten...

And I direct that my trustees shall allot the sum of £70 Sterling for the maintenance and education of my son Henry Riddall Campbell[9] until he shall have attained the age of twenty years

I give and bequeath out the said Trust Estate unto my sons Archibald Campbell and Colin Campbell the sum of £500 Sterling each but it is my wish that neither of my said sons last named shall have anything to do with the management of my properties...[10]

I give and bequeath out of the said Trust Estate unto my daughter Mary Moffat Campbell £1,000 Sterling exclusive of her distribution share

I give and bequeath unto my son James Blagrove Campbell the sum of £2,000 Sterling to be paid as soon as convenient it may be after my decease for his trouble in my affairs since his arrival in this island exclusive of his distribution share and annuity herein mentioned and other emoluments hereby accruing

I give and bequeath out of my Trust Estate unto my son Henry Riddall Campbell to be paid to him at the age of twenty one years the sum of £300 Sterling for the issue of Maria, sold from Minard given unto him by my worthy friend John Robert James

It is my will that the nett proceeds of my properties in this island, after payment of the debts funeral expenses annuities and legacies herein mentioned until the same shall be disposed of, be equally divided among my five children Robert Rutherford Campbell, Mary Moffat Campbell, James Blagrove Campbell, Henry Dugald Campbell and Henry Riddall Campbell

I give and bequeath unto my wife the use of all my plate during the term of her natural life...and after her decease unto the use of my eldest son John Campbell and in case of his death without heirs male...[to Robert, James, Henry D. & Henry R].

I give and bequeath unto my son John Campbell and his heirs and assigns forever all my estate called Knockbuy in Scotland[11] and all other my lands and estate in Argyllshire and all rents and arrears of rent that may be owing from all tenants and leaseholders...but charged and payable with all the debts now affecting that estate and for which the same is liable...and I hereby declare that [this] device shall be as full and effectual as if I had executed a disposition thereof according to the forms and laws of Scotland

I direct that my land at Dry Harbour formerly called Dry Harbour Pen but now Knockbuy shall be settled in coffee as soon as my be convenient...and I further will that thirty five of the Negroes now at Minard shall be considered as belonging thereto for the work and culture thereof until my trustees and executors may be enabled to purchase a sufficient number of Negroes out of the rents and profits thereof...which said thirty five slaves are to attend and work at Minard as occasions may require...

It is also my wish that my son James Blagrove Campbell should reside at Minard with my wife if he prefers a residence there and keep the accounts of the Pen and be allowed an annual lump sum for his extraordinary trouble...of £100 Sterling and it is my particular wish that all receipts payments and disbursements shall be made and secured by or pass through the hands of my wife and that her account shall be annually made up and settle[d] with my creditors

I also give and bequeath to my wife the slave named Bess on Minard being a daughter of [….] for the term of her natural life. I direct that my wife be allowed to reside at Minard or Knockbuy near Dry Harbour as she shall from time to time choose until my estate in this island can be sold and disposed of...

Whereas my son John Campbell hath particularly desired that the proportions he might have expected of my Jamaican properties should be disposed of amongst my children as I should appoint the remainder, and inasmuch as he has lately received a considerable increase of fortune,[12] I hereby devise the rest and residue of my estate unto my five children named Robert Rutherford Campbell, James Blagrove Campbell, Mary Moffat Campbell Henry Dugald Campbell and Henry Riddall Campbell to be equally divided between them as tenants in common and the several respective heirs of their bodies lawfully begotten forever but it is my wish that the share of my son Henry Riddall Campbell shall be invested at interest on good and sufficient landed security in Scotland until he shall have attained the age of twenty one [in case of death to the survivors] I hereby appoint my wife Ann Campbell during such time as she shall continue a widow, John Campbell of Orange Bay, John Blagrove, Robert Rutherford Campbell, James Blagrove Campbell and Henry Dugald Campbell executrix and executors of this my last will and guardians of the person and estate of Henry Riddall Campbell.

Archibald Campbell

Signed and sealed on 27 April 1798

in the presence of George MacKay, William McLean, William James Stevenson[13]

Codicil

My son John Campbell having desired not to have any share in my Jamaica properties I accordingly have increased my wife's annuity from £500 Currency to £400 Sterling

And inasmuch as I had intended one seventh part of the residue of my Jamaican estate for my son John Campbell, which by the increase of my wife's annuity which may be calculated to be reduced to one seventh, I therefore bequeath one seventh part of the residue of my estate in Jamaica amongst my seven children named Archibald, Colin, Mary Moffat, Robert, James Blagrove, Henry Dugald and Henry Riddall and their respective heirs lawfully begotten...[14]

Archibald Campbell

Signed and Sealed on 27 April 1798

[Witnesses as before]

Codicil

As explanatory of my intention in respect of the £100 Sterling per annum to my son James Blagrove Campbell I declare that the same is only intended to be allowed to him as long as he shall keep the accounts of Minard Pen and shall direct the overseer in the management of the grass and pastures...

As a small token of my remembrance and affection for my dear sisters Barbara Hamilton and Susan Campbell, both of Edinburgh, I give them each the sum of £100 for the purchase of mourning.

Signed and Sealed on 21 May, 1798

In the presence of Colin Campbell, Alexander Hossack, William James Stevenson

Proved in Jamaica 11 April, 1799

[1]

In a letter of August 1757, Colin Campbell New Hope wrote of the expected arrival of Archibald Campbell in Jamaica. He was buried at Minard on 9 July 1798 [Anglican Parish Register for St. Ann, f.86]

[2] Ann Browne

[3] John Campbell of Orange Bay was husband to Archibald Campbell's sister, Grace

[4] John Blagrove, a nephew of John Campbell of Orange Bay, the son of his sister, Elizabeth Campbell and Thomas Blagrove

[5] In 1804, Captain Henry Dugald Campbell died on service in St. Vincent

[6] Known today as Discovery Bay

[7] If it was ever established, a plantation or pen by this name does not appear in the Jamaica Almanac for 1811, at which time Minard remained unsold.

[8] John Campbell of Spotfield, Trelawny, was a son of James Campbell of Duan Vale, Gibraltar and Spotfield who died in 1766 when those plantations were in St. James. Spotfield was renamed Kinloss, after a village in Banffshire, Scotland. John Campbell's brother, James, was made a Burgess of the town of Banff in 1783 [Dobson, David, 'Scots in the West Indies, 1707-1857' Vol. 2]

[9] In 1807, Lieutenant Henry Riddall Campbell died at Fort Dundas, Rio Bueno, in March

[10] In 1797, during their father's absence in Scotland, Archibald and Colin had spent lavishly on themselves at the expense of the estate. John Campbell of Orange Bay wrote to their brother John, also in Scotland, [they] 'indulge in a taste for extravagance that does not quadrate with their present circumstance'. It seems that their father did not expect them to adopt the 'more sober ideas of economy' that his brother-in-law had suggested they might.

[11] Archibald Campbell inherited Knockbuy from his father, also Archibald , in 1790; the estate was heavily indebted at the time

[12] In 1797, the estate of Kilberry, Argyllshire, was entailed upon John Campbell by Major Colin Campbell of Kilberry, a nephew of his grandmother

[13] William James Stevenson became Receiver General of Jamaica

[14] Another daughter, Elizabeth is not mentioned in the will. A letter dated 14 August 1797, by John Campbell of Orange Bay to Archibald's eldest son in Scotland, refers to “your sister Dunston” in Jamaica. The Anglican Parish Register for St. Ann records a marriage between George Pinnock Dunston and Elizabeth Campbell on 25 December 1784. Why she was omitted from this will is not known.

Note: all comments about letters by John Campbell of Orange Bay refer to a collection published in “Letters by The Packet”, 2004, by the late Marion Campbell. It was published by the Argyll & Bute Library Service