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Hall Family Papers and Sugar Plantation Records
MSS 0220
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Creator:
Hall family
Title: Hall Family Papers and Sugar Plantation Records,
Date (inclusive): 1709 - 1892
Extent:
4.60 linear feet
(3 archive boxes, 163 oversize folders, and 4 rolls microfilm)
Abstract: Family papers and sugar plantation records (1709-1835) of the Hall family of England and Jamaica, including William Hall (b.1696),
Thomas Hall (1725-1772), Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall (b.1748?), and Thomas Kirkpatrick Hall (b.1776). The Hall family owned and
operated the sugar plantations of Irwin Estate, Tryall Estate, Johnshall Estate, Hallhead Estate, and Kirkpatrick Hall Estate.
They also owned Worcester, Williamsfield, Stapleton Pen, and Kirkpatrick Pen.
The family papers contain correspondence between family members, wills, certificates of military commission and genealogical
memoranda.
Included among the plantation records are general account ledgers for Thomas Hall's Jamaican estates (1756-1766), account
ledgers or lists of slaves and cattle for Irwin Estate (1758-1777), Johnshall Estate (1757-1764) and Tryall Estate (1758-1759).
Records (1793-1835) for Hallhead Estate include slave and cattle lists, lists of increase and decrease of slaves and cattle,
doctor's bills for the care of slaves, and crop accounts. "Return of slaves" lists occur for Irwin, Tryall and Kirkpatrick
Hall estates for the years 1819, 1821, 1822, 1824, 1827, 1828, and 1830. Significant business correspondents include Sam
Cleland, James Kerr, Stephen Fuller, William Brown, and John Scott.
The collection contains numerous documents related to the administration of Jamaican Governor Charles Knowles (1752-1756)
and the formation of the "Association" by leading planters and colonists.
The Hall Family Papers and Sugar Plantation Records are arranged in five series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) PLANTATION AND ESTATE
DOCUMENTS, 3) LEGAL DOCUMENTS, 4) FAMILY DOCUMENTS, and 5) POLITICAL AND PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.
The accession processed in 1995 documents activities of Thomas K. Hall and Lorenzo Hall. Included are letters dating from
1819 to 1822 which offer considerable insight into the trade of paintings between Italy and England during the period, the
cost of the commissions and methods of transport from Leghorn to England. Also included are letters dating from 1825 to 1842
written by Lorenzo Hall, a diplomat, to his uncle, Thomas K. Hall, from various European cities and countries. The accession,
dated from 1772 to 1892, is arranged in two series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE and 2) MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS.
A microfilm (4 reels) of the entire collection was prepared in July 1999.
Repository:
University of California, San Diego. Geisel Library. Mandeville Special Collections Library.
La Jolla, California 92093-0175
Collection number: MSS 0220
Language of Material:
Collection materials in English
Researchers must use the microfilm of the collection located in Box Four.
Not Available
Hall Family Papers and Sugar Plantation Records, MSS 0220. Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
The Hall family engaged in sugar production on the island of Jamaica for over a century and participated in the rise of Jamaican
planter society during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The early generations of Halls directly supervised
their plantations, while the later descendants lived in England as absentee landlords, leaving the management of their estates
to attorneys and overseers.
Thomas Hall (b.1660?) immigrated to Jamaica from Worcester, England, and his name first appears in the collection on a letter
from his brother, Henry, addressed to him at Port Royal in 1711. In 1720, Thomas and his wife Patience financed the plantation
activities of their son, William (b.1696), a planter from the parish of Westmoreland, and his associate, James Campbel, with
a loan of four thousand pounds. In 1721, William's brother, Thomas (b.1694), who was afflicted with a disabling disease,
left Jamaica for curative powers of the spas of Bath, England. It is in a letter from Thomas (b.1694) to William (b.1696),
dated July 24, 1721, that the first mention of sugar is made. Thomas writes, "I find shugars to be a better comodity then
I expected, but money and credit as scarse here as in our Island, and nothing to had without yr. penny, therefore hope/earnestly
beg/ y'll shipp me somemore shugars by yr. first safe hand, pray let them be Either fine or course, provided they be dry..."
In 1723, William Hall married Mary Kirkpatrick, daughter of Hugh Kirkpatrick from the parish of St. James, Jamaica, and two
years later, Thomas Hall (b.1725) was born. At the age of eighteen, Thomas was attending to the affairs of his family's sugar
plantation in St. James parish, while his father conducted business and engaged in politics in the island's capitol, St. Jago
de la Vega or Spanish Town.
By 1741, Thomas Hall (b.1660?) had died and Patience Hall, during a severe illness, made her last will and testament, leaving
the bulk of her estate to her grandson, Thomas Hall. In 1746, William Hall and David Dehany arranged Thomas' marriage to
Mary Dehany and the two were united in 1747.
Against a backdrop of conflict among England, France and Spain that was often played out in the West Indies, William and Thomas
Hall produced sugars, molasses, and rum for export to England; bought "Negroe" slaves to labor in their cane-fields; and imported
the necessities they couldn't produce- foodstuffs from the North American colonies and manufactures from England. In 1748,
the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle brought a period of security to the region, but created confusion among planters who were unsure
of future prices or what commodities would be in demand.
During this period of peace, which lasted until the beginning of the Seven Years War in 1756, William Hall experienced increasing
financial distress, which he attributed to his difficulty in collecting his debts. By 1758 William Hall had died and his
widow, Mary, had married Col. James Barclay.
Thomas Hall witnessed the administration of Governor Charles Knowles (1752-1756) and the dispute over moving the capitol of
Jamaica from Spanish Town (St. Jago de la Vega) to Kingston. Powerful planters and residents of the western parishes opposed
the efforts of Kingston merchants allied with Knowles to relocate government offices, the Assembly, and the island's archives
to the port of Kingston. The merchants also sought to remove the militia and its artillery to Kingston, a move which would
have left Spanish Town defenseless in time of war.
After Knowles dissolved the Assembly on November 8, 1754, in part, for authorizing expensive capital improvements to Spanish
Town's infrastructure, influential planters, including Charles Price, Rose Fuller, and Edward Manning, responded by forming
an "Association" for "carrying on good Government, and the welfare of this Island." Although Knowles managed to move the
colony's archives, which served as the repository for land and property records, his influence at the King's court was less
than the power of the petitions of his opponents and his actions were finally disallowed.
In 1756, in anticipation of the lieutenant governor's call for a new Assembly, Charles Price and others who represented the
"country interest," secretly petitioned Thomas Hall to declare his candidacy as a representative from St. James.
By 1758, Thomas Hall had moved to London with his family and left Samuel Cleland, his attorney, in charge of his sugar estates,
Tryall, Irwin, and Johnshall. Hall entered into a copartnership with John Rusea, who managed the overseers on the Johnshall
and Irwin Estates. James Hindlater oversaw the operation of Tryall estate.
In late 1761, Thomas Hall returned to Jamaica to find his estates in great disorder and confusion, largely because of the
severity of John Rusea. During his stay in Jamaica, his wife, Mary, died. Hall arranged his affairs and returned to London
by September of 1764. By November 1772, Thomas Hall had died. Thomas Hall's second son, William, emigrated to Jamaica shortly
before his father's death to pursue a career as a planter.
The bulk of Thomas Hall's estate went to his oldest son, Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall (b.1748?). Hugh managed his estates from England
through Cunningham and Cleland, attorneys in Jamaica, and John Kennion, his agent in London. In 1782, in addition to the
Irwin and Tryall estates in St. James parish, H.K. Hall owned the Kirkpatrick Hall estate, located in the parish of Westmoreland.
In 1793, records show an additional sugar plantation called Hallhead estate in the parish of St. Thomas in the East.
In 1790, Mrs. Alice Kennion took over management of her late husband's business affairs and by 1807 was managing Hallhead
estate. In 1811 Hallhead estate was owned by Mrs. Alice Kennion and Thomas Gordon and in the possession of John Stewart and
Charles Harris. In 1821 Hallhead is the property of John Hall, son of H.K. Hall's brother Thomas Hall (b.1758?), and Thomas
Gordon.
The estates of Irwin, Tryall, and Kirkpatrick Hall and the pen at Stapleton were inherited by Thomas Kirkpatrick Hall, son
of H.K. Hall and Mary Kenyon. Pens were "seasoning" facilities where new slaves and livestock were adapted to forced labor
conditions. T.K. Hall, an absentee owner, lived in England and served as sheriff of Staffordshire, England, between 1817
and 1820.
Slavery was finally abolished in Jamaica by decree on August 1st 1834. This Emancipation Act created an interim period of
"apprenticeship" in which slaves were required to work for their masters for four years before they were free.
Information in the preceding historical note was drawn from sources in the Barnett/Hall Collection.
Scope and Content of Collection
Accession Processed in 1992
The Hall Family Papers and Sugar Plantation Records contain the family papers and business records of five generations (1710-1830)
of the Hall family members who owned sugar plantations on the island of Jamaica for over a century. The collection provides
an abundance of primary source material on eighteenth and early nineteenth century Jamaican plantation economy and culture.
The materials are particularly rich in data documenting characteristics of slave populations on Irwin, Tryall and Kirkpatrick
Hall estates. The documents are organized into five series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE, 2) PLANTATION AND ESTATE DOCUMENTS, 3) LEGAL
DOCUMENTS, 4) FAMILY DOCUMENTS, and 5) POLITICAL AND PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.
The CORRESPONDENCE series contains letters from family members, business associates and others. Important family members
include Jane Hall, Henry Hall, Thomas Hall (b.1660?), Thomas Hall (b.1694), William Hall (b.1696), Thomas Hall (b.1725), Mary
Hall (later Mary Barclay), and Mary Hall (wife of Thomas Hall (b.1725), and William Hall (b.1749). Attorneys for the Hall
Family included James Kerr, Cunningham and Cleland, and William Brown, while John Scott, George Ricketts, and George Stowe
were employed as overseers. Minor correspondents include Thomas Hall (son of Henry Hall), John Krauss, David Dehany, and Jane
Barnett. Mrs. Barnett's letter to Thomas Hall provides a particularly interesting account of her husband's death at sea during
a storm and her efforts to control his estate. The materials are organized in chronological order with undated letters at
the end of the series. Significant groups of letters include:
Thomas Hall (b.1694) to William Hall (b.1696), 1721-1722: 7 letters, 10 pages. Thomas Hall had recently left Jamaica and
wrote from England to his brother, William, who operated a sugar plantation in Jamaica. Thomas, who had recently suffered
a crippling disability, appealed for funds citing the circumstances of poor relatives and his own needs. He married in 1721,
had a daughter, Patience, in 1722 and lived in the Soho district of London.
William Hall (b.1696) to Thomas Hall (b.1725), 1747-1751: 28 letters, 63 pages [includes 2 undated letters]. William Hall
wrote from the Luana Estate and Spanish Town in Jamaica to his son, Thomas, who managed estates in St. James parish, Jamaica.
William alternated his residence between Luana and Spanish Town, the island's political center and seat of the Assembly of
which he was a member. William's letters deal with business affairs, the direction of sugar plantations and coordination
of shipments of plantation products-- sugar, rum, molasses, and mahogany lumber to England, the effect of rainy weather on
the sugar harvest, news of small pox epidemics, the treatment and discipline of Negro slaves, local and international news,
and family news. During this period William's financial affairs were increasingly in disarray and he became preoccupied with
payment of debts and accounts. His health was sometimes poor due to age and gout.
William wrote about conditions in Jamaica prior to the appointment of Admiral Charles Knowles as Governor (1752-1756) of the
island. Several letters mention the subject of slavery including the discipline of runaway slaves (1747, May 1), disobedience
and refusal to work (1747, November 18), and the acquisition of new slaves (1748, April 12 and 1748, July 3). International
events and their impact on Jamaica and the sugar economy are also discussed-- the implications of the peace treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
between Great Britain, France, and Holland (1748, June 30) and the activities of the English fleet in the Caribbean (1747,
November 18 and 1748, June 3). Jamaican politics are mentioned in several letters-- a scheme to redraw county divisions and
elect county courts (1750, November 22), Halls plans to send a list of bills before the Assembly (1751, October 12) and news
of assembly and committee activities (1751, November 19).
Mary Barclay to Thomas Hall (b.1725), 1758-1760: 10 letters, 20 pages [includes 2 letters undated and written before her marriage
to Barclay]. William Hall had died and his wife, Mary, had married Mr. Barclay. Thomas Hall moved to London and had given
over management of his plantations to attorney Samuel Cleland. Mary wrote from Jamaica requesting news of the family, especially
her grandchildren, and provided news of friends and the situation in Jamaica. She commented upon the treatment of slaves
on Hall's plantations (1759, August 23), cautioned him not to turn his copartner, Mr. Rusea, into an attorney by giving him
too much power (1759, September 21) and gave an account of a slave rebellion and its leader "Simon" (1760, August 31) [see
also George Ricketts to Thomas Hall, 1760, August 30].
Stephen Fuller to Thomas Hall (b.1725), 1761-1763: 9 letters, 21 pages. Hall had left his wife and children in London and
had returned to Jamaica to personally manage his estates in response to declining productivity. Stephen Fuller, his agent
in London, wrote regarding international politics, the price of sugars and the health and well being of Hall's family. He
warned of the threat of Spanish marauders in the Caribbean (1761, January 2), requested that Hall recommend a correspondent
from the island of
Martinico (1762, March 31) and conveyed news of the death of Mary Hall, his wife (1763, March 24).
Mary Hall to Thomas Hall (b.1725), 1761: 6 letters, 12 pages [includes 2 undated letters]. Thomas Hall (b.1725) had left
for Jamaica and his wife, Mary, wrote immediately upon his departure. In letters of an personal nature, she pleaded with
him to abandon his plans and return to his family. She argued that increased profits did not justify leaving at a time when
family members were sick.
Thomas Hall (b.1725) to Mary Hall, 1762-1763: 4 letters, 9 pages. Thomas Hall wrote to his wife, Mary, from Jamaica with
news of the plantation, friends, and island affairs. He began by describing his passage from Madeira to Jamaica (1762, January
26) and then described the disorder and confusion on his estates (1762, February 20). Hall conveyed his concern over Jamaica's
exposure to plunder and pillage at the hands of the Spanish (1762, February 20).
Thomas Hall (b.1725) to Charles Moore, 1767: 1 letter, 2 pages. Hall, returned to London, wrote to Charles Moore, a tutor
who had been overseeing the education of his sons at home.
Charles Moore to Thomas Hall (b.1725), 1767-1768: 6 letters, 11 pages. Moore wrote offering to tutor Hall's sons at Eton,
but pointed out that there is little he could accomplish without their "prudence and their own application" (1767, December
30). He reported on their progress and schedules at Eton and praised Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall for his application and promise.
Finally, Moore made an unsuccessful bid for the hand of Hall's daughter in marriage (1768, May 8).
John Scott to Thomas Hall (b.1725), 1767-1769: 7 letters, 14 pages. John Scott was the overseer on Hall's Tryall estate in
St. James parish, Jamaica. He requested that Hall visit the plantation and asked that supplies be landed at Dunshole rather
than Montego Bay, complaining that materials went to Irwin estate first and he often failed to receive all that was due (1767,
April 27). Scott made recommendations on the production of rum and related news of the estate, including the natural increase
of the "Negroe" slaves (1767, July 12). Scott planned to move to Philadelphia (1769, May 10), but had to delay his departure
until the next spring (1768, May 18). In the same letter he suggested that the child of a white father and slave mother might
be spared a life of bondage. Finally, Scott wrote from Philadelphia where he was having trouble selling his bonds because
of the export ban on American manufactures to England (1769, September 25).
James Kerr to Thomas Hall (b.1725), 1769-1772: 3 letters, 9 pages. Kerr wrote as a manager of Thomas Hall's Jamaican estates
regarding matters of provisions, the purchase of new slaves, weather, and crops.
William Hall (b.1749) to Thomas Hall (b.1725), 1769-1771: 5 letters, 14 pages. William Hall wrote from Jamaica to his father
in London in an effort to convince him that his days of frivolity at Eton were over. He was eager to gain his father's favor
and dreamt of taking over management of his father's estates (1771, February 1). William discussed his plans to build a house
on a small tract of land bordering Worchester and Williamsfield (1771, March 28), his intention to purchase "Negroe" slaves
and begin a substantial estate (1771, July 24).
William Brown to Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall (b.1748?), 1775-1779: 5 letters, 26 pages. Thomas Hall has died (1772) and left his
estates to his oldest son, Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall, who lived in London and managed his sugar plantations through an attorney
in Jamaica, William Brown. Brown's letters reflect a high degree of involvement in sugar planning and processing in a climate
of intensified production of high quality sugars. Brown discussed the completion of a new mill at Kirkpatrick Hall estate
(possibly the aggregate of the Worchester and Williamsfield holdings), the schedule of planting, the need produce higher quality
sugars by shifting labor from extensive planting to "cleaning" the crop already there, and the need to hire "Negroes" skilled
in the trades, sawyers and carpenters, to build up the estate (1775, June 1). Hugh had changed merchant bankers from Stephen
Fuller to Messiers. Sercold & Jackson.
Robert Kenyon to Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall, 1776: 2 letters, 6 pages. Robert Kenyon, Hugh's brother-in-law, inquired about future
disposition of one of Hugh's horses (1776, 24 April). Both men lived in England. In the second letter Kenyon expressed a
desire to visit and see the children.
Cunningham and Cleland to John Kennion, 1784-1785: 3 letters, 12 pages. The company of Cunningham and Cleland, attorneys
in Jamaica, reported to John Kennion, Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall's agent in London, regarding the state of Hall's plantations.
They described the financial accounts, provided news of crops and the ships that will carry sugar, and shipped turtles and
limes. Also they mentioned the review of an overseer, especially his conduct toward the slaves (1784, 12 February). Finally,
they related news that William, Hugh's brother in Jamaica, had made a negotiation of his debts quite unfavorable to Hugh (1785,
April 20).
George Lawrence to Thomas Hall (b.1758), 1810: 2 letters, 5 pages. George Lawrence, son of Thomas Hall's sister Mary, wrote
Thomas in London with news of Williamsfield and the condition of the crops (1810, 16 May). Lawrence had travelled to Jamaica
to resolve estate accounts.
The PLANTATION AND ESTATE DOCUMENTS series contains records related to the management of the sugar plantations of Irwin, Tryall,
Kirkpatrick Hall, Johnshall, Worcester, Williamsfield and Hallhead estates and Stapleton Pen. The materials are arranged
by individual estate. Bound items which provide data on several plantations are grouped in a separate subseries.
Significant among the documents are lists of slaves on individual plantations which were complied by attorneys for absentee
owners, usually at the end of the year. Although the categories of data which were recorded vary across time, most record
name, occupation, and condition. Many trace age and country of origin, while one list accounts for the yearly allowance of
cloth for each slave (1793: An Account Book). The increase and decrease of slaves was also often recorded, including birth
and death dates; name of mother and child; name of deceased; and cause of death. Doctor's bills and accompanying receipts
for payment located in the Hallhead subseries provide additional information on the general health and condition of slaves.
Extant slave lists for Hallhead estate appear for the years 1792, 1810, and 1818-1820. Lists for Irwin, Tryall, and Kirkpatrick
Hall estates and Stapleton Pen appear for the years 1782, 1819, 1821-1822, 1824, 1827-1828, and 1830.
Several documents provide information on cane-fields under cultivation for the estate of Hallhead. Data on cultivation occurs
in the 1793 account book, the 1811 "list," and the 1820 "list." Often included with lists of slaves were livestock accounts
which reported the increase and decrease of stock.
The materials in the "Account ledgers" subseries as well as individual accounts located within the Irwin, Johnshall, and Tryall
estate subseries provide a wealth of data on the operation of Thomas Hall's (b.1725) sugar plantations between 1756 and 1766.
Generally, the ledgers balance accounts with individuals who managed Hall's plantations while he lived in London. Hall settled
accounts with Joseph Manesly, Dehany and Bowen, John Rusea, Benjamin Heath, James Irving, Samuel Cleland, and John Scott.
Of particular interest are the accounts for Johnshall estate which document cash paid out for goods and services.
The LEGAL DOCUMENTS series is organized in three subseries: bonds, cases with legal opinions, and miscellaneous documents.
The "bonds" subseries contains three documents which secure financial agreements between individuals. In the earliest bond,
dated 1720, William Hall (b.1696) and an associate, James Campbel, borrowed four thousand pounds from his father and mother,
Thomas (b.1660?) and Patience Hall. The copy of the bond between Thomas Hall (b.1725) and his father-in-law, David Dehany,
sets forth the conditions by which Hall will use land bequeathed to his wife's children. Finally, the copy of the bond between
Thomas Hall and Murdock MacLeod and George Lesslie relates to the rental of Kirkpatrick Pen, including Negroes and stock,
in the parish of Westmoreland.
The "cases with legal opinions" subseries relates to family wills [see FAMILY DOCUMENTS - Wills] and the inheritance of property
by Thomas Hall (b.1725) and his heirs. Typically, a copy of the will or argument was submitted to an attorney, who then penned
his opinion on the copy. In 1747, William Hall sought to clarify the title to 120 acres of land in the parish of St. Elizabeth
that his mother, Patience, bequeathed to her grandson, Thomas. William's request for opinions corresponds to the marriage
of Thomas Hall to Mary Dehany. Other important cases include the inheritance of Hugh Kirkpatrick's estate by his daughter,
Mary Hall [wife of William Hall] (1752, June 15), the inheritance of the estate of George Goodin by the children of Mary Dehany
(1763, November 28) and a dispute over land bequeathed by Mary Hall to her grandson, Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall ([after 1772]).
The "miscellaneous legal documents" subseries contains a letter of attorney from Thomas Hall to Samuel Cleland to grant land
for life on Hall's property north of Montego Bay, St. James parish (1757, May 9). Also included is a document related to
the sale of land at Toxteth Park near Liverpool, England for which John Kennion, Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall's agent in London,
paid the taxes in 1785 (1783, February 24 and 1785). Of particular interest is the epitome or summary of the settlement made
on the marriage of Thomas Newman and Eliza Anne Hall, Thomas Hall's (b.1758?) daughter (1817, December 27). The six page
document reflects a complexity of conditions and stipulations for marriage among the wealthy.
The FAMILY DOCUMENTS series is arranged in four subseries- genealogical documents, military commissions, miscellaneous documents,
and wills [see LEGAL DOCUMENTS - Cases with legal opinions]. The materials relate to individual family members and are organized
in chronological order.
The "genealogical documents" provide birth and death dates for members of the Hall family, including Thomas Hall's (b.1660?)
children (ca. 1719 and n.d.), William Hall's (b.1696) family (ca. 1726), Hugh Kirkpatrick's family (1746, May 28), Thomas
Hall's (b.1725) children (1769, May 27), and Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall's children (1797, June 7). Also included in the subseries
are drafts of kinship charts probably created by Irwin Barnett.
The "military commissions" are elegant certificates complete with wax stamp and signed by the governor. They certify the
appointment of Hugh Kirkpatrick to the rank of captain of a company and later captain of a troop of cavalry. Thomas Hall
(b.1725) rose in rank from a lieutenant to a lieutenant colonel of the cavalry. Both men served in the parish of St. James.
The "miscellaneous documents" subseries contains a marvelous bill for the funeral of Thomas Hall (b.1725) which includes such
items as "six men in deep mourning to bear in the said coffin," "30 men with branches to light the funeral" and "beer for
the men as usual." The remainder of the subseries is composed of miscellaneous expenses incurred by Thomas Kirkpatrick Hall
as sheriff of Staffordshire, England, between 1817 and 1820.
The "wills" subseries [see LEGAL DOCUMENTS - Cases with legal opinions] contains documents related to Patience Hall; James
Barclay, William Hall's widow, Mary's, second husband; Frances Esdaile, Thomas Hall's (b.1758) wife's sister; and Robert Kenyon,
Hugh Kirkpatrick Hall's wife's brother.
The POLITICAL AND PUBLIC DOCUMENTS series are arranged in three subseries: political documents related to the controversies
surrounding the administration of Governor Charles Knowles, 1752-1756, miscellaneous political documents and public documents
related to Jamaica. Within each subseries documents are arranged chronologically.
The Knowles materials provide documentation on the attempted removal of the capitol of Jamaica from Spanish Town to Kingston
and the formation of the "Association" by a group of influential planters including William Dawkins, Rose Fuller, Richard
Beckford, Edward Clarke, Thomas Fearon, senior, John Palmer, Hampson Nedham, Edward Manning, Henry Archbould, Philip Pinnock,
and Charles Price. Included is a letterpress broadside reproducing Governor Knowles speech dissolving the Assembly on November
8, 1754 together with the declaration of the "Association." In The Association Develop'd, a printed tract, the anonymous author,
Jamaicanius, disputes the declaration of the associates. A detailed enumeration of the complaints against Knowles can be
found in the "Grievances" document. A copy of the report of July 3, 1755 signed by Lord Halifax, J. Grenville and T. Pelham
to the Privy Council recommends against the removal of the capitol.
The "miscellaneous political documents" subseries contains two items. The first is a copy of a petition by Negro slaves who
request their freedom and was witnessed by Charles Price. The second is an apparent political poem.
The "public documents related to Jamaica" subseries contains two items which describe St. James parish-- a list of voters
in the election of 1745 and a list of inhabitants taken in 1752. The list of inhabitants records the number of men, women,
children, and servants in individual households. Also included is a unique printed broadside which lists vessels lost or
damaged in the hurricane of September 11, 1751. Finally, the "Account of Negroes and Cattle" provides data on the size of
the slave population for each parish for the years 1734, 1740 and 1745.
Accession Processed in 1995 (Box 3)
The accession processed in 1995 contains a small selection of letters and miscellaneous documents written by English diplomat
Lorenzo Hall between 1825 and 1842 to his uncle Thomas Kirkpatrick Hall and other family members, letters sent to Thomas K.
Hall by various representatives and agents in Italy between 1819 and 1822 concerning Mr. Hall's commissions of paintings and
several trade cards. The materials, dating from 1772 to 1892, are arranged in two series: 1) CORRESPONDENCE and 2) MISCELLANEOUS
DOCUMENTS.
SERIES ONE: CORRESPONDENCE
The first series, CORRESPONDENCE, is arranged chronologically. The first group of letters contains 9 holograph letters (including
shipping, banking, and commercial records) sent to Thomas K. Hall of Staffordshire, England between 1819 and 1822 (see Box
3 Folder 41). The letters are from various agents and representatives situated in Italy who were associated with Mr. Hall's
commissions of original paintings and copies of Old Master Paintings, in Rome (primarily) and elsewhere by the following artists:
Luigi Duranti (1791-1857), a Roman painter (SEE LETTER DATED MARCH 25, 1819), Gaspare Gabrielli (ca. 1790-1833), an Italian
painter, (SEE LETTER DATED AUGUST 28, 1819), Peter Herzog (1794-1864), a Swiss painter (SEE LETTER DATED JANUARY 26, 1822),
Giovanni Marchi, a Veronese painter (SEE LETTER DATED AUGUST 28, 1819), and Guiseppi Pisani (1757-1839), an Italian sculptor
(SEE LETTER DATED APRIL 3, 1819). The correspondence offers insight into the trade in paintings between Italy and Britain
during the period, as well as specific, detailed citation of the creation of certain copies of important Old Master paintings
by leading Italian artists of the 19th century, the cost of these commissions with detailed explanations of payment, and the
methods of transport from Leghorn to England. The second group from Lorenzo Hall contains letters written by English diplomat
Lorenzo Hall to his uncle Thomas K. Hall. Lorenzo Hall's letters, dated between 1825-1842, are from numerous European cities
and countries and contain extensive and detailed accounts of the places and peoples from his posts and travels.
SERIES TWO: MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS
The second series, MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS, contains eight 19th century 'trade cards', including one from a salesman of American
locomotives in England and one card announcing a meeting for "Women and the Vote" from London dated March 21, 1889. This
series also contains fragments of letters dated 1772-1810, including one unsigned diary summary dated 1799-1804 and a receipt
for the medical treatment of slaves on the Hallhead estate dated 1809.
MICROFILM
A microfilm (4 reels) of the entire collection was prepared in July 1999.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Hall family -- Archives
Hall, Thomas, b. 1694
Hall, William, b. 1696
Hall, Thomas, b. 1725
Hall, William, b. 1749
Hall, Hugh Kirkpatrick, b. 1748?
Hall, Thomas Kirkpatrick, b. 1776
Sugar growing -- Jamaica
Agriculture -- Jamaica
Slaves -- Jamaica -- Statistics
Slavery -- Jamaica -- History
Sugar trade -- Jamaica
Plantation workers -- Jamaica
Sugar workers -- Jamaica
Slaveholders -- Jamaica
Plantation owners -- Jamaica
Jamaica -- Politics and government
Hall, Thomas, b. 1694, -- correspondent
Hall, William, b. 1696, -- correspondent
Hall, Mary S, -- correspondent
Hall, Thomas, b. 1725, -- correspondent
Hall, William, b. 1749, -- correspondent
Hall, Lorenzo, -- correspondent
Brown, William, -- correspondent
Lawrence, George, -- correspondent
Cunningham and Cleland (Jamaica), -- correspondent