James Dawkins (politician)
James Dawkins (1760 – 13 March 1843) was a plantation and slave owner, British politician and the Member of Parliament for Chippenham from 1784 to 1812.[1][2]
He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford from where he matriculated 4 May 1779, aged 18. Dawkins succeeded his father Henry Dawkins II as Member for Chippenham. Following an election campaign 1807-1808, which proved very expensive, Dawkins sold his property at Chippenham.
He married in September 1785 Hannah Phipps, daughter of Thomas Phipps of Heywood, Wiltshire, widow of Charles Long of Grittleton, Wiltshire. They had three children: James (died infant), George-Augustus (1791–1821, without issue) and Caroline-Anne (died unmarried 1857).[3] Secondly he married Maria Forbes in 1814, daughter of General Gordon Forbes. He took the name Colyer in 1825 on succeeding to the estates of his uncle Thomas Charles Colyer, 4th Earl of Portmore.[4]
Heir to sugar plantations in Jamaica, he voted against the abolition of the slave trade in 1796. He owned Friendship and Sandy Gully plantations after 1812. The inheritance included seven sugar estates, three livestock pens, and various smaller properties throughout the island. The plantations included Parnassus, Old Plantation and Sutton's in Clarendon, and Dawkins Caymanas in St Catherine parish.
He died a commoner 13 March 1843, aged 83.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "DAWKINS, James (1760-1843), of Standlynch, Wilts". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "James Colyear Dawkins". UCL. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ Burke, Bernard (1871). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. Harrison.
- ^ "DAWKINS, James (1760-1843), of Standlynch, Wilts. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
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