James Dawkins, from 1835 James Colyear Dawkins (1760 – 13 March 1843) was a British plantation and slave owner, and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

from 1784 to 1812. He was the eldest son of Henry Dawkins II, a wealthy owner of plantations in Jamaica, and his wife Lady Juliana Colyear, daughter of

Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore, KT (27 August 1700 – 5 July 1785), known as Lord Milsington to 1730, of Portmore House, Weybridge, Surrey, was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1726 and 1730, when he succe ...

. He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

from where he matriculated on 4 May 1779, aged 18. Dawkins succeeded his father as Member for Chippenham. Following an election campaign in 1807–1808, which proved very expensive, Dawkins sold his property at Chippenham and was returned in 1812 for

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, retaining the seat until 1826. He then sat for Wilton from 1831 to 1832. He married in September 1785 Hannah Phipps, daughter of Thomas Phipps of

Heywood, Wiltshire Heywood is a civil parish and small village in the county of Wiltshire in southwestern England. The village is approximately north of Westbury and south of the county town of Trowbridge. Heywood village, which has approximately 200 inhabitant ...

, widow of Charles Long of

Grittleton Grittleton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, northwest of Chippenham. The parish includes the hamlets of Foscote, Leigh Delamere, Littleton Drew and Sevington, and part of the hamlet of The Gibb. The Gauze Brook, a smal ...

, Wiltshire. They had three children: James (died infant), George-Augustus (1791–1821, without issue) and Caroline-Anne (died unmarried 1857). Secondly, he married in 1814 Maria Forbes, daughter of General Gordon Forbes. He took the name Colyear by royal licence in 1835 after succeeding to the estates of his cousin

Thomas Colyear, 4th Earl of Portmore Thomas Charles Colyear, 4th Earl of Portmore (27 March 1772 – 18 January 1835), styled Viscount Milsington from 1785 until 1823, was a British landowner and politician. Early life Lord Portmore was the son of William Colyear, 3rd Earl of Portmo ...

. 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. By 1820, he had been 35 years in Parliament "without a murmur credited to him in debate". He died a commoner on 13 March 1843, aged 83.

References

1760 births 1843 deaths British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies {{England-UK-MP-stub

See also

References