Thomas Hibbert (1710–1780) was an English merchant and plantation owner who became a prominent figure in

colonial Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was captured by the English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British colony from 1707 and a Crown colony in 1866. The Colony was pr ...

Life

Thomas was the son of Robert Hibbert (1684–1762) and his wife Margaret Tetlow Mills. Born into a family owning

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...

s which supplied

barter In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists distingu ...

goods to businesses in the slave-trade, Thomas was the first of the Hibbert family to settle in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, arriving in 1734. His youngest brother, John (1732–1769), also lived in Jamaica, from 1754 until his death; his other brother,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, was father of Thomas, a co-founder of the family trading business Hibbert, Purrier and Horton, and of

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, merchant and pro-slavery campaigner. His original remit was to redeem the bonds of

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

rs at the point at which they sold their slaves in Kingston. In 1754, he completed work on building

Hibbert House Hibbert House, also known as Headquarters House, is the head office of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. It is located at 79 Duke Street in Kingston, Jamaica. It was built by Thomas Hibbert, a wealthy young English merchant, in 1755 to serve ...

which won a competition as the finest house in Kingston. In 1756 he was the speaker of the Jamaican House of Assembly. Rather than marrying, Thomas cohabited with Charity Harry, by whom he had three daughters. The youngest died whilst still young, but Jane Harry and Margaret were sent to have an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

education in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Margaret died while still at school.Hibberts in Jamaica
accessed 16 July 2012 Jane was befriended by

Mary Knowles Mary Morris Knowles (1733–1807), was an English Quaker poet and Abolitionism in the United Kingdom, abolitionist. She spoke out in favour of choosing her own spouse, argued on behalf of scientific education for women, helped develop a new form ...

and became a noted Quaker convert which ended her friendship with

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

. Jane was left money by her father but always avoided mentioning that he was her father.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibbert, Thomas 1710 births 1780 deaths West Indies merchants English slave traders British slave owners