William Mitchell (1742–1823)

William Mitchell (1742–1823) was a British planter, attorney and official in Jamaica, where he was known as "King Mitchell" for his many interests in plantations. He was also a Member of Parliament at Westminster, and West India Interest activist.[1]

William Mitchell, engraved portrait

Life

He was the eldest son of John Mitchell of Doune, Perthshire and his wife Margaret Ferguson.[2]

Mitchell was elected one of the Members of Parliament for Plympton Erle in 1796, supported by Paul Treby Treby.[3]

While the position of Receiver General of Jamaica was held in name at the time by Viscount Sackville, the post was leased. William Mitchell's brother James died as the lease-holder. William Mitchell went to Jamaica in 1798, and it is presumed the reason was to take up the lease on the lucrative office.[1] He filled his brother's seat in the Jamaican assembly in 1798; and resigned as a Westminster MP in 1799, his place there being taken in a by-election by Richard Hankey. He renewed the lease in 1808 with Lord George Sackville-Germain, younger brother of the previous holder, to whom the title had passed.[3][2][1]

Mitchell gave evidence to a parliamentary committee in 1807.[4] By the 1820s, he no longer lived in Jamaica.[5]

Family

Mitchell and his wife Catherine Hamilton had a daughter but no sons. He left his Jamaican and Scottish property to John Mitchell, one of the five sons of his brother David, a London merchant in business with Robert Milligan.[1][6][7]

Notes
  1. "William 'King' Mitchell, 1742–1823, Legacies of British Slavery". www.ucl.ac.uk.
  2. "Mitchell, William (?1742-1823), of Upper Harley Street, Mdx. and Spanish Town, Jamaica, History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  3. "Plympton Erle (1790-1820), History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  4. Commons, Great Britain Parliament House of (1808). Reports from Committees. p. 254.
  5. Petley, Christer (6 October 2015). Slaveholders in Jamaica: Colonial Society and Culture during the Era of Abolition. Routledge. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-317-31393-9.
  6. "Francis Henry Mitchell 1795-1891, Legacies of British Slavery". www.ucl.ac.uk.
  7. "Robert Milligan 1746 - 21st May 1809, Legacies of British Slavery". www.ucl.ac.uk.
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