John Staunton

Demerara slave-owner, of Irish extraction, settled in Liverpool when he made his will in 1819 and dying of Boulogne c. 1824.

1. Will of John Staunton late of the colony of Demerary but now of Liverpool proved 04/05/1824. He provided £8000 in trust (one of his trustees was William Shand of Liverpool) for his daughter Barbara Staunton, the daughter of Margaret Capie [sp?] late of Demerary deceased ('and which said Barbara Staunton is my reputed daughter and now lives with my father John Staunton Esq. of Limerick'); he also gave personal items to his two reputed sons with Margaret Capie, Michael and and Henry. He left an annuity of £50 p.a. to his free black servant Hamlet so long as he remained in Britain but not otherwise. His residuary heirs were Michael and Henry Staunton and Thomas Rodie Staunton, another reputed son, the child of Bridget Gallaher formerly of Limerick but now residing at Liverpool. In a codicil of 1822, he replaced William Shand as executor, revoked the £500 legacy to Shand's daughter Sarah, reduced the legacy to Hamlet to £25 p.a. (attributing the diminution to his losses by the Bank of Limerick), and provided £6000 for another reputed child, William James Staunton, born in 1821 to Ann Pidgeon [sp?].

1. PROB 11/1686/20.