Sir John Alleyne, 1st Baronet

Sir John Gay Alleyne, 1st Baronet (28 April 1724 – 1801)[1] was a British baronet, Barbados landowner, and Barbadian politician.

Family

Sir John Gay Alleyne was born at Saint James, Barbados, as the second son of John Alleyne and his wife Mary Terrill, who was the daughter of William Terrill.[1] The Alleyne family[2] (like the Codrington family, Drax family, Terrill family, and Clement family) were amongst the first European colonisers of Barbados. The first Alleyne to emigrate to Barbados was Reynold Alleyne, who was the son of The Rev. Richard Alleyne D.D., Rector of St. Mary's, Stowting, Kent, from 1605. Reynold Alleyne emigrated to Barbados between 1628[3] and 1630.[2]

On 19 October 1746 at St James Church, Barbados, John Gay Alleyne married Cristen Dottin, who was the fourth daughter of Anne Jordan Dottin and Joseph Dottin, to whom his marriage brought ownership of the estate of the Jacobean mansion St Nicholas Abbey in Saint Peter, Barbados,[2] which became one of the most successful sugar plantations in Barbados[4] before, after the death of their only son, at Eton College when aged 12 years, its ownership reverted to her relations on her death during 1782.[4]

Alleyne married, secondly, on 29 June 1786,[5] his forty years younger first cousin Jane Abel Alleyne, who was the daughter of Major Abel Gay Alleyne (1699–1747), of Mount Steadfast and later of Braintree, Massachusetts, by his wife Mary (née Woodbridge), who lived out her days at what is now known as the Dorothy Q. Homestead in Massachusetts,[4] which is now a museum that is managed by the Massachusetts Society of Colonial Dames.[6] Alleyne and Jane Abel Alleyne had five daughters and two sons.[5]

Career

In 1757, Alleyne was elected for the Parish of St. Andrew to the Parliament of Barbados, a seat he held for the next forty years, with only a break in 1771.[7] Already after a decade in the Parliament, he became Speaker of the House of Assembly of Barbados, serving until 1770 and after another two years was reappointed until 1779.[8] Despite being a slaveowner, Alleyne expressed opinions unpopular to the planter class, such as his declaration in the House of Assembly that slavery were "an unhappy sight which leaves an immense debt upon us to clear the obligation of human nature".[9] Alleyne was created a baronet, of Four Hills, in the Island of Barbados on 6 April 1769.[10]

Legacy

In 1770, Alleyne funded the establishment of The Seminary, a school for "the maintenance, support, and education of poor boys"[9] that received permission to admit young boys of colour.[9] It was later renamed The Alleyne School, as which it continues today, and was the first government co-educational secondary school in Barbados.[11]

Alleyne introduced mahogany to Barbados and planted the impressive mahogany avenue leading to Cherry Tree Hill.[4]

Mount Gay Distilleries Ltd., who are the world's oldest known rum brand to continue to exist, was on Alleyne's death renamed, from its earlier name of Mount Gilboa Plantation and Distillery,[12] by his close friend John Sober who had employed him as manager of the company.[12]

Death

Alleyne's wife died in 1800 and he survived her until the following year.[1] His two elder sons had predeceased him and he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his third son Reynold Abel Alleyne (1789–1870),[13] by whose daughter he was the great-grandfather of the Belgravia cricketers Richard Clement (cricketer) and Reynold Clement.[14]

See also

  • See also: Alleyne baronets

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Cokayne 1906, p. 152.
  2. ^ a b c "Alleyne Historical Sites, Alleyne of Barbados". 2019.
  3. ^ "About Us, Alleyne Real Estate Barbados". 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d "Entry for St. Nicholas Abbey, American Aristocracy". 2019.
  5. ^ a b Debrett 1824, p. 564.
  6. ^ "Entry for Major Abel Gay Alleyne, American Aristocracy". 2019.
  7. ^ Brandow 1982, pp. 35–36.
  8. ^ The House of Assembly.
  9. ^ a b c Genealogies of Barbados Families: From Caribbeana and the Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society. Genealogical Publishing Com. 1983. p. 40. ISBN 9780806310046. sir john gay alleyne barbados slavery.
  10. ^ Kimber 1771, pp. 249–250.
  11. ^ "Alleyne School Commemorating Years Of Co-Education | GIS". gisbarbados.gov.bb. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b "History". St Nicholas Abbey. 2007. Archived from the original on 23 May 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2010. Sir John Alleyne, as he later became, was a very close friend of John Sober. John Sober inherited Mount Gilboa Plantation/Distillery from his father William Sandiford in 1747, and upon doing so he appointed Sir John Gay Alleyne as the manager. Sir John did such a good job at managing the plantation that it was renamed Mount Gay in his honour after his passing in 1801.
  13. ^ Burke 1832, p. 25.
  14. ^ "Hampden Clement: Profile and Legacies Summary, Legacies of British Slave Ownership, UCL". University College London. 2019.

References

  • Brandow, James C. (1982). Genealogies of Barbados Families. Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 0-8063-1004-9.
  • Burke, John (1832). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. Vol. I (4th ed.). London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley.
  • Carrington, Sean; Fraser, Henry; Gilmore, John; Addinton Forde, G. (2003). A-Z of Barbados Heritage. MacMillan Caribbean. ISBN 978-0-333-92068-8.
  • Cokayne, George Edward (1906). The Complete Baronetage. Vol. V. Exeter: William Pollard Co. Ltd.
  • Debrett, John (1824). Debrett's Baronetage of England. Vol. I (5th ed.). London: G. Woodfall.
  • Kimber, Edward (1771). Richard Johnson (ed.). The Baronetage of England: Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the English Baronets. Vol. III. London: Thomas Wotton.
  • "The House of Assembly". The Barbados Parliament. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
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