James Laing (doctor) facts for kids
James Laing (born around 1749, died 1831) was a Scottish doctor who also owned sugar plantations and enslaved people in Dominica, an island in the Caribbean.
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Life Story of James Laing
James Laing was born in a place called Crimond in Scotland, around 1748. His parents were Alexander Laing and Jane Henderson. When he was a young man, in the late 1760s, he moved to Dominica. There were other people named James Laing from Scotland in the Caribbean at that time, including another doctor in Tobago.
In 1789, Laing bought land in Scotland at Haddo-Rattray. This area was described as having an old house and a new, fancy mansion. In the same year, Laing spoke to the Privy Council about life on plantations in Dominica. The Privy Council was a group of advisors to the British monarch.
By 1793, Laing held an important job in Dominica called "provost marshal." This role was similar to a chief law enforcement officer. In 1796, he helped present a gift of £700 worth of silver to Henry Hamilton, who was the Governor. This gift was to thank the Governor for defending Dominica from a French invasion. In 1798, Laing also worked as the "Collector" for the island, which meant he was in charge of collecting taxes and customs duties.
In 1804, a government report showed that Laing owned 51 enslaved people. He was also an eyewitness to a French attack on Roseau, the capital of Dominica, in 1805. He later gave a statement about what he saw. In 1806, as Collector and a member of the Dominica Council, he gave evidence to a committee in the British Parliament.
In early 1814, George Robert Ainslie was the Governor of Dominica. He was trying to deal with the Maroons, who were groups of enslaved people who had escaped and formed their own communities. Laing was still the provost marshal, but he was in the United Kingdom because he was sick. Governor Ainslie thought Laing was too old and wanted his own brother to take over the job. However, Lord Bathurst, a powerful government official, said no. He believed Laing was still able to do his duties. Later that summer, during trials of Maroons, Laing's relative, Thomas Laing, acted as provost marshal. In 1815, a man named Sir Robert Heron, 2nd Baronet mentioned that James Laing had lived on Dominica for 48 years.
While in England, Laing became the High Sheriff of Surrey in 1815. This was an important local government role. He lived at a place called Moor Park, Farnham.
James Laing passed away on April 24, 1831, when he was 82 years old.
Macoucherie Sugar Estate
In 1804, James Laing, along with John Lucas and Robert Reid, received a land grant in Dominica. By that year, Laing and Robert Reid were owners of the Macoucherie sugar estate. A sugar estate was a large farm where sugarcane was grown and processed into sugar. Records from 1811 show that a man named John Mair owned the estate before them. At that time, there were three owners, and one of them, Thomas Lucas, sold his share to Laing and Robert Reid. Laing was noted as being from Streatham, a place in England. In his will, Laing left his half-share of the estate to his younger son.
Between 1822 and 1823, Laing and George Henry Rose supported a Wesleyan Methodist mission. This mission aimed to teach and convert the enslaved people on the estates in Dominica to Christianity. A missionary named James Catts mentioned in 1823 that his colleague, Thomas Harrison, was visiting Laing's estates. A book from 1828, called Sketches and Recollections of the West Indies, was dedicated to Laing. This book talked about slavery and its end, suggesting ways to improve the lives of enslaved people and the need to pay compensation to slave owners.
After Laing's death, when slavery was ended in the British Empire, compensation was paid for the Macoucherie estate. Some of this money went to the people managing Laing's will. His niece, Elizabeth Stewart Hay, also made a claim for some of the money.
The government sold the Macoucherie estate in 1938. In 1943, Howell Donald Shillingford bought it, along with its cane mill and rum distillery. The estate is still active today and produces rum. It is the last working sugar estate on Dominica.
Other Estates and Connections
James Laing also owned parts of other estates in Dominica, including the Union and York Valley estates.
He was the uncle of William Bremner, who owned the Aberdeen Estate coffee plantation. Bremner was a Scottish doctor who sailed to Dominica in 1794. He left the island in 1815 and wrote down his memories. He bought another plantation called Dawn in 1805 with another doctor, Dr. Johnstone. Later, he went into business with a company called Thomas Laing & Co.
John Laing, who was the eldest son of Thomas Laing, died in 1808 at age 28. He was acting as provost marshal at the time. James Laing was involved in land deals with George Metcalfe, who was acting Governor during that period.
Thomas Henderson, who died in 1816, was another nephew of James Laing and a member of the island's assembly.
Will and What He Left Behind
In his will, James Laing left his estate at Haddo to William John Laing. He left the Union Estate in Dominica to Allan Stewart Laing. The people in charge of his will were a lawyer named Abel Jenkins and Allan Stewart Laing.
Family Life
James Laing's wife, Eliza (or Elizabeth), died in 1816 when she was about 61 or 63 years old. They had several children, including:
- James Bruce Laing: He was the oldest son and worked in India for the British government. He died in 1823 at age 45.
- William John Laing: He was the older son who was still alive in 1831.
- Allan Stewart Laing: He was a police court judge in London. He lost his job in 1837 because of his bad temper.
