Thomas Hackshaw (abt. 1745 – 1782)

Thomas HACKSHAW was born in England in the 1740’s. His family was from the area of Hinton, St. George, Somerset. He married in St. Vincent on 30 January 1772 to Lydia ALEXANDER, daughter of Honorable Harry ALEXANDER.

In his marriage record, Thomas had the title of “Honorable, Esquire”, which denotes a seat on His/Her Majesty’s Council of St. Vincent. He is listed in the Byres’ Map of 1776 as being one of the island’s original land purchasers. He is associated with Lot #97, 212 acres, which was later known as “Hope” Estate.

During the American Revolution, Thomas HACKSHAW accompanied his father-in-law Harry ALEXANDER and other individuals from St. Vincent to British West Florida. They had hoped to obtain large land grants in the area around present-day Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

On page 69 of Robin F. A. Fabel’s “The Economy of British West Florida, 1763-1783“, the author states:
“Thomas HACKSHAW applied for 1,800 acres of adjoining property on the east side of the Great Lake near the Tonica Bayou. He left behind him on St. Vincent his wife, three children, and twenty-four slaves. He intended to bring them to Florida as soon as he could but hesitated while rebel privateers haunted the coast. The council was more interested in actual than promised immigrants and granted HACKSHAW only 500 of the 1,800 acres he asked for”.

[The original source for the information on Thomas HACKSHAW’s land grant is CO 5/631, Council Minutes for 1 January 1778. CO 5 refers to the Colonial Office records housed in the National Archives/Public Record Office in Kew, England and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, USA.]

Some time after the American Revolution, Thomas HACKSHAW returned to St. Vincent, and died there on 11 February 1782 in St. Andrew’s Parish, St. Vincent. He was buried on the Estate of ALEXANDER, according to his burial record at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in Kingstown, St. Vincent.

Thomas HACKSHAW and Lydia ALEXANDER had the following children:

• Lydia HACKSHAW, christened 04 March 1773, St. Vincent. Married Thomas DAKINS/DAKYNS, Esquire. Their children were: Thomas Henry DAKYNS, Emily DAKYNS. James Graham DAKYNS, and Harriet Elizabeth DAKYNS. The younger Thomas DAKYNS is probably the “Mr. DAKYNS”, mentioned as Speaker of the House of Assembly at St. Vincent, in an article found in the Times of London for Wednesday, 07 May 1845, page 5, column C, headline “The West Indies”. He is also probably the “Mr. DAKYNS”, mentioned in a 1845 – 1846 article from the St. Vincent Gazette regarding the arrival of immigrants from Madeira on the ship Helen Thomson. Mr. DAKYNS is reported to have personally selected the individuals for work on various estates on St. Vincent, and the article states that public thanks are unquestionably due to him, along with Mr. James PORTER.
• Harry HACKSHAW, christened 16 July 1774, St. Vincent. He married Harriet/Henrietta Marion MACKAY in St. Vincent. He lived at 47 Gloucester Place in Portman Square, London, England for a time, but returned to St. Vincent where he died in March 1843. Harry HACKSHAW had Militia Commissions in the Queen’s Companies on St. Vincent in 1806 (Lieutenant), 1814 (Captain), and 1821 (Major Commanding). Between 1827 and 1829 he owned “Three Rivers” estate, a 700 acre property in Charlotte Parish. It was located on the right bank of the Byers River & boundary line of “Mount William” estate. Harry and his wife had seven children: Lydia Jane HACKSHAW, Harry Roche HACKSHAW, Robert James HACKSHAW (married Elizabeth Ann “Bessie” ROWE), Thomas HACKSHAW, Lucy Campbell HACKSHAW (married Duncan Forbes SUTHERLAND, then John HALL), Harriet Marion HACKSHAW (married Mr. NICOL), and Georgina Lydia HACKSHAW.
  George HACKSHAW (twin), christened 10 September 1775, St. Vincent. He died 13 September 1775, Queen’s Bay, St. Andrew’s Parish, St. Vincent.
• Thomas HACKSHAW (twin), christened 10 September 1775, St. Vincent. He died 19 September 1775, St. Vincent, Queen’s Bay, St. Andrew’s Parish, St. Vincent.

Lydia (ALEXANDER) HACKSHAW remarried after the death of Thomas HACKSHAW to Alexander Burrowes IRWIN on 04 August 1801 at Old Church, Saint Pancras, London, England. IRWIN was a planter on St. Vincent at one time, and had served in the 32nd Regiment of Infantry. They had three children: Harriet Frances IRWIN, Henry Bury IRWIN, and Charlotte Martha IRWIN (who married John Roche DASENT). These children were all baptized in St. Vincent on 30 March 1792 under the surname HACKSHAW. Lydia Alexander Hackshaw Irwin died 21 March 1836 and was buried in the churchyard of St. Dunstan’s-in-the-West, Fleet Street, London, England.