Samuel Martin (1694 in Greencastle Estate – 1776) was a prominent planter in Antigua.[1]
Samuel Martin was born on the Greencastle Estate, Antigua, the son of Major Samuel Martin, who, in 1701, was murdered during a slave revolt after having demanded the enslaved Africans on his estate work on Christmas Day. The seven year old Samuel escaped a similar fate, being hidden in nearby fields by his nanny. She was herself enslaved and was subsequently freed in recognition of this act.[1] Samuel was sent to live in Ireland while his mother remarried Edward Byam.[2]
He wrote Essay upon Plantership (1754), a treatise on managing a sugar plantation.[3][4]
Martin fathered 21 children, at least sixteen of whom died during his lifetime.[5] The eldest of his sons, Samuel, became a British member of parliament and secretary to the Treasury; Henry became comptroller of the Navy, a member of parliament, and a baronet; Josiah was governor of North Carolina.[6]
References
External links
- Martin, John (2004). "Martin, Samuel (1694/5–1776), plantation owner". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/64973.