Born at Roddam Hall in Northumberland, 1719. Died at Morpeth in 1808. Officer in the Royal Navy. His ship, the Greenwich, was captured off Cape Cabron (Dominican Republic)* by the French on 16 March 1757. He was imprisoned, along with his crew at Cape-Francais (Haiti)*, but after several months the French released Roddam and his crew to Jamaica.

The Navy court-martialled Roddam on Jamaica for losing his ship. Roddam was “honourably acquitted”. He continued in the Navy until about 1790 when he returned to Northumberland. He had inherited the Roddam estates in 1776 when his older brother died.

*The Dominican Republic and Haiti are part of the same Caribbean Island, which was often referred to as Hispaniola or Saint-Domingue. The French colonised the island in the seventeenth-century.

Merchant and slave holder on Jamaica. His will (see link below) shows that he was an incredibly wealthy man; he left bequests of £1000s to each of his children. At the time of his death, his estate claimed ownership of 616 enslaved people.

The total for this bill is worth over £84,000 in 2020, according to the Bank of England Inflation calculator. The enslaved men and boys on this bill are valued at £35 each. This is worth about £8,000 in 2020. 

Documents from the eighteenth-century regularly use language that is unacceptable. People of African descent were often called “negroes”, as in this bill.

Fustian – thick, hard-wearing fabric

Stiped gingham – medium-weight woven fabric

Stuff – woven fabric, usually made from wool threads

Schooner – type of ship

Sloop – type of ship

Duty – tax