Josiah Martin

Following the Slave Compensation Act in 1837, Josiah Martin was awarded over £2,121 for his ownership of Wickhams in Antigua, an estate encompassing 150 enslaved individuals. However, Martin had also claimed for 3 other estates in Antigua: the Big Duers, Bendals, and Matthew/Constitution Hill estates, across which 627 individuals were enslaved. As well as his ownership of the Wickhams estate, Martin also financially supported the Society of Conversion and Religious Instruction and Education of Negro Slaves. In 1850, a year after the death of Martin, the proving of his will revealed that Martin had left £1,500 to Thomas Wise; the son of Betsy Wise, who Martin described as a ‘mustie woman’ (a term contemporarily used to insinuate degrees of African heritage), in Antigua.