Most of William Davidson's story after he reached Britain seems fairly clear, and the events that led to his execution are recounted many times in newspapers, but the circumstances of his birth in Jamaica are far less clear. Based presumably on this oft-quoted information from the Newgate Calendar

  'William Davidson was the son of the Attorney-General of Jamaica and a native woman of colour.

  He was sent to England to receive an education suitable to the rank of his father. In Liverpool he

  studied mathematics; later on he was impressed into the king's service. He received a legacy from

  his mother of £1,200 and set up a business in Birmingham. After a failed attempt at marriage to

  the daughter of a Liverpool tradesman, Davidson married a Mrs Lane who was left with six children,

  two of them being Davidson's sons.'

all accounts of his life say he was the son of the Attorney-General of Jamaica. This presents a problem, since there does not appear to have been an A-G called Davidson; the A-G at the relevant time was Robert Sewell, and I can find no reference linking him to William Davidson. It is certainly possible that Davidson bore his mother's name, as was frequently the case at the time, but that does not help with his father's identity. Davidson does not appear to have been a very common name in Jamaica in the late 18th century, but there does seem to be a Thomas Davison or Davidson [in one or two instances Davidson's name also was spelled Davison] who might possibly be the Jamaican dignitary involved. Fuertado, one of the standard sources of information on the Jamaican elite at that time, lists 'DAVISON, THOMAS M[ember of the] A[ssembly], St. Mary 1765. Collector Customs Kingston 1781.' Almanacs of the time show Thomas Davison as a Justice of the Peace and a Militia Officer. However there seems nothing to link Thomas Davison to William Davidson. It is interesting that Davidson received a substantial legacy from his mother, who may have been a 'Coloured' woman of some substance.

In his speech in his defence at his trial in 1820 Davidson said:

  'I am a stranger to England by birth, but I was educated in England; my father was an

  Englishman, my grandfather was a Scotch-man. I have not a friend in England. I have

  not a relative.'

It is possible that he did not wish to bring the name of his father into disrepute (though there must have been those who knew who his father was); conversely he may have wished to dissociate himself from his ancestry, though in that case he need not have mentioned his father at all.

If anyone can clarify these points I shall be glad to set the record straight.

  Joy Lumsden