click on image for larger view.
February 5th
William Davidson born 1781/6 died 1820
William Davidson was born in Jamaica in either 1781 or 1786, according to various sources. The information about his parentage in Jamaica is somewhat confusing (see note on William Davidson), but his father was obviously White, and his mother either Coloured or Black, and probably free. It is probably, for now, more useful to recount what seems to be known of his life after he left Jamaica.
It is said that he was sent to Scotland, against his mother's wishes, when he was about 14, to continue his schooling. Then he was apprenticed to a lawyer in Liverpool, but tiring of this he ran away to sea and was twice 'pressed' into the Royal Navy. On getting out of the Navy he was given the opportunity to study Mathematics at Aberdeen University. Finally giving up on the academic life, he became an apprentice to a cabinet maker, in Lichfield, in Staffordshire. At some point he worked for the Earl of Harrowby, at his estate, Sandon Hall, also in Staffordshire. He moved to Birmingham and set up his own business, possibly using a legacy of £1200 from his mother. Either in Lichfield or Birmingham he had hoped to marry the daughter of a merchant, Miss Salt, but her family was opposed to the marriage and confrontations and court cases took place; the young lady was sent
away and soon married another man. This disappointment was a severe blow, and Davidson's business in Birmingham failed leaving him with little to hope for.
He gravitated to London, like so many in search of work and better prospects, and got a journeyman's position with a cabinet-maker on Haymarket. For a time he taught in a Methodist Sunday School, but experienced problems when he was accused on 'insulting' one of the young women teachers. He claimed later that he tracked down another Coloured man who was in fact the culprit, and that the young lady apologised for the wrong she had done him, shaking his hand and asking his pardon. There were of course many Black and Coloured men in London at that time, so undoubtedly such errors did occur.
Press Gang
Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators
Soon he again started a business of his own, in Walworth, and married Sarah Lane, a widow with four children, possibly at St Martin in the Fields in 1816. The marriage produced two sons (whose names vary in the references), and the family lived on Elliott's Row near the Old Lord's Cricket Ground (just east of Marylebone Station). According to Peter Fryer the strong, dark-eyed, dark-haired man was popular in the area, and entertained his neighbours in his home. He joined the Marylebone Union Reading Society, a Radical group formed in the aftermath of the infamous Peterloo Massacre of 1819 when 11 unarmed working-class demonstartors were shot and another 500 were injured. The group sometimes met in Davidson's house. His apparent relative prosperity at this time is belied by reports that earlier in 1819 he had had to pawn his cabinet-making tools and other things, had had no work for nearly 5 months and had been reduced to begging on the street.
It was at this juncture that he became involved, to whatever extent, with the group which were the supposed instigators of the 'Cato Street Conspiracy'.
the worthy frog
Joy Lumsden 2007
Useful reference material:
Peter Fryer, Staying Power, 1984, pages 214-20.
E P Thompson, The making of the English working class, 1963, chapter 15.
You are viewing the text version of this site.
To view the full version please install the Adobe Flash Player and ensure your web browser has JavaScript enabled.
Need help? check the requirements page.
