Joseph Saunders (abt. 1788 - 1865)

Born about 1788 in Harbour Island, Bahamas

Husband of Charlotte (Curry) Saunders — married 18 Apr 1815 in Nassau, Bahamas

Descendants

Died 1865 at about age 77 in Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, Bahamas

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Joseph Saunders is part of a Bahamian family.

Biography

Joseph Saunders was likely born to Benjamin Saunders Jr. and Mary/Ann Unknown about 1788 in Harbour Island, Bahamas.

Joseph Saunders married Charlotte Curry, daughter of Richard Curry and Mercy Roberts Albury Curry, 18 April 1815, at St Matthew's Anglican Church, Nassau. They had children all born in Abaco - among them William Saunders, Joseph Turtle Saunders, Benjamin James Saunders, Robert Henry Saunders, Eliza Saunders, and Margaret Saunders.

Like many Harbour Island residents who lost homes at Harbour Island in the Hurricane of 1806, many of the Saunders decided to build again on Green Turtle Cay. Of Benjamin Saunders' children, Joseph, Benjamin, and Uriah moved to Abaco. John and Richardson removed to Nassau.

John Albury and Joseph Saunders of Abaco jointly owned three slaves in 1822. They registered their slaves - as required by law - and noted that they were employed at Sand Bank and at sea. By the 1831 Slave Registration, Joseph owned 4 slaves. Five years later, the British Government paid Joseph £78 9S 2D for six enslaved individuals.

Joseph Saunders died 10 April 1865 in Green Turtle Cay, Abaco at 77 years of age. He left a will that was written in 1864 that named all of his children and his grandchildren, William and Emmeline Saunders, the offspring of his deceased son William Saunders.

Sources

St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Nassau, Bahamas, Marriage Records, 1815, #124.

Slave Registers of former British Colonial Dependencies, 1813-1834, Bahamas 1822, Register #324. Bahamas 1831 Registration, 4 slaves, Register #957.

"Legacies of British Slave-ownership", University College, London. Parliamentary Papers, 1836, Claim 1057, p. 149.

Bahamas Civil Registration, Deaths, Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, 10 April 1865, Joseph Saunders. Aged 77 years.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Ann Carmel for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Ann and others.