James Evan Baillie, son of Evan and Mary, was christened on 26 June 1782 at St Augustine-The-Less, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.[1]
After his eldest brother’s early death and his father’s retirement in 1812, James was the principal of Evan Baillie, Sons & Co in Bristol and he and brother Hugh Duncan became partners in another family firm, Bristol Old Bank (also known as Baillie, Ames & Baillie). Evan Baillie, Sons & Co continued trading as sugar traders until 1861. He was a partner in J.E. Baillie, Fraser & Co. in London. His other interests included as chairman of the British Guiana Association, president of the Whig Anchor Club in Bristol, and a member of Brook’s Club in London. He was a major recipient of slave compensation across the Caribbean, although he may never have visited his interests in the West Indies.[2]
He was a Whig MP for Tralee (1813-1818) and Bristol (1830-1835).[3]
He died at his residence of 1 Seamore Place, Curzon Street, Mayfair, London, England,[4][5] where he had lived since 1823, and was buried at Brompton Cemetery in London.
Possible children
James never married but his will left a total of £55,000, raised in part from the sale of estates in Gloucestershire and Glamorgan, to be divided between ten individuals, most of whom were probably his illegitimate children.[6]
£5000 to Ann Vigors daughter of Ann Thompson formerly residing at Monmouth (probably an illegitimate daughter)
£5000 to Jane Sysson another daughter of the said Ann Thompson (probably an illegitimate daughter)
£5000 to Isabella Maddox, daughter of Isabella Hayward formerly Isabella Stratton (Baillie is named as her father in her baptism record)
£5000 to Frances Courtot, daughter of Mary Skey formerly residing at Graham Street Pimlico (Baillie is named as her father in her baptism record)
£5000 to Mary Skey, daughter of Mary Skey formerly residing at Graham Street Pimlico (Baillie is named as her father in her baptism record)
£5000 to Emma Skey, daughter of Mary Skey formerly residing at Graham Street Pimlico
£10,000 to Anthony Peter Martin, a Major in the 4th Regiment Bengal Irregular Cavalry; he also received plantations and estates in the colony of Berbice in British Guiana (Anthony was Baillie's ward and godson)
£10,000 to Arthur Henry Skey; he had remainder of the estates in Berbice if Anthony Peter Martin had no children
an annuity to Georgina Emma Susan Dean Pitt, one of the daughters of Mrs Susan Dean Pitt, widow of General Dean Pitt. (Georgina was Baillie's niece; her mother Susan was James's illegitimate sister.)
James's possible mistresses therefore are:
Ann Thompson (nee Clow), children born 1812 and 1818/19 - it seems likely that the Thompson surname is an assumed one. It is unclear whether James is the father of Anne's three elder daughters as well, and whether she assumed her false identity before she met him. This seems possible given that her first husband was executed.
Isabella Stretton - James was almost certainly the father of her eldest daughter born 1819, but possibly not of her two younger daughters, even though James left a bequest to Emily, the youngest. Isabella is known to have been in a relationship with another man from 1822 at the latest (she later married him, after he obtained a divorce).
Mary Skey - James was named as the father of her two elder daughters at the time of baptism, but a father's name was not given for the younger two children.
Sources
↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NNM5-H3X : 10 February 2018, James Evan Baillie Or Baillis, ); citing item 5, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,596,310
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with James by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with James: