Nat Gould

Thomas Gilbert 1748-1793

Thomas Gilbert was born in 1748, the son of John Gilbert 1724-1795 of Worsley near Manchester and his wife wife née Lydia Bill 1723-1797.

He was educated at Manchester School, now Manchester Grammar School. He and his brother Robert Gilbert 1751-1820 were admitted there on 1 July 1759 (1).

On 23 April 1767 he married Alice Shaw 1742-1781 of Altrincham in Cheshire at Eccles in Lancashire (2). She was the daughter of Isaac and Alice Shaw, and was baptised on 13 August 1742 at Bowdon in Cheshire.

They had the following children:

Lydia Gilbert. She was born in 1768, and baptised on 18 September 1768 at Bowdon in Cheshire. She was married on 10 November 1794 to Nathaniel Gould 1756-1820 at Eccles in Lancashire. She died in 1798 at Salford in Lancashire.

John Gilbert. He was born in 1770, and baptised on 21 June 1771 at Bowdon. He became a potter at Burslem in Staffordshire (3). He married Sarah Bennett of Great Broughton near Chester on 25 May 1795 at St Oswald's church in Chester (4). She was the daughter of Thomas Bennett and his wife née Ann Mosley, and was baptised on 19 January 1769 at St Oswald's church in Chester.

Alice Gilbert. She was born in 1774 and died in 1854.

At the time of his marriage Thomas Gilbert was described as being "of Worsley", and so may have been assisting his father there with canal building. By 1770 however he was established as a merchant in Liverpool and was thereafter referred to as being "of Liverpool" (5).

He owned several ships including the whaler Quaker (6) and (with William Fountain as co-owner) the Bridgewater and the Carysfoot(7).

The Slaving Ship by J.M.W. Turner

As a Liverpool merchant Thomas Gilbert insured shipping. But unfortunately for him, he had headed a consortium that insured the slave ship Zong and thus became involved in the scandal resulting from the massacre of slaves on board the ship in 1781, thrown overboard to claim the insurance. The allegation was that shortage of water on board put the ship in serious danger. Thomas Gilbert refused to pay the insurance money. In 1783 he was sued and lost. The court accepted the argument that slaves were just like any other cargo, and could lawfully be jettisoned if that would get a ship out of danger (8).

There was a tremendous scandal. Thomas Gilbert appealed, basing his case on evidence that there was ample opportunity to get enough water and that there had been heavy rainfall where the ship was sailing. The case came before the Lord Chief Justice. Thomas Gilbert won, but his business was ruined.

In 1788 he was summoned to answer matters concerning his impending bankruptcy (9). His father John Gilbert of Worsley and Edward Mason were appointed trustees to dispose of his assets, and the ships Bridgewater and Carysfoot were duly sold by them on 15 April 1788.

Thomas Gilbert, by then a widower, died on 27 February 1793 at Runcorn in Cheshire (10).

(1) The Admission Register of the Manchester School edited by J.F. Smith volume 1 1730-1775 (1866) page 87.
(2) "On Tuesday last was married at Eccles, Mr. Thomas Gilbert, of Worsley, to Miss Shaw, of Altrincham, a young Lady endowed with every Qualification requisite to make the married State truly happy." Manchester Mercury 28 April 1767.
(3) He was so described in documents detailing the purchase of a field in Altrincham and other property in 1796 by the 5th Earl of Stamford from his grandfather (John Gilbert 1724-1795|)John Gilbert)) of Worsley, his father being then deceased: Stamford Estate Papers 1778-1796 GB 133 EGR14/1/39.
(4) Staffordshire Advertiser 30 May 1795.
(5) When his son John Gilbert was baptised in 1770 he was described as being a merchant of Paradise Street in Liverpool. In 1774 he was listed as being a merchant trading from 30 Duke Street: Liverpool Directory 1774.
(6) "The Customs House letter-books of the Port of Liverpool (Jarvis 1954) identify several voyages to the Southern Whale Fishery for which they issued certificates to ship owners. They also recorded declarations from the ships' masters itemising the contents of a cargo and details of the voyage, all information required to claim payment of a bounty. Such records exists for the Quaker, owned by Thomas Gilbert ...": Ships employed in the South Sea Whale Fishery from Britain; 1775-1815 J.M. Clayton page 16.
(7) The Bridgewater of 690 tons was built at Archangel in Russia in 1779, and eventually condemned as unserviceable at Kingston in Jamaica in 1796; and the Carysfoot of 781 tons was built at Archangel in 1783, and eventually lost in the Baltic in 1799: Liverpool Registry of Merchant Ships R Craig and R C Jarvis (1967) pages 3 and 76 respectively
(8) The insurance claim brought by the Zong owner is reported in Gregson v Gilbert (1783) National Maritime Museum REC/19. See also The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440-1870 H. Thomas (1999); The Zong a Massacre, the Law and the End of Slavery J. Walvin (2011); and the article by I. Bernard at http://www.blackpast.org/gah/zong-massacre-1781.
(9) London Gazette 24 June 1788 page 311, 13 September 1788 page 447, and 30 September 1788 page 479.
(10) "On Wednesday se'night died, at Runcorn. Mr. Thomas Gilbert, eldest son of Mr. Gilbert, of Worsley" Chester Chronicle 8 March 1793.