Christopher Hodge

Life 1739 - 1773

Matriculation year 1757

Place connected Antigua

Born in Antigua, Christopher studied at the university of Edinburgh before matriculating at Christ's. He later returned to Antigua, where he married, became a landowner and had five children. Christopher's sister, Grace, married Septimus Filius Nibbs, another Christ's alumnus from Antigua appearing on this database.

Connection to enslavement

Christopher Hodge was the eldest son of Henry Hodge, an Antiguan landowner, who referred to leaving 'certain negroes' to some of his younger children in his will.¹ ² Henry also left the residue of his entire estate to Christopher, after bequeathing £1,500 to each of his other children in his will.²

Christopher's younger brother, Henry Hodge (who died in 1766), left Christopher 'all [his] slaves' in his will, with the exception of 'Old Peg', whom Henry asked should be 'freed & maintained'.²

Christopher married Isabella Lovell and had five children with her.³ One of their daughters, Isabella Hodge, owned enslaved people on one 'Hodge's Bay' plantation in Antigua.⁴ Her nephew, Langford Lovell Hodge, claimed £711 8s 0d for 42 enslaved people on her behalf in 1835, as she was under his guardianship (being of so-called 'unsound mind').⁴ ⁵ Langford also directly claimed £2756 7s 6d of compensation in 1835, for 201 enslaved people he owned in 'Hodge's Bay', Antigua.⁶ ⁷

Christopher owned enslaved people himself, and thereby benefitted from enslavement, as did his father, some of his siblings, at least one of his daughters (Isabella) and his grandson (Langford).

References

¹ Venn, J.A., ed. (1947) "Hodge, Christopher". Alumni Cantabrigienses (Part 2). Vol.3, Cambridge University Press - via Internet Archive. ² Oliver, Vere Langford., The History of the Island of Antigua : One of the Leeward Caribbees in the West Indies, from the First Settlement in 1635 to the Present Time, Vol. 2 (London: Mitchell and Hughes, 1894), p. 77. ³ Oliver, Vere Langford., The History of the Island of Antigua : One of the Leeward Caribbees in the West Indies, from the First Settlement in 1635 to the Present Time, Vol. 2 (London: Mitchell and Hughes, 1894), p. 76. ⁴ Legacies of British Slavery database, 'Isabella Hodge', http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146653085 [accessed 3rd August 2022]. ⁵ Legacies of British Slavery database, 'Antigua 1070 (Hodge's Bay)', http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/claim/view/1234 [accessed 3rd August 2022]. ⁶ Legacies of British Slavery database, 'Langford Lovell Hodge', http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/1287 [accessed 3rd August 2022]. ⁷ Legacies of British Slavery database, 'Antigua 25 (Hodge's Bay)', http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/claim/view/1106 [accessed 3rd August 2022].

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