Reply To: Lt. John Lindsay of HMS Trent (1759-1763), the father of Dido Belle

[Ian Trackman]

Here are the copies of the logs for September, October and December 1760.

David Hepper refers to Captain’s and Master’s logs at National Archives. My understanding is that Lt. Lindsay was the commanding officer of HMS Trent. Would the TNA logs have any more information ? I can’t access them pending Covid.

How Lindsay met Maria Belle is an open question. Lord Mansfield tells a guest (Thomas Hutchinson) : “Sir John Lindsay having taken her mother prisoner in a Spanish vessel, brought her to England where she was delivered of this girl, of which she was then with child”. But Mansfield might only be repeating what Lindsay had told him, rather than having first-hand knowledge. Is there any possibility that Lindsay would have been able to keep Maria on board his ship rather than meeting her in port ?

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.