Michael T Tracy

James Amos (1741-1828) Michael T Tracy

James Amos a native of Moffat, Dumfriesshire, Scotland played a role in the early colonization of British West Florida beginning in the late 1760s. He settled in Pensacola which was the capital of the newly established British province and was one of the first European-inhabited settlements in what would later become the United States of America. Amos worked as an agent for the large British planters and plantations in the area. James Amos would also serve as an Assemblyman representing Pensacola in the House of Assembly in 1771 through 1778. With the outbreak of the American Revolution, the First Continental Congress sent letters inviting West Florida to send delegates, but this was declined as the inhabitants including James Amos were overwhelming loyal to the Crown. By 1781 Amos was an ordinance officer for the British Government. When the Revolutionary War ended and West Florida was ceded back to Spain, Amos left the area and was re-settled by the British Government to the island of Jamaica by 1783. He resided in Kingston and worked as a slave trader and plantation agent for various owners. He was involved in the purchase of slaves and bringing them to work on the plantations. While residing in Kingston, Amos was also listed as a Vestry Man and Fire Warden. By the year of 1799, James Amos was a Magistrate of Kingston. He would eventually leave Jamaica in about 1808 and returned to his native Moffat, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. This then is the narrative of the adventurous life and times of James Amos.