Peter Beckford the Elder

A founder of one of the most powerful families in colonial Jamaica, Peter arrived in Jamaica shortly after the island became an English colony and engaged himself as hunter and horse catcher.

In 1669 Peter was granted a thousand acres (4 km²) of land in Clarendon, Jamaica for serving as a seaman. Besides, he was actively involved in island politics and served as a representative of St. Catherine, a parish in the south-east of Jamaica in the Assembly in 1675. He was appointed Chief Justice of Jamaica in 1703, and was known as the first Custos (guardian) of Kingston.

At the time of death, Peter was the wealthiest planter in Jamaica, and it was claimed that he was "in possession of the largest property real and personal of any subject in Europe."