I represent John McGillivray. I was a resident of West Florida during the British period, and a member of the ubiquitous and prosperous McGillivray clan. I came to Georgia in 1755 and moved to West Florida about 1764. I was a merchant and, like most of my family members, had ties to the indigenous peoples of the area through trade, blood, or marriage. I was one of the partners in the company of Struthers, Swanson, Miller & McGillvray. In my time, it was not unusual for a successful business man like me to be involved in several partnerships as they formed and dissolved, but I worked primarily out of Mobile and Pensacola. My partners and I traded with the Choctaw and Chickasaw and some with the Creeks, such items as deerskins, tobacco, flour, ammunition, and guns. Something that might cause dismay to the modern Pensacola resident is that some of our business was in enslaved people – either buying and selling directly, or loaning money with slaves as collateral. I was elected to represent the District of Mobile in the House of Commons for the provincial General Assembly in 1766 and again in 1772. After the Revolutionary War – and perhaps as early as 1778 – I owned a plantation in Jamaica, exporting rum, sugar and coffee into West Florida.
Sources: 7, 12, 15, 28, 32, 36, 40, 6