Discover Historic Kingsley Plantation

Zephaniah Kingsley, Jr was a quaker born in England.  When he was a child, his family immigrated to South Carolina.  He was a slave trader and merchant who built several plantations in Spanish Florida.  

Kingsley established Kingsley Plantation where he resided for 25 years.  Kingsley was known for being a “lenient slaveholder”.   He “allowed” his slaves to be hired out for odd jobs and gave them the opportunity to purchase their freedom. 

The slaves who worked on the plantation followed the task system.  Each had a quota that they had to achieve each day- once they met their quota they were free to go about their day. Some of the slaves had personal gardens which they tended and sold their vegetables.

The plantation owner was also in favor of interracial marriage… and polygamy.  Four of his enslaved women served as his concubines.  He had nine children from these relationships.

Kingsley claimed to have married one of these women.  1806, on a trip to Cuba, he purchased Anna Madgigine Jai, a 13-year-old girl from what is now Senegal.  In 1811, he petitioned the colonial Spanish government to grant Anna and their three children freedom.  Once Anna gained her freedom, she was awarded five acres in Florida.  She purchased slaves to help farm it.

The Kingsley’s owned several plantations included one on Drayton Island, Laurel Grove, Kingsley Plantation, and several locations on the opposite side of the St. Johns River including St. Johns Bluff, San Jose, and Beauclerc.