William Cleveland

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William Cleveland (born in Devonshire, died December 6, 1758) was an English independent slave trader(or interloper) who was stationed at Galinhas in Sierra Leone during the 1730s. He was from the respectable Devonshire family and his brother was the Secretary of Admiralty during his time as a slave trader in Africa. William Cleveland took refuge from a Sherbro chief, Skinner Caulker, on the Banana Islands. Skinner Corker was involved in trading redwood, ivory, gum, and slaves and it was he who got William involved in the slave trade. Like many white traders and agents in the region, he married an African princess, Kate Caulker, from the Corker chiefdom. Kate Caulker or 'Kete Caulker' was a daughter of Skinner Corker and a descendant of Thomas Corker. Cleveland and his bride produced two children, most notably a son, John Caulker who was educated in England. One of their daughters, Elizabeth Cleveland went to the South Carolina Colony in the late 1750s and her descendants are still living in the United States. William also had another son, James Cleveland whose mother was a Kissy woman. William Cleveland died in 1758 and his descendants are also the Afro-European Clan the Clevelands, and some Corkers are also his descendants.