Hender Molesworth, 1st Baronet

Sir Hender Molesworth, 1st Baronet (ca. 1638 – 27 July 1689) was an English colonial administrator and plantation owner in the Colony of Jamaica. He was a prominent factor for the Royal African Company in Jamaica, in which capacity he was heavily engaged in the purchasing and selling of enslaved African people.

Biography Molesworth was the second son of Hender Molesworth of Pencarrow and Mary, née Sparke. Through his role as a factor for the Royal African Company, he became an influential figure on the island and served as President of the Council and later deputy governor of the colony. He was appointed Governor of Jamaica in 1688. Molesworth was a supporter of the Glorious Revolution and on 19 July 1689 he was created a baronet, of Pencarrow in the Baronetage of England. He married twice, but had no surviving male heir; on his death soon after the creation of his baronetcy, he was succeeded by special remainder by his elder brother, John Molesworth.