Family and Early Life
James Vashon was born on 9 August 1742 in the village of Eye, near Ludlow, Shropshire. He was the son of the Vicar of Eye, the Reverend James Volant Vashon. The family was descended from Peter Vashon, a Huguenot apothecary c. 1636, who had immigrated from Paris. The family name is of French origins and became English at the time of the Conquest. James Vashon entered the Royal Navy at age thirteen, in 1755, and first served aboard the 28-gun frigate HMS Revenge under Captain Cornwall. As a midshipman he served on a number of vessels and saw combat service in the Mediterranean, the coast of North America, and in the Caribbean. In 1763 he passed his examination for lieutenant, but continued to serve as a midshipman until 1772 for lack of a lieutenant’s posting. Vashon was serving on HMS Quebec when the Seven Years' War ended and went ashore on half-pay until 1774 when the Navy began re-arming for the approaching American War of Independence.
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