Jacob Walker (c.1801-12 August 1841):
Old Parish Church of St Mary, Hornsey High Street, London N8 7DU
Jacob Walker was the slave and then servant of a Virginian, Harriet Long, and her second husband, George Long, a distinguished British classicist. In 1828, the family moved to London, where Jacob’s legal status shifted from slave to servant, slavery having been abolished on British shores in 1807.
In 1841, Harriet died of cancer, followed by Jacob two months later, apparently of complications following a smallpox vaccination. George Long buried Jacob in his wife’s grave. The inscription is remarkable. In 2008 the grave was listed, the citation noting:
“The form and style of the poem place it within the tradition of epigraphs composed by mourning husbands in ancient Rome; however, the gender of the verse is neutral, and it is just possible, given the layout of the inscription, that Long intended it to apply to both mistress and servant. After both names come the words ‘A native of Virginia’ and both epitaphs conclude by stating that the subject ‘died at Highgate […] in the 40th year of her/his age’. The symmetry of the inscription reflects the poignant symmetry of the two lives; it seems that Long wished to draw attention to this. The epitaph also emphasises the different roles fulfilled by Jacob Walker in Virginia and England and the disparity in the law of those two places in regard to slavery.”
Inscription:
HARRIET LONG,
A native of Virginia,
The widow of Joseph Sedden,
Lieutenant Colonel in the Army
of the United States
and the wife of GEORGE LONG,
died at Highgate
on the 15th day of June 1841
in the 40th. year of her age.
Lux oculis ridens majestas fronte serena
fulgebat toto suavis ab ore decor
par animus formae grandes in pectore vires
casta fides pietas ingeniumque simul.*
JACOB WALKER,
a native of Virginia
In America the faithful slave,
In England the faithful servant
of
HARRIET and GEORGE LONG,
and an honest man.
Died at Highgate
on the 12th August 1841
in the 40th year of his age.”
* Translation: “A smiling light shone in the eyes, majesty on the serene brow, / sweet beauty from the whole face / spirit equal to beauty, great strength in the heart / chaste loyalty, duty, and intelligence all together”
