Joseph Freeman (c.1830-1875):
Chelmsford Cemetery, Writtle Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 3BL
Joseph Freeman was born a slave in New Orleans in around 1830. At the beginning of the American civil war, he somehow managed to escape to England.
He married a Suffolk woman, Sarah, and they had several children together. According to the 1871 census,, the family had settled in the Moulsham area of Chelmsford, close to the London Road Iron Works where Joseph worked. He died in 1875, probably of consumption, and was buried in the nonconformist section of Chelmsford Cemetery.
A handsome headstone was erected by his friends, and reflects the deep affection he had inspired in them, and his extraordinary journey continues to be remembered by the local community.
Inscription:
ERECTED
by his Christian friends
to the memory of
JOSEPH
once a slave in New Orleans
who escaped to England and
became also a
FREE MAN
in Christ
He was employed for several years
at the London Road Iron Works
until his death at the age of 45
on the 28th Novr 1875
Reader! Have you been made free
from the slavery of sin
