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.…
Author: eDigital
Tom M S Highflyer
Tom M S Highflyer (c.1857-1870): Woodvale Crematorium, Woodvale Drive, Lewes Road, Brighton BN2 3QB. Tucked away in an overgrown corner of the sprawling Woodvale Cemetary on the outskirts of Brighton is the grave of Tom M S Highflyer. For many years his story was unknown, but research by the Brighton…
Jane
Jane (d.1701): St Nicholas’s Churchyard, Church Street, Whitehaven CA28 7DG Somewhere under St Nicholas’s memorial garden is a headstone dedicated to Mildred Gale, her infant daughter (also named Mildred), and “her African slave Jane”. The headstone itself would seem to have had an eventful history: by 1886 it had apparently…
Rasselas Belfield
Rasselas Belfield (c.1790-1822): The Parish Church of St Martin, Lake Road, Bowness-on-Windermere LA23 3DE Rasselas Belfield was born in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). In circumstances that can now only be imagined, he was sold by his mother to Major Peter Taylor for the equivalent of £5. Taylor’s regiment had served in…
Joseph Antonio Emidy
Joseph Antonio Emidy (c.1775-1835): Kenwyn Parish Church, Kenwyn Church Road, Truro TR1 3DR Joseph Emidy’s early life was remarkable. Born in Guinea, he was enslaved by Portugese traders and taken first to Brazil, and then to Portugal. His musical virtuosity led to him becoming a leading violinist at the Lisbon…
Evaristo Muchovela
Evaristo Muchovela (c.1830-1868): St Wendrona’s Church, Wendron TR13 0EA In St Wendron’s Church, Wendron, a former master and his slave share a grave. Thomas Johns, a copper and tin miner from Porkellis, decided to move to Brazil to try his luck. There he bought a seven-year-old slave, Evaristo Muchovela, originally…
Philip Scipio
Philip Scipio (c.1766-1784): Church of St Martin and St Giles, Werrington PL15 8TP Little is known about the short life of Philip Scipio. He was initially the servant of the Duke of Wharton before becoming the personal servant to Lady Lucy Morice. He was buried in the churchyard with a…
Chloe Gambia
Chloe Gambia (c.1760-1838): St Peter's Church, Aston Lane, Aston WA7 3ED A grave on the southern side of St Peter’s churchyard in Aston marks the final resting place of four servants who worked for the Aston family. One of those, Chloe, died far from her birthplace, as attested by her…
George Alexander Gratton
George Alexander Gratton (c.1808-1813) All Saints Church, The Causeway, Marlow SL7 2AA George Alexander Gratton was born to slaves in St Vincent in the Caribbean – ‘Gratton’ denotes the owner of the plantation. As a very small child, he was bought by one of the greatest showmen of the age,…
Samuel Thompson
Samuel Thompson (c.1786-1806) St Andrews Churchyard, Birdcage Walk, The Fosse Way, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4EN Like Scipio Africanus, very little is known about Samuel Thompson other than what his headstone reveals. His grave, however, is virtually unknown. His memorial stone tells us that he was born a slave in Jamaica,…