Category: 19th Century

19th Century black British history

Cheryl Butler – A new contributor to Historycal Roots

It is a pleasure to welcome Cheryl Butler as a new contributor to Historycal Roots. Cheryl is particularly knowledgeable about the history of Southampton and this is how she was introduced when she gave a TED talk in 2019:

She is a historian, writer, and former Head of Culture at Eastleigh where she worked on projects including Vital Villages, Legible Cities and the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire Culture and Quality Place group. Honorary Fellow of the University of Winchester and Fellow of the Royal Historical Association and has written extensively on the history of Southampton and is an editor for the Southampton Records and member of the Southampton Tourist Guides Association.

Her talk was about Southampton’s history in general (not specifically its black history) and you can see it here:

https://www.ted.com/talks/cheryl_butler_a_city_s_history_and_memory

But she has also written about Southampton’s black history:

Telling other histories: Early Black History in Southampton c1500-1900

Currently unavailable on Amazon, you should be able to order a copy from your favourite local book shop, using isbn 978-0-9557488-6-8 or by e-mailing a_sannah(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)hotmail.co.uk.

Although we have not featured Southampton on Historycal Roots before it makes sense that it would have long had a black community of note. As a port, there were seamen, and where there were seamen there were black seamen. It was also home to wealthy individuals with extensive interests in the East Indies and the Caribbean, individuals some of whom most likely employed black servants.

Cheryl’s article for us focuses on one individual who makes a fleeting appearance in Southampton’s history. Very little is known of John Jackson before he was taken prisoner as a deserter and nothing is known of what became of him although we can be pretty sure his punishment would have been gruesome.

Cheryl’s article is here:

https://www.historycalroots.com/john-jackson-of-the-31st-regiment-of-foot/

Trafalgar Day – 21st October

 

21st October is the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and so we take the opportunity to remember the black sailors who served in Admiral Nelson’s fleet that day in 1805:

John Ephraim. HMS Temeraire:
John Francois. HMS Victory:
Jacob Loring. HMS Conqueror:
Cato Mumford. HMS Agamemnon:

Cato doesn’t (yet!) have his own page on Historycal Roots but is mentioned in John’s article about the York Rangers where he has this to say about him:

Cato Mumford. Cato Mumford appears to have become a Rating in the Royal Navy: In 1805 Ordinary Seaman Cato Mumford served on HMS Agamemnon at the Battle of Trafalgar. It was noted that he had joined from “Resolute G.Bg”, was 38 years old and had been born at Rhode Island, USA. (The Mumford family were one of the earliest English settlers on Rhode Island)[1]https://www.historycalroots.com/a-black-and-asian-british-regiment-the-york-rangers-a-regiment-of-lascars-mulattoes-c-c-1803-1805/
Charles Phillips. HMS Ajax:
Thomas Stanley. HMS Leviathan:
The Fighting Temeraire, tugged to her last berth to be broken up

Although this painting depicts the Temeraire on her final journey rather than at the Battle of Trafalgar, it is a magnificent painting and seems a fitting way to close this post.

References

The York Rangers, 1803 to 1805 – the making of an article

John Ellis’ latest article covers the short-lived existence of a ‘black’ regiment in the British Army, the York Rangers, that was operational from 1803 to 1805. In addition to telling the story of the regiment, John gives us an insight into his research methods.

The trigger that fired the ‘starting gun’ for John’s work was a comment he spotted in an August 1803 newspaper report (the on-going, rapid digitisation of old newspapers is a real boon for any historian), ‘Colonel Stevenson is raising, for the use of the West Indies, a Regiment of Lascars, Mulattoes &c’. The paper went on to comment that the Regiment might help tackle the problem of destitute black men on the streets of London who were in ‘the most deplorable and disgusting state of distress.’

John then identified that the ‘musters’ for the York Rangers (essentially the list of those on the payroll) were still in existence and could be viewed at the National Archives at Kew. Living in the north of England meant John would be unable to see the musters in person for some time but, for me, Kew is a short train journey  away. I was only too happy to help him out (I could happily spend every day of my life at Kew, it is a wonderful resource and completely free to use). In truth my role was that of a humble photographer, here is just one of the many photos I took:

Givins’ Troop

There were dozens of photos like this which gives you an idea of the challenge John faced. If you find it hard to read the names, trust me, the originals are little better!

These photos gave John the names of many black soldiers previously ‘lost’ to history, his next task was to cross-check the names against the various databases available on, principally,  Ancestry and findmypast – painstaking work which yielded some ‘hits’. Just how his work panned out can be seen here:

https://www.historycalroots.com/a-black-and-asian-british-regiment-the-york-rangers-a-regiment-of-lascars-mulattoes-c-c-1803-1805/

History is not set in stone, it moves on as our knowledge and understanding of the past grows. There is plenty more to be found out as my photos covered only a sample of the material and there are other names on other pages that, for now, remain hidden from view.

 

Mary Ann Aguirra – a London ‘woman of colour’

Introducing the latest article for Historycal Roots by John Ellis.

This is such an interesting one and something of a departure from John’s usual field. As he himself says, this is ‘the first time in over twenty years of researching, writing and educating’ he has written a historical article about a female, let alone a ‘woman of colour’. Let us hope it is the first of many!

This is an important subject because, again, as he comments, the voices of women of mixed heritage like Mary Ann Aguirra are rarely heard. They are marginalised by virtue of class, gender and race.  I enjoyed history at school but it was very much white history, dominated by white men and men of a particular class at that. It was only many years later that I came to understand how much more varied (and interesting!) British history is.

There are many ways of viewing the story that unfolds of Mary Ann Aguirra and her daughter, Isabella. I choose to see it as a case of a tightly knit working class community coming together and resisting threats to their way of life and livelihood, more about class than race (though that might also have played a part). But I freely acknowledge that there are other ways of reading the incidents played out at the Old Bailey in September 1866. However you read the story it is hard to dispute that Mary Ann Aguirra was a determined and formidable woman. Although we don’t have an image of Mary Ann herself there is a photo of one of her grand daughters and I like to think that we can see something of her grandmother’s character in it.

Isabella Howell, 1880-1960 (reproduced courtesy of Paul Mady)

History isn’t just about ‘facts’, it’s about interpretations too. You can read John’s article here and make up your own mind about the events, but the story of Mary Ann’s appearance at the Old Bailey is only one aspect of a thought provoking article:

https://www.historycalroots.com/mary-ann-aguirra-a-londoner-of-colour-1814-1878/

John is in more familiar territory with a second recent article. In this one  he identifies John Charles as ‘the last Black drummer’ in the British Army to have served at the time of the campaign against Napoleon. Charles left the Army in 1845 and died in 1862:

https://www.historycalroots.com/the-last-black-drummer-john-charles-of-the-32nd-foot-1808-1845/

William Buckland of Guadeloupe, Limerick and Liverpool

I expect you know where Guadeloupe is, I mean, exactly where it is, beyond ‘in the Caribbean somewhere’? I’m going to confess that I didn’t – sometimes I learn more than history from articles by John Ellis!

John’s latest contribution features William Buckland. Born on Guadeloupe in about 1786, he went on to serve in the British Army from 1810 until he retired on a small pension in 1823. His medical records show that he was ‘worn out and unable to march’ and had ‘imperfect vision of both eyes’  – not exactly conducive to life as a soldier!

The Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin, where William Buckland went for his medical examination

After leaving the Army he registered as a British Merchant Seaman from 1835 and obtained work as a cook and steward. Having retired in Limerick he moved to Liverpool, possibly driven out of Ireland (along with many others) by the Great Famine of 1845 to 1849. He spent the last years of his life working as a merchant seaman, based in Liverpool, as so many seamen were.

John’s exploration of the historic  black presence in the British Army continues apace and you can read about William Buckland here:

https://www.historycalroots.com/william-buckland-1786-1856-from-guadeloupe-to-the-fighting-fifth-limerick-and-liverpool/

An unexpected discovery in the Chatsworth House archives

The article in the link below isn’t written by regular contributor John Ellis but he has clearly made a big contribution to the research that informs it.

The story starts with the birth of Henry Tite in Waterford, Ireland, in around 1804. When Henry enlisted in the British Army in 1825 the records identify him as a black man. This raises the intriguing question of how a black man came to be born in that place at that time.

A letter recently discovered in the archives at Chatsworth House raises the possibility that Henry was descended from a young crew member of a ship that docked at Waterford in 1756. It was a French ship and, as Britain was at war with France at the time, the ship and its cargo were impounded by the British. The letter recently discovered in the archives at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire is from Lord Frederick Cavendish, stationed in Ireland at the time with troops of the 29th Worcestershire Foot Regiment, to his brother. In it he mentions ‘three little Black boys’. The boys are mentioned in the same sentence as the cargo which implies that whether they were technically ‘free’ or enslaved was a moot point as far as Lord Cavendish was concerned. In the letter he makes it clear he regards them as ‘his’ to dispose of as he chooses.

John Ellis has identified a soldier with the 29th Worcestershire Foot Regiment, Joseph Provance, who could very possibly have been one of the ‘black boys’ mentioned in the letter, the speculation is that Henry Tite may have been descended from another.

You can find out more by following the link. Before you do I would add the point that if we take literally the description of Henry Tite as ‘black’  then that suggests he had a black mother as well as a black father. That raises the even more interesting question – who was she? In fact, the balance of probability is that Henry’s mother was white and he was of mixed heritage but, as nothing is known about either of Henry’s parents that question is likely to remain unanswered.

https://www.chatsworth.org/news-media/news-blogs-press-releases/blogs-from-the-archives/who-do-you-think-they-are/

Stephen Pappin c.1788 to 1845

What amazing lives some people lead!

In his latest article for Historycal Roots John Ellis follows the extraordinary life of Stephen Pappin.

He was born in about 1788 in the French colony of St Domingue on the island of Hispaniola (as it was then known) in the Caribbean. This was a tumultuous period in the history of the island. The French, Spanish and British were all vying for a piece of the action but the enslaved black population had their own ideas. Their inspirational leader, Toussaint Louverture, led the efforts that eventually led to the creation of the first black independent nation state outside of Africa in 1804 (although Toussaint Louverture had died at the hands of the French the previous year).[1]The book ‘Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture’ by Sudhir Hazareesingh  tells the full, complex story Stephen Pappin, a ‘man of colour’ may have been just old enough to play a part in the fighting.

What we do know is that by 1807 he was serving in the French Army of Napoleon Bonaparte. I won’t ‘spoil’ John’s story here but suffice to say it includes time spent as a Prisoner of War, 24 years of service in the British Army (including front line service during the Peninsular War), marriage to a French woman, the birth of ten children in three different countries, retirement from the Army on a pension,  a move to New South Wales where he became a farmer (of 100 acres of land) and time spent playing the bugle and drums at the Royal Victorian Theatre, Sydney.

Phew!

You can read the full story of Stephen Pappin’s remarkable life here: https://www.historycalroots.com/a-well-conducted-man-corporal-stephen-estiphania-pappin-of-st-domingo-and-the-39th-dorsetshire-foot-1788-1845/

References

References
↑1 The book ‘Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture’ by Sudhir Hazareesingh  tells the full, complex story

Visibly invisible: more GEMS in art

If you read the article by Roxanne Gleave and Audrey Dewjee about GEMS in art you will be familiar with a number of images of black people in paintings. Roxanne and Audrey focussed in particular on the paintings as evidence of the black presence in Britain at various times (16th to 19th centuries), various locations (town/country) and in various roles (servant/groom/sailor/worker). They sought to answer the questions ‘who/what/where/when?’ If you missed their article you can see it here:

https://www.historycalroots.com/gems-in-art/

We must thank Liz Millman for drawing our attention to a recent article with a similar theme. Liz runs Black History Conversations[1]Series 5 of Black History Conversations has just concluded but series 6 will start shortly http://www.blackhistoryconversations.com/index.asp?pageid=717246 and is very good at finding material that we would otherwise have missed. During a recent conversation she mentioned an article she had seen ‘The visible invisibility of black people in aristocratic portraiture.’ Naturally we were intrigued. It contains more examples of GEMS in art.  The article by Marjorie H Morgan, cites paintings found in stately homes across the country, including a number of National Trust properties. You can read it here:

https://artuk.org/discover/stories/the-visible-invisibility-of-black-people-in-aristocratic-portraiture

Roxanne and Audrey concluded their article by saying ‘We hope that you will seek out such representations when you next visit a museum or gallery and would love to hear about your ‘discoveries’.’ Marjorie’s article has introduced some more examples, there are many more out there, feel free to tell us about them.

References

References
↑1 Series 5 of Black History Conversations has just concluded but series 6 will start shortly http://www.blackhistoryconversations.com/index.asp?pageid=717246

George Wise – From Nova Scotia to Liverpool

Perhaps we take our ability to travel long distances in a short space of time for granted?

The distance from New York to London can now be traversed in less than six hours.

The flight time from Halifax in Nova Scotia to London is very similar.

An ocean going liner can cross the Atlantic in four days.

Taking things in more leisurely style, a ship like the Queen Mary will stroll across in seven days.

Going back a little further in time, the Empire Windrush took over two weeks to bring the Windrush pioneers from the Caribbean to England in 1948, but only a little over.

The troop ships bringing men from the Caribbean to England in 1915 also took about two weeks. The RMS Danube landed an initial contingent of recruits from British Guiana (as it then was) at Plymouth, their journey started on 21st August 1915 and they disembarked on 5th September.

But if we aren’t careful we may forget that it was not always like that.

We don’t know how long it took George Wise to get from Nova Scotia to Liverpool, certainly many years as his journey was a circuitous one. His Army record shows that with the 29th Worcestershire Regiment of Foot he  “served four years and six months in the Peninsula [Spain], seven months in Gibraltar, two years and one month in North America, and eight years seven months in the Mauritius. Was present at the battles of Rolica, Vimiera, Talavera and Albuera, and also at the capture of the Ponotscot Territory, United States, North America, in the expedition under the command of Lt.Gen. Sir John Sherbroke in 1814.” His first recorded presence in Liverpool was in 1837 (where he was part of a burgeoning black community), thirty two years after he first enlisted in Nova Scotia.

There are so many things about today’s world that George would find incredible, among them our ability to cross the Atlantic in hours rather than weeks, but, if you read the latest article for Historycal Roots by John Ellis, there are many aspects of the story of George Wise that we might find incredible. You can judge for yourself here:

https://www.historycalroots.com/george-wise-from-nova-scotia-to-liverpool-via-the-battlefields-of-the-napoleonic-wars/

George ‘Black Geordie’ Graham

There are many ways to uncover the lives of people ‘lost’ to history. If you look at the articles on this site you will find evidence of most of them:

  • parish records ☑
  • census records ☑
  • military records ☑
  • hospital records (particularly the hospitals at Chelsea (Army) and Greenwich (Navy)) ☑
  • birth, marriage and death records ☑
  • paintings ☑ and
  • churchyards and gravestones. ☑

Of course, each article will use a mixture of the above (and probably others).

John Ellis’ most recent article is based almost entirely on another source – newspaper reports. More and more old newspapers are being digitised and you can search them easily enough from the comfort of your own home. The British Newspaper Archive currently claims to give access to over 48 million pages. And we aren’t just talking about the big names of the newspaper publishing world. John’s article about ‘Black Geordie’ Graham, draws its content from The Lanarkshire Upper Ward Examiner, The Hamilton Advertiser and the Ayr Observer, which, with respect, were hardly household names (in most households at any rate) even in 1886 when the stories appeared.

But enough on methodology, what of the story? 

The newspaper reports from 1886 tell of a ‘strange visitor’ who appeared mysteriously in the countryside of Ayrshire near the small village of Cumnock  ‘half a century ago.’ Variously described as a ‘foreigner’, a ‘sable stranger’, this man of ‘ebony colour’ was clearly initially regarded as a curiosity, but gradually the villagers came to know his story, why he disappeared for months on end and how he came to make his living, for ‘Black Geordie’, as he came to be known, was a man of surprising talents and unsuspected skills. The story could have ended sadly with ‘Black Geordie’ found dead in one of the fast flowing streams or deep pools in the countryside around Cumnock but … well, it’s best to just read John’s article for yourself to see how it ends:

https://www.historycalroots.com/few-men-are-better-remembered-black-geordie-george-graham-of-dalgig-ayrshire/