Black History Month: "African Slave, Jane"

To celebrate Black History Month, FWN are publishing a series of articles on inspiring black women from History. Rachel Burgin writes about an African slave known as Jane.

d 1700, Mildred Gale nee Warner of Warner Hall Virginia, wife of George Gale merchant of Whitehaven, Here also lie with her, her baby daughter and her African slave Jane.

This simple (now lost) Whitehaven gravestone has enough history packed in its handful of words to fill a museum. But it also tells the tragic tale of the untimely death of a 31 year old woman, her baby and a black woman in a foreign country.

The West Cumbrian town of Whitehaven (current population: 23,000) is fiercely proud of its maritime history. In its 17^th and 18^th century heydays, it was one of the most prominent ports in the country – second only to London - and more prominent than Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow. This history is apparent in the town’s magnificent Georgian architecture, which speaks loudly of the extraordinary wealth that once flowed through this port. But that wealth had a dark and shameful source. Whitehaven played a key role in the slave triangle. Initially, it imported tobacco, then sugar, cotton and coffee. However, between 1711 and 1767, it sent 69 ships carrying African slaves to the New World. In 2006, the local council formally apologised for the town’s shameful role in the slave trade.

In this context – and in a world where African people were seen as commodities in the slave triangle – a gravestone indicating that an African slave was buried with her white mistress – is nothing short of earth shattering. And it was also against the law – according to a 1695 statute, it was illegal for an African person to be buried in a churchyard. Moreover, Mildred Gale was American and the Colonies had their own stringent laws on the burial of people of African heritage. To add to that, Mildred herself was a member of the Warner family – who were prominent Virginia plantation owners and slaveholders.

Records indicate that Mildred didn’t treat Jane as a commodity but rather as a fellow human – or even family member. Jane was baptised in the church and the baptism records describe her as a “servant” rather than a slave. She received an education and was provided with clothes. All of this must have broken every social convention of the day, in the small, tight-knit community of Whitehaven’s merchant class.

But it also indicates the extraordinary character and resilience of Jane. Here she was in a remote part of a foreign country providing support to her mistress who was, herself, in a foreign country, adapting to a culture that must have been utterly alien to her without the support of family or friends who shared her heritage. The sense of isolation must have been acute. But she clearly won the love and affection of her mistress.

We know nothing about Jane – and that’s the problem of history. The stories of extraordinary women – particularly women of colour – often remain untold. This is a product of the power structures in place at the time.

For example, we don’t know how long Jane had been working for Mildred. Records indicate that they had travelled over together with the three young children from Mildred’s first marriage – and they both died (along with the baby) within a year of landing in Whitehaven

But these few facts are themselves significant. It points to Jane being a prominent figure in the lives of Mildred’s three children. This is important because it is through these three children that Mildred was the paternal grandmother of the first US President, George Washington.

We all know those in our own life who have profoundly shaped our values and character, and who made it possible to be people to serve in public life. Is it possible that Jane’s character and resilience shaped the Washington family and, in turn helped build a nation?

We simply don’t know – and that’s why need to tell the untold stories of history.