Joanna Vassa

Joanna Vassa (/ˈvæsə/; 11 April 1795 – 10 March 1857) was the only surviving child of the former slave and anti-slavery campaigner Olaudah Equiano.[1] Her grave in Abney Park Cemetery, London, was given listed status in 2008[2] but little is known of her life.

Joanna Vassa's memorial, re-erected in 2006 (photo: April 2007)

Early life and family

She was born to Susannah Cullen of Fordham, Cambridgeshire, and Olaudah Equiano (also known as "Gustavus Vassa, the African") on 11 April 1795, and baptised in St Andrew's Church, Soham, on 29 April. Her father was well known for his 1789 autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.[3] Her mother was a subscriber to Equiano's Narrative and they were married on 7 April 1792 in Soham parish church.

The year after Joanna's birth, Susannah died of an illness, on 21 February 1796, and was buried at St Andrew's Church, Soham. Joanna's father died just over a year later.[4] Shortly afterwards followed the death of her elder sister and only sibling Anna Maria (born 30 January 1793), on 21 July 1797.[5] Anna Maria is commemorated by a poetic plaque outside St Andrew’s Church, Chesterton, Cambridge.

Adulthood and marriage
Joanna Vassa's memorial at Abney Park Cemetery shortly after its discovery in 2005, awaiting restoration

In 1816, on reaching her 21st birthday, Joanna Vassa, being Equiano's only known surviving relative, inherited a silver watch and £950 (equivalent to £73,300 in 2019) from his estate.

It is not clear how Joanna met her future husband, the Congregational minister, Rev. Henry Bromley, but on 29 August 1821, they were married at St James's Church, Clerkenwell, a Church of England parish church in London. He had been ordained a minister at the Independent Chapel in Appledore in Devon, two months prior to the wedding. He was 24 years old and Joanna was 26. They settled in Devon for at least five years until they moved to the Congregational Church (present day United Reformed Church) at Clavering, Essex, where Rev. Bromley was pastor between 1827 and 1845. He was a member of Clavering Reading Society throughout his time there.

Later life, death, and memorial

On 26 October 1845, Rev. Henry Bromley resigned from his congregation, citing his wife's health as the reason. She was 50 years old and he was 48. The couple moved to London that year for her health, her husband taking on only occasional commitments at Clavering thereafter. He became a minister at the Providence Chapel in Harwich during 1851, while Joanna lived with his family in Stowmarket, Suffolk. Eventually, she moved back to London and resided at 21 Benyan Terrace, Buckingham Road, in Hackney; but there is no record of Henry living with her.

She died of uterine disease, possibly brought on by fibroids, on 10 March 1857, aged 61. She was buried on 16 March in Abney Park Cemetery, close to the memorial statue to Isaac Watts on the axial walk from the chapel to Stoke Newington Church Street. Her husband Henry survived her for twenty years, and was buried with her on 12 February 1878. It has not been discovered whether they had any children.

Her memorial at Abney Park was pinned and re-erected in 2006, in time for the 150th anniversary of her death in 2007. This coincided with the bicentenary of the Slave Trade Act which abolished the slave trade in the British Empire, a goal towards which her father had worked.

Representation in media

A short film about Joanna Vassa[6] was written and directed by Jason Young.[7] It was screened as part of Uttlesford Black History Month.[8]

References
  1. Adam Hochschild, Bury the Chains: The British Struggle to Abolish Slavery, Pan, 2006.
  2. Historic England. "MONUMENT TO JOANNA VASSA IN ABNEY PARK CEMETERY, Hackney (1392851)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  3. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa. An African man. Written by Himself. 8th Edition, London, 1794.
  4. Vincent Caretta, Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century, The University Press of Kentucky, 2003.
  5. Peter Fryer, Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain, London: Pluto Press, 1984.
  6. "Joanna Vassa (2012) - IMDb". Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  7. "Jason Young". IMDb. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  8. "Uttlesford District Council - Black History Month". uttlesford.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2020.

Sources
  • Osborne, Angelina (2007). Equiano's Daughter: The Life and Times of Joanna Vassa. London: Momentum Arts. ISBN 978-0-9534328-1-3.
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