9 : Ethnic minorities in Huntingdonshire's parish records
The earliest known historical reference to an ethnic minority in Huntingdonshire dates from 1594, when Dido And, described as "a Moor," was buried at Bluntisham.
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The baptism of Dido And, as recorded in the Bluntisham-cum-Earith composite parish register of 1594 [Huntingdonshire Archives: HP5/1/1] |
Huntingdonshire's parish priests occasionally recorded the ethnic background of the individuals they baptised or buried, such as:
- 1674: Andrea, "a black Moor maid," baptised in Brampton
- 1727: Henry Warwick, "a black negro," baptised in Godmanchester
- 1754: Peter Branch, "a black," baptised in St Neots
- 1795: Glasgow Sharpe, "a negro adult," baptised in Grafham
- 1816: John Congo, "an African by descent and a Native of St Lucia, West Indies," baptised in St Neots.
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The baptism entry for John Congo in St Neots, 1816 [Huntingdonshire Archives: HP73/1/2/1] |
Discriminatory attitudes towards minorities are sometimes revealed by the choice of language used. In 1813 the overseers of the poor of one Huntingdonshire parish paid for the upkeep of at least twenty people, most of who are given the dignity of being identified by name in the poor relief lists; but the overseers referred to one individual only by the term "Black girl."
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Clothing issued to people on poor relief. The "Black girl" is at the bottom of the lefthand page [Huntingdonshire Archives: HP34/18/1/4] |
Other records surviving from 1813 suggest that this girl's name was Mary.