From Jamaica to Hampton Court Palace: Private John Fitzhenry of the 14th Dragoons

By John D Ellis

John Fitzhenry was born at Montego, Jamaica c.1780. Nothing is known of his background. He served in the 52^nd (Oxfordshire) Foot between June 1798 and March 1802.^[1]A number of Black soldiers served in the 52^nd, see: www.academia.edu/38600492/The_drowning_of_Richard_Lisles John Fitzhenry enlisted for unlimited service in the 14^th (The Duchess of York’s Own) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons at Bristol in November 1803, when he gave his occupation as labourer and his complexion was described as “black”. For brevity, the regiment will be referred to as the ‘14^th Dragoons’ or the ‘14^th’.

Being Black, it is almost certain that John Fitzhenry was employed in a musical role – bandsman (playing percussion instruments), trumpeter or kettledrummer. He was to serve as a private in the 14^th Dragoons until January 1825. During the time John Fitzhenry served in the regiment, it saw service in both the Peninsular Campaign and in the War of 1812. However, he was not the only Black soldier in the 14^th:

Henry Anthony: Born at the Cape of Good Hope, Africa c.1773. A cooper by occupation and described as having a tawney complexion (usually the description given to a soldier of ‘mixed heritage’). Served in the 14^th (1802-1812) and 11^th Royal Veterans Battalion (1812-1814). He was discharged on a pension. A married man, he settled in Bethnal Green and died in 1854. ^[2]For Henry Anthony see: The National Archives (TNA) WO 22/50, WO 23/163, WO 23/167 and WO 97/1137/24. findmypast.co.uk

John Joy: Born at St Kitts c.1781. A cooper by occupation and described as “a Black”. He served for 2 years and 11 days in the 14^th some time prior to 1815. He then served as a private in the 1^st Foot Guards (The Grenadier Guards) between 1815 and 1822, being discharged when his period of service had expired.>^[3]For John Joy see: Grenadier Guards. R154. TNA WO 12/1592. findmypast.co.uk

George Martin: Born in Jamaica c.1776. A labourer by occupation and described as having a black complexion. He served as a private in the 7^th Light Dragoons between June 1792 and December 1797. He then served as a private in an unidentified cavalry regiment between March 1798 and December 1802. He re-enlisted in the 14^th in January 1803 and served as a private until February 1816 when he was discharged on a pension due to length of service.^[4]For George Martin see: TNA WO 119. findmypast.co.uk

John Thomas: Born on Grenada c.1782. A servant by occupation and described as having a black complexion. Served as a private in the 14^th between 1804 and 1814. Discharged on a pension being asthmatic.^[5]For John Thomas see: TNA WO 97/1331. findmypast.co.uk

The service of the soldiers overlaps, and if they were all employed in musical roles then they would have known each other by sight or personally. Like John Fitzhenry, some of them had served in more than one unit, and so it is highly likely that if these ‘journeymen soldiers’ did know each other, then they were able to exchange stories of their experiences and of the presence of Black soldiers they would have known elsewhere.^[6]For London see: www.historycalroots.com/mary-ann-aguirra-a-londoner-of-colour-1814-1878/ For India see: … Continue reading

There have been a number of nineteenth and early twentieth century anecdotal references to regimental Colonels purchasing enslaved males and ‘gifting’ them to serve as military musicians, regiments purchasing enslaved men themselves, or of agents being commissioned and sent to purchase enslaved men for regiments.^[7]For example, in 1933 the Lincolnshire Echo stated: “Others (regiments) sent agents from Gibraltar into Africa. Some conferred a blessing by purchasing slaves to be drummers”. Lincolnshire Echo, … Continue reading There is no question that individual Colonels were both wealthy enough and ‘morally’ inclined enough to purchase and then gift enslaved men to regiments. However, no evidence has thus far been found to support this. Rather it seems that the presence of Black soldiers in British regiments has been viewed within the narrow context of slavery (i.e. that all Black people were enslaved and as such their enlistment was not an act of self-determination) and without acknowledging that most Black recruits were enlisted in Britain or Ireland (i.e. based on the premise that all Black people lived outside of Britain).

That Black soldiers in different units were able to overcome traditional regimental rivalries and build relationships can be evidenced in the biographies of soldiers based in London and India. However, not all such relationships ended positively:

In April 1822, Private David Delany, a Jamaican in the 3^rd Foot Guards (The Scots Guards) was admitted to Newgate Gaol charged with stealing clothing and equipment from four soldiers of the 14^th Dragoons quartered in Hounslow Cavalry Barracks.^[8]For David Delany, (also referred to as Delaney, Deheney and Deheny) see: England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935. Newgate Prison Calendar. TNA HO 77/29. TNA PCOM2/195. … Continue reading The four victims shared a room in which Delany had been living for four days because he had come “to see a countryman of his”. When one of the four returned to the room Delany and the property had disappeared. He was later found at the White Hart public-house, on the Bath Road, Longford.^[9]www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18220417-66-defend619&div=t18220417-66#highlight John Fitzhenry, Delany’s fellow Jamaican (and “countryman”) was named as one of the four victims – having ‘lost’ one handkerchief, one coat, one towel and a pair of stockings. David Delany stood trial at the Old Bailey, was found Guilty and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.^[10]England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935. Newgate Prison Calendar. TNA HO 77/29. TNA PCOM2/195. findmypast.co.uk … Continue reading

Private John Fitzhenry was discharged on a pension in January 1825 due to pulmonary affection and (being) worn out and unfit for further service. On discharge he was 5 feet 6” tall with black eyes, black hair and a black complexion. He was of good character and marked (rather than signed his record) suggesting that he was illiterate.^[11]Fitzhenry is transcribed as ‘Fitzgerald’ on findmypast.co.uk For John Fitzhenry see: TNA WO 97/47. findmypast.co.uk

In 1841 John Fitzhenry (a manual labourer born in foreign parts) was living with his wife Anna (aged 50 years, and not born in Middlesex), and their three children at Hampton Court Palace, Middlesex.

John Fitzhenry was one of many servants living at the palace with their families. The children were Sarah Jane, (aged 15, born Middlesex), Joseph (aged 20, born Ireland), and John (aged 10, born Middlesex).^[12]England Census 1841. Hampton Court Palace, Middlesex. Piece 718. Book 5. Folio 30. Page 12. findmypast.co.uk

An Anna Fitzhenry, of Hampton Court Palace, died in February 1842 and was buried at St Mary, Hampton, Richmond upon Thames.^[13]www.ancestry.co.uk www.findmypast.co.uk A John Fitzhenry, of Mermaid Yard, died in May 1842 and was buried at St Luke, Chelsea, Middlesex.^[14]Ibid. John Fitzhenry was not the only ‘man of colour’ buried at St Lukes: https://www.historycalroots.com/john-camdens-long-journey-to-chelsea/

Postscript – The 14^th Dragoons.

Popularly, the presence of Black soldiers in British Crown regiments is believed to have died out in the 1840s, and although the ‘colour bar’ did indeed descend with some force, individual regiments did ignore it. The 14^th was one such regiment.

In India in September 1841, Private Thomas Frederick transferred into the 14^th from the 4^th Dragoons when the latter returned ‘Home’. Thomas Frederick was born in Ireland c.1816 and was of ‘mixed heritage’; his father (also named Thomas Frederick), being a New York born Black trumpeter in the 4^th. Thomas Frederick was promoted to Saddler-Sergeant by the 14^th, and later transferred to the 6^th (Inniskilling) Dragoons in 1859. He was discharged as a Saddler-Sergeant on a pension in 1861, having served with the 14^th in both the 2^nd Sikh War (Punjab Campaign 1848-1849) and the Indian Mutiny (1857-1858).

Both the 14^th and the 6^th described Thomas Frederick as possessing a “dark complexion” (as opposed to ‘of colour’, ‘mulatto’ or ‘tawney’ – terms frequently used to describe ‘mixed heritage’ soldiers). This was almost certainly done to ‘hide’ him from periodic War Office sweeps for foreign born soldiers. Besides which, he was not ‘foreign’, having been born in Ireland. Raised in the barrack rooms of the 4^th, familiar with both soldiery and horses, a saddler by occupation and literate, Thomas Frederick would have been a worthy addition to any Victorian cavalry regiment and surely owed his place and rank in the 14^th and 6^th to merit.^[15]Married with children, Thomas Frederick died at Sewri, Bombay in March 1870. At the time of his death he was the Superintendent of a Pensioner’s Home. For Thomas Frederick see: TNA WO 97/1284/136. … Continue reading

Also present with the 14^th in India was John Criswick, who was employed as a Hospital Steward. Described as an “Indo-Britain”, by 1851 he had retired and was living in Bombay (Mumbai).^[16]For John Criswick see: Bombay Gazette, 21^st February 1851. findmypast.co.uk

Whilst the service in and employment of Thomas Frederick and John Criswick might reflect transactional necessity rather than ‘racial meritocracy’, the case of Captain Theophilus Tighe Ellis (no relation to the author) a former officer in the 14^th Dragoons suggests tolerance. Theophilus Tighe Ellis was born in Ireland c.1782. The son of a cavalry officer, he served with the 14^th Dragoons in the Peninsula, being wounded at both the battles of Talavera and Fuentes d’Onore.

Following the cessation of hostilities he travelled to Australia with his widowed sister, Mrs Mary Jane Bolger, and her children (including a daughter Charlotte).^[17]www.academia.edu/40917403/An_Officer_and_a_Gentleman_or_no_regular_bred_Frenchman_Emanuel_Charles_Greene_late_of_the_battle_of_Waterloo_and_Newgate_Gaol

In 1831, at Green Bonds, Tasmania, Charlotte Bolger married Emanuel Charles Green, (described variously as a “Creole” and “a man of colour”). A former inmate of Newgate Gaol convicted at the Old Bailey and transported to Tasmania, he claimed to have been born at Bordeaux and served as an officer in Napoleon’s chasseurs at Waterloo. Emanuel Green’s exact origins and status remain ambiguous (with one detractor suggesting that he was “no regular bred Frenchman”, but “only a Saint Domingo Black.”), however, his claim to be a former cavalry officer was accepted by the gaolers of Newgate (hardly the most gullible of people), and the London press during his trial. The Bolger family and Captain Theophilus Ellis were surely in the best position as to judge the credibility of his claim, and with Charlotte Bolger being the granddaughter and niece of cavalry officers if Emanuel Greene was simply playing the role of a cavalry officer he was playing it with aplomb, and was to do so for the rest of his life.

Surely, it was one thing to employ Black soldiers and servants, and another to welcome them into the family? Yet no record of any opposition or acrimony towards the union by Captain Ellis or indeed anyone else has been identified. Perhaps social class overcame ethnicity, in the same manner as the merits of Sergeant Thomas Frederick overcame the ‘colour bar’?^[18]trove.nla.gov.au/landing/explore Captain Theophilus Tighe Ellis settled in Western Australia, and was later Governor of Kelmscott and Superintendent of the Corps of Mounted Police. He was fatally … Continue reading

The presence of Black soldiers in the 14^th, the promotion to the rank of sergeant of Thomas Frederick and the employment of John Criswick does not negate the Transatlantic Slave Trade nor the excesses of the British Empire. Yet, the decision to promote Thomas Frederick had many ‘gatekeepers’: Senior non-commissioned officers to suggest the promotion, officers to agree with and authorise the promotion, and a rank and file willing to respect the ability and authority of the individual appointed over them.

Postscript – The Fitzhenry Family.

John and Anna Fitzhenry’s two children, Sarah (1822-1826 to 1850) and John (1826-1831 to 1898), remained in Middlesex, with the former dying in her twenties and the latter having many descendants. However, Joseph Fitzhenry moved further afield.

Although the 1841 Census stated that he was born in Ireland, in later years he claimed to have been born at Hampton Court in Middlesex.^[19]The 14th Dragoons left Ireland in 1819, Joseph Fitzhenry was born c.1820 and John Fitzhenry was stationed at the Cavalry Barracks in 1822. Therefore, Joseph Fitzhenry’s place of birth in the 1841 … Continue reading It might simply be that in later life Joseph Fitzhenry identified more with Middlesex than Ireland, or that it was simply easier when asked to give his place of birth as Middlesex than Ireland – and less likely to expose him to anti-Irish discrimination.

During the 1840s Joseph Fitzhenry moved to West Yorkshire where he worked as a groom, but also earned money as a competitive athlete. In the latter role he frequently appeared in English newspapers:

From Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle in 1841:

“Joseph Fitzhenry of Hampton Court, will run Batchelor, of Wimbledon, a quarter of a mile and jump six hurdles four feet in height on the road. If he declines he will run any man in the same place for £10.”^[20]Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 11th April 1841. findmypast.co.uk

From Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle in 1846:

“Joseph Fitzhenry of Leeds will run any man in England 150 or 200 yards backwards, for £15 or £25 a side; ground to be roped and staked. The match to come off in any part of Yorkshire within one month of the first deposit. Letters to be addressed to him at Mr John Long’s, No.2 Inn, Leeds, or Mr Hudson, White Horse, Halton, near Leeds.”^[21]Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 6th September 1846. findmypast.co.uk

The sums of money involved were considerable, and relationships between participants could be acrimonious, as revealed by this notice from Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle of the 20^th of September 1846:

“G. Martin of London wishes to know whether Joseph Fitzhenry of Leeds means running, or whether it is all talk, as he (Martin), wrote him last week, but received no answer. If he really wishes for a match Martin will run him 150 yards backwards, for £25 a side, and any letter addressed to John Smith, White Hart, White Hart Street, Drury Lane, will be attended to.”^[22]Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle, 20th September 1846. findmypast.co.uk

Interestingly, there is no reference to the ethnicity of Joseph Henry in any of the newspaper reports.

At All Saints Church, Wakefield in February 1847, Joseph Fitzhenry married Elizabeth Redfearn.^[23]Wakefield Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of All Saints. West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1813-1935. West Yorkshire Archives Service. ancestry.co.uk He was a bachelor, a groom by occupation, and his father was named as John Fitzhenry (also a groom). She was a widow, and her father was named as William Story (a farmer). Both bride and groom resided at Northgate, Wakefield.

By 1851 Joseph and Elizabeth Fitzhenry were residing at 292 North Road, Preston, Lancashire. Joseph was 32 years of age, a horse breaker by occupation and had been born at Hampton Court, Middlesex. Elizabeth was 30 years of age and had been born in York. They had a daughter, named Ann, who was 8 years of age (a ‘scholar’, i.e. at school) and born in York.^[24]1851 England Census. TNA HO 107. Piece 2267. Folio 609. Page 5. Roll 87292. ancestry.co.uk

In 1861 Joseph and Elizabeth Fitzhenry were residing at 159 Richmond Row, Liverpool, Lancashire. Joseph was 43 years of age, a coachman by occupation and had been born at London, Middlesex. Elizabeth was 40 years of age and had been born in York. They had a daughter, named Ann, who was unmarried 19 years of age (a ‘dressmaker) and born in York.^[25]1861 England Census. TNA RG 9. Piece 2695. Folio 76. Page 37. Roll 543014. ancestry.co.uk

A Joseph Fitzhenry died in Liverpool in 1865.^[26]www.findmypast.co.uk