John Camden of Chelsea, c.1750-1824

By John  Ellis

In May 1817 the Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser informed its readers of a shocking accident which they were sure was to lead to the death of the injured party:

J. Camden, a man of colour, who lives at No.4 Grosvenor-row, Chelsea, and who is subject to fits, fell against the grate, and before he was observed, his head and neck were shockingly burnt. He remains in such a state as precludes all idea of his recovering.

John Camden was born in Calcutta c.1750 (now Kolkata, India), it is not known if he was Asian or of ‘mixed heritage’. He enlisted in the British Army c.1760 and served for total of 43 years in the ranks of several regiments: 7^th Foot, 26^th Foot, 47^th Foot, 75^th Foot, Hanoverian Regiment of Minorca, the Nova Scotia Regiment and latterly the ‘1^st Royal Veterans’.

He was discharged as a private on a pension in April 1803, by “Order of the Commander in Chief in consequence of being worn out and having received wounds in the head and both arms at the defence of Minorca during the war before last.” The Franco-Spanish reconquest of Minorca (Menorca in the Balearic Islands) from the British (1781-1782) was part of Spain’s alliance with France against Britain during the American War of Independence.

On discharge he was 5 feet 6 and 1/2″ tall with black hair, black eyes and a black complexion. A labourer by occupation, his records noted that he intended to reside in Chelsea, a decision almost certainly influenced by the proximity of the Royal Hospital (which provided out-pensioners with daily meals and free medical care) and the number of other veterans residing in the area. At least one other Black soldier had chosen to settle in the St Luke’s area of Chelsea: Thomas Wells, a Sri Lankan out-pensioner, had lived in the area prior to becoming an in-pensioner at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in 1811.

Despite his injuries, John Camden lived for nearly seven more years, dying of “general decay” (i.e. old age) in 1824 and being buried at St Luke’s, Chelsea on the 7^th of January 1824. (Number 63. Row 51. North-east quarter). He was 68 years of age (suggesting he had been born in 1756), and a resident of White Lion Street, Chelsea.^[1]Sources: For John Camden (also rendered as Campden) see: TNA 23/140, WO 121/69 and WO 121/164. Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser, 5th May 1817. findmypast.co.uk Church of England Deaths and Burials, … Continue reading