Headstone Of George Edward Doney Approx. 50 Metres Ssw Of The Tower Of The Church Of St Mary

Headstone of George Edward Doney

This is a tall headstone of 1809, located in the churchyard of St Mary, Watford, approximately 50 metres south-southwest of the church tower. The headstone is crowned with a shouldered segmental arch, within which sits a simple scrolled design. A beaded border follows the outline of the stone. The inscription is in Roman and italic letters and reads: 'IN MEMORY OF GEORGE E.D DONEY, / A Native of Virginia, / (who for 44 Years discharged / the duties of a faithful honest / servant / to the EARLS OF ESSEX) / he died 3rd September, 1809. // Poor Edward blest the pirate Bark which bore / His captive Infancy from Gambia's shore / To where in willing servitude he won / Those blest rewards for every duty done / Kindness and praise the wages of the Heart. / None else to HIM could joy or pride impart / And gave him, born a Pagan and a Slave / A FREEMANS Charter and a CHRISTIANS grave.'

The churchyard was altered in 1952 and contains ten other listed tombs, all chest tombs. The church itself is listed at Grade I.

George Edward Doney was born around 1758 in Gambia, West Africa, where he was sold into slavery and taken to Virginia. At approximately eight years old in 1766, he entered the service of William Anne Holles Capel, 4th Earl of Essex. Doney appears to have been a favoured slave, likely performing domestic duties rather than field work, and he may initially have been engaged as a companion to the Earl's son, also named George. Doney was baptised in 1774 at the age of about sixteen. A humorous engraving of 1774 by Joseph Bretherton titled 'High Life Below Stairs' depicts three dozing servants at Cassiobury, one of whom is black and may well be Doney himself. He served in the local militia between 1782 and 1786, where his name appears on militia lists beneath that of a footman, suggesting he may have held a similar position. An unfinished painting of circa 1807–9 by J.M.W. Turner shows a harvest dinner at Cassiobury with a black servant, probably Doney, dressed in the costume of a high-ranking servant in a prominent position with duties resembling those of a butler. Doney died aged about fifty-one, approximately two years after the abolition of the slave trade in 1807. By the time of his death, he had been given his freedom legally, though the precise date is unknown.

The quality of the tomb erected for Doney, with its elaborate and affectionate inscription, demonstrates that during his forty-four years of service he had achieved a position of particular distinction within the family. He received an unusual obituary notice in the Gentleman's Magazine, noting his 'respectful attention and demeanour' which 'conciliated the universal good opinion of all those who had opportunities of witnessing his services.' He died a widower; his wife's identity and the date of their marriage remain unknown.

Doney was not the first black servant at Cassiobury. Parish registers record the baptisms of Othello, 'a negro formerly called Donas', servant to William Capel, 3rd Earl of Essex, in 1730 (baptised on the same day as the Earl's daughter), and three years earlier, of Charles, 'a negro formerly called Donas', servant to the Duchess of Bedford (sister-in-law to the Countess of Essex). The shared name 'Donas' or 'Doney', derived from the Latin word meaning 'offering', suggests these men or boys may have arrived as gifts. A painting of circa 1748 by John Wooton depicting Cassiobury Park with family, friends and servants includes a black servant, possibly Charles or Othello.

The 4th Earl of Essex and his wife were subscribers to the autobiography of England's leading black anti-slavery campaigner, Olaudah Equiano's 'Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano', published in 1789. The 5th Earl was a friend of the Prince of Wales and a patron of the arts. He was politically a Whig and supporter of Lord Grenville, a committed opponent of slavery during whose premiership the 1807 Abolition Act was passed. The inscription on Doney's headstone suggests the Earl rejoiced in his servant's freedom, though the verse implies that Doney had earned that freedom through devoted service and Christian faith rather than as a natural right.

Graves represent one of the few forms of tangible evidence of slaves in England, and such graves are rare; the vast majority died without trace. The survival of Doney's tomb and the limited knowledge of his life makes him exceptional and serves as a reminder of the many histories that have been lost.