Malvina Wells (1804 – 22 April 1887) was the only known person buried in Edinburgh who was born a

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Birth and early life

Malvina Wells was born in 1804 in Carriacou,

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

, in the West Indies. Her father was John Wells, planter, and her mother's name is unknown. In the 1817, slave register for Grand Bay estate in Carriacou, there is an entry which states 'in lawful possession of George G. Browne Mill and John Mill...

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

, no distinguishing marks'. This entry showed Malvina Wells was aged 13; mulatto signified her father was white, and her mother was black.

Life in Scotland

It is unknown when Malvina Wells was brought to Scotland. She worked for Joanna Isabella Macrae née Maclean, daughter of John McLean, who owned slaves in Carriacou. In 1851, Malvina Wells was living at 33 Great King Street, Edinburgh, and was listed as a lady's maid, in the house of John A Macrae, Writer to the Signet, and his wife Joanna Macrae. By 1861, Malvina Wells lived at 42 Thistle Street, Edinburgh, as head of household, with a boarder named Mary Johnston, dressmaker. Ten years later in 1871, she lived at 2 Randolph Crescent, Edinburgh in the household of Edward Strathearn Gordon and wife Agnes Joanna Gordon, as a domestic servant. In 1881, Malvina Wells is named in the census as Meleina Wells, living at 14 Gloucester Place, Edinburgh, aged 75 whilst still a lady's maid to Joanna Macrae, now a widow. Malvina died on 22 April 1887 aged 82, at 14 Gloucester Place. Her death was registered by Horatio R Macrae, son of Joanna Macrae, and cause of death was listed as heart disease.

Memorial

Malvina Wells is buried under a marble headstone erected by the Macrae family in the graveyard of

St Johns Church St. John's Church, Church of St. John, or variants, thereof, (Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Baptist, but also, sometimes, to John the Apostle or John the Evangelist) may refer to the following churches, former churches or other ...

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...

, Edinburgh. It lies to the right of a larger family memorial to Joanna Isabella Maclean, for whom she worked. The inscription records that she was a faithful friend and servant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Malvina 1804 births 1887 deaths People from Carriacou and Petite Martinique Grenadian women Grenadian slaves British former slaves People associated with Edinburgh Scottish slaves British servants 19th-century slaves