Mary Johnston Rose
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary Johnston Rose (c. 1718 – 1783) was a Jamaican hotelier.
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Rose was born in St Catherine's Parish to Elizabeth Johnston (d. 1753), who are registered as a "free negro". Mary Rose is described as a "free mulatto".[citation needed] Her early life is not fully documented. Allegedly she was born a slave. Her father was white. Her mother was manumitted with her daughter by her owner and lover. He gave them property to provide for them. Mary Rose was apparently educated, and could read and write when this was not universal even for white women in Jamaica. As was common for free women of colour, she became the mistress - called "housekeeper" - of a white man, in her case Chief Justice of Jamaica Rose Fuller, who gave her an annuity when he left for Britain in 1754.
Mary Rose became a rich and influential woman in Jamaica. She lived in the capital, Spanish Town, where she rented rooms to local politicians and officials who visited to attend the legislative assembly. In 1759, her hotel was described as the finest in Jamaica.[citation needed] She was influential since people used her as a channel to Rose Fuller. She owned several slaves, and gave one slave to each of her nieces and nephews.[1]
In 1745, she petitioned for white status (with the rights associated with this status) for herself and her sons Thomas Wynter and William Fuller, and in 1746 the British Parliament confirmed the Act of the Jamaican Assembly:
Her petition was likely approved because the two white fathers of her two sons were members of the Jamaican Assembly. This was not uncommon for the small class of well-connected free people of color of 18th-century Jamaica, but this custom was banned by the Jamaican Assembly in 1761.
She belonged to the small but privileged class of free people of colour on Jamaica. Her correspondence with Rose Fuller from the years 1756–1760 is preserved.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.