No 14381 headstone for Ann in Dorchester
Ann a Negro slave
The Dorchester Old North Burying Ground has a marker for
“Ann, a Negro Child Belonging to Mr. Robert Oliver, & Daughter to his Negro Mimbo; Aged 2 Yrs., Died June 1743.”
Keith Stokes reports: We have the exact marker in Newport, RI in our Slave and Free African burying ground. From our records, Robert Oliver was largely in Boston/Dorchester and not very active in Newport at the time. However, Oliver was from Antigua and there are a number of Newport merchants connected to Antigua. What we can tell you is Ann’s mother name is Mimbo. The Akan people of the Gold Coast (Ghana) frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. Mimbo is the day name for girls born on Tuesday and many of the New England slaves came from Ghana or Senegal.
No. 14382 headstone for Ann in Newport, RI