Amelia Lewsham or Amelia Harlequin or Amelia Newsham (c. 1748 – after 1797) was a Jamaican woman born with

albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...

, enslaved and exhibited as the "White Negress" in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and subjected to medical and naturalists examination. She freed herself and became eventually a businesswoman successfully making exhibitions by her own.

Life

Lewsham was born circa 1748, in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, probably

Spanish Town Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...

where her mother worked as her owner's house servant. Both of her parents were black and she was born an

albino Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and reddish pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albinos. Varied use and interpretation of ...

. Lewsham was the property of Sir Simon Clarke 6th baronet who was so intrigued with her that he sent Lewsham, then about five years old, to England in 1753 as a present to his second son Kingsmill Clarke, a barrister of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. Clarke agreed to sell the girl after initially asking for 400 guineas.Kathleen Chater, ‘Lewsham, Amelia (b. c.1748, d. in or after 1798)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oct 2010; online edn, May 201
accessed 28 Jan 2017
/ref> left, Obverse of the 1795 coin Her new owner, Burnet, ran a shop in London and he toured the country with Lewsham, charging customers a shilling to see the unusual girl. Burnet showed her to both the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

and whilst touring she was baptised "Amelia Harleguin" in April 1766. Empowered by the baptism Lewsham left her owner and began exhibiting herself. Amelia married and had six children with a man named Lewsham or Newsham. Eleven years later she was seen by

Olaudah Equiano Olaudah Equiano (; c. 1745 – 31 March 1797), known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa (), was a writer and abolitionist. According to his memoir, he was from the village of Essaka in present day southern Nigeria. Enslaved as a child in ...

in London. In 1795 she was being exhibited by Thomas Hall in

Finsbury Square Finsbury Square is a square in Finsbury in central London which includes a six-rink grass bowling green. It was developed in 1777 on the site of a previous area of green space to the north of the City of London known as Finsbury Fields, in the p ...

and possibly at

Bartholomew Fair The Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer charter fairs. A charter for the fair was granted by King Henry I to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew in 1133. It took place each year on 24 August (St Bartholomew's Day) within the p ...

.Thomas Hall advertising ticket
RMG, Retrieved 2 January 2017 Souvenir coins were minted by W. Lutwtyche of Birmingham. One side of the coin showed Lewsham with message "MRS. NEWSHAM THE WHITE NEGRESS". The obverse said "The First Artist in Europe for Preserving Birds Beasts" and "T.Hall Citty Road near Finsbury Square London 1795" catalogue
the Saleroom, Retrieved 28 January 2017 An Alternate obverse recorded that Thomas Hall was exhibiting Amelia at the "Curiosity House" on

City Road City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at Angel where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for the eastern part of Lo ...

.Amelia Newsham, the White Negress
SideShowWorld, Retrieved 29 January 2017 She married with Mr Lewsham or Newsham, and English man, and had at least six children. Lewsham probably died in the UK but the date is not known.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewsham, Amelia 1740s births 18th-century deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown Jamaican women People with albinism Black British former slaves British former slaves