Ansetta de Chabert (also known as Annie Muckle de Chabert, Annie de Chabert Clarke, Annie de Chabert, or simply Miss Annie) (February 11, 1908–1976), was a United States Virgin Islands businesswoman and civic activist. de Chabert sold a significant amount of her family land to Hess Oil and Chemical for an

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...

in 1955, negotiating face-to-face with owner

Leon Hess Leon Hess (March 14, 1914 – May 7, 1999) was an American businessman, the founder of the Hess Corporation and the owner of the New York Jets. Hess built an oil terminal in New Jersey after the Great Depression, building his first refinery ...

. With some of the money, she invested and brought the Sunny Isle Shopping Center to St. Croix. A member of the Democratic Party, she was made National Committee Woman from 1967 to 1972. She was also elected to and served on the Virgin Islands Board of Education as the chair from 1964 to 1970 and was active in several community organizations. She died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 1976. She was married first to Ralph de Magne de Chabert Sr., a local civil servant, farmer, and real estate investor. After his death, she married Reverend Clarke, the vicar of St. John's Episcopal Church in

Christiansted Christiansted ( , ; ) is the largest town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands of the United States Virgin Islands, a territory of the United States of America. The town is named after King Christian VI of Denmark. History The town was found ...

. After her death she was honoured by Resolution 778, March 1, 1976, of the Virgin Islands legislature, which commemorated her "lifetime of human warmth, noble pursuits and good works throughout the Virgin Islands community". In 2005, she was one of 13 women inducted into the Virgin Islands Women's Hall of Fame.

References

People from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands 1908 births 1976 deaths 20th-century African-American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American philanthropists African-American women in business American women philanthropists Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands politicians People from the Danish West Indies United States Virgin Islands women in politics United States Virgin Islands women {{philanthropist-stub