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Frances "Fanny" Coker aka Fumnanya (26 August 1767 – 12 April 1820) was enslaved on
Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation ...
. She was a domestic servant who was the property and later servant to John and Jane Pinney of
Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation ...
in the West Indies and
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
in England. She moved to Bristol, where the Pinneys lived at
The Georgian House The Georgian House is a British children's historical fantasy television series produced by HTV in Bristol and first screened on ITV in 1976. The series consisted of seven episodes. Plot The story concerned two students, Dan and Abbie, wh ...
; at Racedown house at
Broadwindsor Broadwindsor () is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in South West England. It lies west of Beaminster. Broadwindsor was formerly a liberty, containing only the parish itself. Dorset County Council estimate that in 2013 the popu ...
in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...
and at the lost building called "Somerton Erleigh" at
Somerton Somerton may refer to: Places Australia *Somerton, New South Wales *Somerton Park, South Australia, a seaside Adelaide suburb **Somerton Man, unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead in 1948 on the Somerton Park beach *Somerton, Victoria Un ...
in
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...
. She wrote home to her enslaved relatives and revisited Nevis.


Life

Coker was born in 1767 on the Caribbean island of
Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation ...
. She was known as Frances and Fumnanya. She was born into slavery, as her mother was a slave named Black/Igbo Polly (or Adaeze) and her father was said to be William Coker. Her mother had been brought to the island of Nevis from St Kitts by
John Pinney John Pretor Pinney (1740 – 23 January 1818) was a plantation owner on the island of Nevis in the West Indies and was a sugar merchant in Bristol. He made his fortune from England’s demand for sugar. His Bristol residence is now the c ...
who had purchased her together with eight other male children. The man believed to be her father was William Coker, who was Pinney's plantation manager, and he was married but not to her mother. Her mother worked in the Pinneys' house and did some sewing, so Coker was brought up in that household. She was baptised when she was three and she was educated together with two of Pinney's children. Their teacher was Mary Keep whose husband was a mason. She was unusually manumitted (freed) on 15 September 1778 by her owner. John Pinney freed slaves when they were old or sick but Coker's release was exceptional because she had been a valuable property. She was given a wage and she continued in service for the Pinney family in Nevis as Jane Pinney's maid. In 1783 the Pinney family set sail for England taking with them two servants. Coker was one and the other was Pero who was a male slave. Coker left her mother behind and her half-sister, Hetty, and half-brother Billy Jones. Billy Jones's father was said to be her boss John Pinney.


England

file:Bedroom at the Georgian house, Bristol (2319278234).jpg, left, Bedroom at the Georgian House,
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
. in 2008 Coker and the Pinney household stayed first in London before moving to her presumed father, William Coker's, home on Dorset called Woodcuts and then onto Bristol. In 1789 she joined Broadmead Baptist Church, where she was re-baptised probably in August. Later that year Jane Pinney decided to revisit Nevis, but Coker refused to go with her. She agreed only after she was threatened with being dismissed. In 1791, the household moved to their new home now known as the Georgian House, Bristol, Georgian House, but then known as 7 Great George Street. John Pinney was keen to be seen as English and they also had homes called Racedown in
Broadwindsor Broadwindsor () is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in South West England. It lies west of Beaminster. Broadwindsor was formerly a liberty, containing only the parish itself. Dorset County Council estimate that in 2013 the popu ...
in Dorset and Somerton Erleigh at Somerton in Somerset.


Death and legacy

Coker died in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
in 1820. She was buried in the Baptist burial ground in Bristol, but later moved (with many others) to Greenbank cemetery, Bristol. In 2017, the Bristol Radical History Group created an event and video that was shot at Greenbank cemetery, Nevis and Nigeria to celebrate Fumnanya, her mother, Adaeze, and her grandmother, Ojiugo. Fumnaya was played by
Ros Martin Ros Martin (born 1960s) is a British playwright, poet, performance artist, curator and activist, born in London and based in Bristol since 1995. She is a founder member of the Bristol Black Women's Writers Group (2002–2005) and "Our Stories Mak ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coker, Frances 1767 births 1820 deaths People from Nevis Domestic workers