Slavery

Memorial: M6617

Headstone  at St Keyne Church, Kenwyn, Cornwall commemorating Joseph Antonio Emidy  d. 1835

Location

St Keyne Church, Kenwyn, Cornwall, England

Transcript

‘HERE LIE DEPOSITED / The mortal remains of Mr Jos:h Antonia Emidy / Who departed this life, / On the 23:rd of April 1835 / AGED 60 YEARS /
And sacred to whose memory / This tribute of affection is erected / By his surviving family. /
He was native of PORTUGAL / Which Country he quitted about / forty years since and pursuing the / Musical Profession, resided in / Cornwall until the close of / his earthly career. /
Devoted to thy soul-inspiring strains, / Sweet Music! Thee he hail'd his chief delight / And with fond zeal that shunn'd nor toil nor pain / His talent sear'd, and genius mark'd its flight / In harmony he liv'd, in peace with all / Took his departure from this world of woe, / And here his rest, till the last Trumpet's call, / Shall 'wake mankind to joys that endless flow.’

Details

Description: With a flaming urn, in relief within an oval at the top.
Type: Headstone
Position: Churchyard
Materials: Stone
Vessel: Indefatigable

People

Emidy, Joseph Antonio
Age: 60
Date of Death: 23/4/1835
Cause of Death: Unknown
Rank / Occupation: Musician
Organisation: Royal Navy

Extra

Notes: Born in Guinea and enslaved during early life , Emidy was trained as a musician and worked for the Lisbon Opera Orchestra. He was press-ganged (or kidnapped) the orders of Sir Edward Pellew in 1795 and employed as a ship's musician rated Landsman in 'Indefatigable'. He re-enlisted voluntarily with the higher rank of Able Seaman in 'Impetueux'. After he was finally discharged in Falmouth in 1802, he worked as a composer, teacher and performer in Cornwall
Bibliography: Stephen Taylor ‘Commander: The life and exploits of Britain’s greatest frigate captain’ pp. 90-92 (London, 2012).
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