George Edward Doney

George Edward Doney (~1758 - 1809) is believed to have been born in Gambia around 1758. He was transported to Virginia as a young boy and sold into slavery. He came to Watford, Hertfordshire in around 1765, as a servant for the Earl of Essex at Cassiobury House, continuing to serve the family for 44 years.
He achieved respect and status at Cassiobury House and was baptised at St Mary's Church, Watford on 1 August 1774. An unfinished painting from c1809 by J.M.W. Turner shows a dinner in one of the barns at Cassiobury House, with a high-ranking servant black servant, probably Doney.
He died a freeman in 1809, two years after the abolition of slavery in the UK. His burial at St Mary's Church took place on 8 September 1809 and a handsome headstone with an original poetical epigraph was erected in the churchyard. The gravestone was given Grade II listed status in 2008.