Lost Grave of Olaudah Equiano’s Daughter Found Decades After A-Level Student’s Discovery
The long-forgotten grave of Anna Maria Vassa, eldest daughter of pioneering Black British abolitionist Olaudah Equiano, has been rediscovered in Cambridge—thanks to research conducted by an A-level student nearly fifty years ago.
A Historic Discovery
While it was known that Anna Maria died on July 31, 1797, and was buried in Chesterton, the precise location of her resting place had been lost to history. The breakthrough came when Professor Victoria Avery of the Fitzwilliam Museum uncovered overlooked research from 1977.
During archival work at Cambridge’s Magdalene College, Avery found documentation showing that Cathy O’Neill, then an A-level student, had identified and photographed what she believed was Anna Maria’s burial plot in St Andrew’s churchyard.
Confirming the Find
Working with independent researcher Dawnanna Kreeger and the Rev Dr Philip Lockley, vicar of St Andrew’s, Avery confirmed that a weathered footstone marked “AMV – 1797” belonged to Anna Maria Vassa. The discovery was validated through O’Neill’s original photographs and research.
“In the moment of discovery there was a deep sense of her being found,” Lockley told the Guardian.
Equiano’s Legacy
Olaudah Equiano, born around 1745 in what is now Nigeria, was kidnapped into slavery at age eleven. After escaping bondage, he became a celebrated author and prominent abolitionist in Georgian England. His 1789 memoir, “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano,” became a bestselling account that fueled the anti-slavery movement.
While touring Cambridgeshire to promote his book, Equiano married local woman Susannah Cullen and settled in Soham. Their daughter Anna Maria died at just four years old.
Community Connections
St Andrew’s Church has honored Equiano and his daughter with annual remembrance days since the 1990s. In 2022, a local bridge was renamed after the abolitionist. The church now plans to install a stained glass window commemorating the Vassa family.
“We’re such an area where new people are coming all the time but are really interested to hear of these long roots and connections into Black history,” Lockley said.
Though Anna Maria’s grave location was lost, an epitaph on St Andrew’s north wall has long memorialized her. Written by family friend and abolitionist Edward Ind, the inscription notes how her “father born of Afric’s Sun-burnt race” was “torn from his native fields” before finding freedom in Britain.
Equiano’s second daughter, Joanna, who survived to adulthood and inherited his estate, is buried in Stoke Newington.