Willis of Swansea
In late 19th Century the newspaper Cambrian News ran a piece on well known characters in Swansea. One story was of an old black man who often sat on a wall in Northampton Street who would greet passers-by with the words "I used to be a slave".
Willis was born on a plantation in the southern United States in 1813. His name would have been given to him by his owner. But Willis was determined not to remain a slave his whole life. In 1833 he saw a chance of freedom - and took it. He must have known that the chances of escape were slim and that the punishment, if caught, would have been severe - maybe even death.
He stowed away on a ship the St Peter, then docked in New Orleans, Louisiana. The city was the largest in the slave states of the southern US and a major port for the export of cotton. The ship had, however, stopped in only for supplies. Its hold was filled with Chilean copper, on its way to Swansea, where copper works had existed in Landore since 1720.
Willis story was told in a show Before Freedom (right, prohotgraoh courtesy of Prof. Jen Wilson, Jazz Heritage Wales) that toured schools in Swansea. Willis is portrayed by Christian Rae.
Willis was lucky. Discovered and brought before the captain of the St Peter, he found someone sympathetic to his plight. He was told that he would have to work his passage to Swansea - which he did by helping the cook in the ship's galley.
On arrival in Landore and the Swansea docks he faced another challenge. Would he be set free? Some of the crew didn't think he should be.
The Portreeve (the warden of the port), however, freed Willis on the dock, almost immediately the young man set foot on Welsh soil. The captain of the St Peter paid him for his service, 2 sovereigns (the equivalent today of just under £140) which was enough to find accommodation.
Nothing more is known of Willis, unless it is that story in the Cambrian News, over 50 years later of an old man who would smile and wave to people in Swansea and tell them: "I used to be a slave."
Perhaps the last reference to Willis can be found in "The Swansea I Remember: The Town in the 1880s and 90s" by William Loxton (Sou’wester Books, 1991).
The book describes a "jolly negro, who claimed he was a freed slave. He had a happy smiling face surrounded by white hair. He always sat on a wall in Northampton Place. Though he did not beg he was offered coppers by passers-by. He was getting old and tottery, and the children were attracted by his quaint speech and his merry laugh".
Many thanks to Prof. Jen Wilson of Jazz Heritage Wales for Willis' story.
