Gilbert, Anne Hart (1768-1833)

Caribbean Methodist Pioneer

Born on February 15, 1768 to her parents Barry Conyers Hart and Anne Clearkley, Anne Hart Gilbert lived on an estate in Popshead near St. Johns, Antigua. The third daughter of her parents, Anne was a mixed-race woman and second-generation free person who belonged to the small privileged middle class that existed in Antigua. At that time, only about 4,000 Black individuals of the total population of 35,000 were free. Both of Anne’s parents were born to enslaved mothers and free white men. Her father, an educated Afro-Irish free man, became a slaveholder and planter who owned a farm as well as a small number of slaves. Anne’s father aided in the liberation of slaves by advising them about their manumission papers for free. Because of her father’s educational and financial status, Anne Hart Gilbert received an education first at home and then outside schooling later. Known herself as a religious woman, Anne Clearkley invested in her daughter’s spiritual upbringing, thereby setting a solid foundation for Hart Gilbert’s later religious endeavours. At that time, Anglican faith had the highest prevalence. Methodism was just beginning to take root with its recent introduction to the British Caribbean through Antigua in 1760 by Nathaniel and Francis Gilbert. On November 20, 1780, Anne’s mother died resulting in her taking on more household responsibilities at just twelve years old.

Following the death of her mother, Anne Hart Gilbert had a life transforming experience. Dr. Thomas Coke, a founder and director of foreign missions within Methodism, visited Antigua in 1786. During his visit, Anne Hart Gilbert and her sister, Elizabeth Hart, converted to Methodism upon their baptism into the faith. Hart Gilbert’s life changed in a number of ways, such as in her dress and her theological viewpoints. Her religious perspective was shaped through her exposure to the founding fathers of Methodism, the brothers John and Charles Wesley. Methodism provided a means to challenge the place of slavery in society and promote the end of oppressive colonial systems. The church acted as a vehicle to advocate for the rights of the slave and the demolition of structures that enabled white dominance. Wesley focused on inner religion and imagery around childlike relations with the Father, as well as liberal and militant evangelicalism. A combination of this Methodist view as well as Moravian views shaped Hart Gilbert’s understanding of sin and redemption, thus contributing to her strong renounciation of slavery. From exposure to Moravian Christianity, Hart Gilbert gained abolitionist rhetoric and learned of the Moravians’ gift of intellectualism. An important part of her agenda was the elevation of Black women within Methodism, and in society as a whole. Hart Gilbert both supported and displayed ameliorationist views as well as encouraged longer acts of tolerance rather than full on protests.

Hart Gilbert’s value of communal efforts and her relationships impacted her story in addition to her writing. In 1798, Anne Hart Gilbert entered into a biracial relationship, marrying a white man named John Gilbert. Gilbert, a laypreacher and a relative of the founders of Antiguan Methodism, Nathaniel and Francis Gilbert, received a lot of backlash for his marriage. The couple faced race-based harassment, with the most notable incident being them returning home from their honeymoon to find their door painted half white and half yellow. Five years later in 1803, the couple moved from St. Johns, Antigua to English Harbour, Antigua. A year later Richard Pattison, a Methodist missionary, asked Hart Gilbert to write a history of Antigua’s Methodist history. She did and titled it, “History of Methodism.” Within the text, Hart Gilbert highlights the importance of the work of African Caribbean women within the Methodist movement and within society. An important moment in the text was her naming other Methodist women such as Mary Alley and Sophia Campbel. Her writing praised the work and leadership of both women after the death of the Gilbert brothers. Hart Gilbert prioritized highlighting the hidden stories of women who played a crucial role in the growth and sustaining of Methodism. Though not often credited, she was one of the first published writers of the Anglophone African Caribbean. Her writing ranged in form from biography, to memoir, to letters, and more. Yet, her husband’s popularity from family relations awarded her more notability than other women, like her sister Elizabeth Hart Thwaites.

Beyond her writing, Anne Hart Gilbert sought to empower Black individuals and increase their literacy. She accomplished her mission by spearheading a number of structures that succeeded at this. In 1809, Anne and Elizabeth, created the West Indies’s first Caribbean Sunday School that served individuals regardless of race and social class. Her sister and her husband, Charles Thwaites, followed suit in 1813 by creating Sunday school classes for Antiguan plantation slaves. Later, Hart Gilbert collaborated with her sister once more to found the Female Refuge Society. The sisters aimed to create a society that combated the warped perspectives of Black females, perspectives that were based on racial stereotypes, problematic associations with depravity, and distorted views of sexuality. The work of the Female Refuge Society has been credited as having a large influence in creating change within the mainstream spheres. Hart Gilbert’s work with females continued through her nomination as the superintendent of the English Harbour Sunday School by the Honorable Lady Grey. Anne headed the girls department of the school space that had existed under Grey’s leadership for the four years prior. Anne’s written work did not begin to be circulated until 1825, and even then only some of her work was circulated.

Following the death of her husband in 1833, Anne worked on completing the memoir that he had started. She completed it before her death from erysipelas that same year. The memoir, Memoir of John Gilbert, was later published in 1835. Often this text is biographically associated with her since it gives a firsthand glimpse into her life. To this day, few documents written by Hart Gilbert exist and a minimal amount of sources discuss the work of Anne Hart Gilbert. Her religious affiliation has been suggested as a reason for her lack of extreme notability. Few texts focus on her as a writer and social justice advocate. Moria Ferguson has done the most work in bringing attention to the Hart sisters, writing books like: The Hart Sisters: Writers, Evangelicals, and Radicals as well as Nine Women. Though not a biological mother, Hart Gilbert has historically been seen and been known as a mother to many. Alongside this role, she worked as an abolitionist, domestic missionary, educator, and teacher. Anne Gilbert Heart’s legacy is that of a missionary who contributed to the spread of religion alongside women’s rights throughout Antigua. Through her work, she acted as a pioneer of religious women’s work in the Caribbean and brought attention to the rich history of Black women.

By JoDeanne Francis

Updated July 27, 2021

Bibliography

Bay, Mia E., Farah J. Griffin, Martha S. Jones, and Barbara Dianne Savage. Toward an Intellectual History of Black Women. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2015. muse.jhu.edu/book/39478.

Ferguson, Moira. Nine Black Women: An Anthology of Nineteenth-Century Writers from the United States, Canada, Bermuda, and the Caribbean. Routledge, 1998.

M’Baye, Babacar. Trickster Comes West: Pan-African Influence in Early Black Diasporan Narratives. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009.

Mendez Mendez Serafín, and Gail Cueto. Notable Caribbeans and Caribbean Americans: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003.

Saillant, John. “Antiguan Methodism and Antislavery Activity: Anne and Elizabeth Hart in the Eighteenth-Century Black Atlantic.” Church History 69, no. 1 (2000): 86-115. www.jstor.org/stable/3170581.

Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. Caribbean Women and Their Art: An Encyclopedia. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.