The Memorial Register
Honoring the names, lives, and humanity of those who were enslaved.
Below is a growing record of individuals who lived and suffered under slavery in the Danish West Indies. By recording their names, we acknowledge their existence, their resilience, and the injustice they endured.
General Buddhoe (John Gottlieb)
Born: ~1820
Origin: St. Croix
Location: La Grange Plantation, St. Croix
A skilled artisan and a free man (or highly privileged enslaved man) who became the principal leader of the 1848 slave rebellion on St. Croix, which forced Governor Peter von Scholten to declare emancipation.
Queen Mary (Mary Leticia Thomas)
Born: ~1848
Origin: Antigua (Moved to St. Croix)
Location: St. Croix
One of the three 'Queens' of the 1878 Fireburn labor riot. Though born free, she and others lived under contract labor conditions nearly identical to slavery. She led the revolt for fair wages and working conditions.