Francis Barber

1742-1809

Of all the paintings and prints lining the walls of Dr Johnson’s House, one of the most striking is a portrait of a young Black man. Dignified and handsome, he gazes into the distance. The caption identifies him as “Francis Barber, Dr Johnson’s servant”. But who was Barber, and why does his portrait hang here?

Born in Jamaica around 1742, Barber’s birthname was Quashey. His parents were enslaved, and he was born into slavery on the Orange River sugar plantation, where he lived and worked alongside more than 150 other enslaved people.

In 1750, the plantation’s owner, Colonel Bathurst, ran into financial difficulties and sold the estate, including the people whom the law treated as property. He sailed for England, taking Quashey with him. We don’t know whether Quashey was Bathurst’s son or whether he had worked in the family home rather than on the plantation.

After arriving in England, Quashey was baptised and given the name Francis Barber. Bathurst then sent him to a school in Barden, Yorkshire. But in April 1752, his life changed again when he joined the household of Samuel Johnson, the celebrated writer and scholar. The arrangement was made by Bathurst’s son, Dr Richard Bathurst, a friend of Johnson who shared his opposition to slavery.

Barber and Johnson

Barber spent four years living at Gough Square, probably sleeping in the basement where the kitchen and open fires were located, as many servants did at the time. His work involved the usual duties of a household servant: running errands, fetching and carrying, answering the door and waiting at table.

Yet Barber’s relationship with Johnson was about more than domestic service. Conversations about his experiences in Jamaica are likely to have influenced Johnson’s antislavery views and writings. Johnson described Jamaica as “Hell on Earth … a den of tyrants”.

Johnson was also keen that Barber should receive an education. He sent him to a writing-master, Jacob Desmoulins, and one of the most remarkable objects in the House is a small scrap of paper on which Barber practised writing his own name over and over: “Francis Barber”.

Johnson's friendships spanned the full breadth of 18th-century society. He also did not make distinctions at home based on the standard hierarchy at this time between 'master' and 'servant', and the people who lived with him were free to treat the house as their own. One visitor to Johnson’s home was surprised to find Barber hosting a gathering of his Black friends there. Barber was part of London’s sizeable Black community, with many Black Londoners working in domestic service. There are records of Black men and women meeting socially in the city in the pubs along Fleet Street and beyond.

Francis Barber’s handwriting practice (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale Uni

The Navy
In 1756 Barber left Gough Square to work for an apothecary in Cheapside. Two years later he joined the Navy and served during the Seven Years’ War. His naval career ended in 1760 when, at Johnson’s request, he was discharged.

Johnson may have acted out of genuine concern. He missed Barber and may have feared that a posting to the West Indies could put him at risk of being captured and sold back into slavery. But Johnson’s intervention was also paternalistic: it removed Barber’s choice to continue as a sailor.

Barber returned to Johnson’s household, now in Inner Temple Lane, and remained his servant for the next 24 years. Johnson sent him to the Grammar School at Bishop’s Stortford, and Barber later returned to work for him.

Marriage
In 1773 Barber married Elizabeth Ball, a white woman. Their marriage attracted some hostility, but also support. Johnson welcomed Elizabeth and, later, the couple’s children into his household. Both their sons were named Samuel, although one died in infancy.

Francis Barber’s handwriting practice (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University)

Johnson's Will
As Johnson grew older and increasingly unwell, the Barbers cared for him. Francis was at his bedside when Johnson died in 1784. In his Will, Johnson left Barber an annual income of £70 and ordered that the remainder of his estate, after various personal bequests, should be held in trust for his benefit. The sum involved was around £1,500 — a considerable amount at the time. A copy of the Will can still be seen in the House.

The Barbers moved to Lichfield, Johnson’s birthplace, and initially lived comfortably. But eventually the money ran out. Francis opened a school and is believed to have been the first Black teacher in Britain. The school struggled, and the family fell into poverty, selling some of their treasured mementoes of Johnson to make ends meet. After Francis’s death, Elizabeth and their daughter continued the school.

Francis Barber died at the Staffordshire Infirmary on 13 January 1801. Elizabeth lived until 1816. They were survived by a son and daughter, and Barber’s direct descendants still live in Staffordshire and maintain close links with Dr Johnson’s House.

Dr Johnson's Last Will and Testament.jpg

Dr Johnson's Last Will and Testament

(Dr Johnson's House Trust Collection)

Sir Joshua Reynolds Portrait
The portrait in the House is a copy of an original by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Despite its caption, the identity of the sitter is not certain: historians continue to debate whether it really is Francis Barber or Reynolds’s own servant.

Whoever the sitter may be, the portrait has an important place in Dr Johnson’s House. It opens a window onto the Black community of 18th-century London and reminds us of Barber’s extraordinary life — from a childhood in slavery in Jamaica to his long relationship with Samuel Johnson.

Dr Johnson’s House is also the only surviving building in the historic City of London known to have been home to someone born into slavery who later lived there as a free person. Francis Barber’s story is therefore not simply part of Johnson’s history. It is part of the history of London itself.