Elizabeth Hart
Elizabeth Hart, born in 1771 in Antigua, emerged from a free black slaveholding family in the Caribbean. Influenced by her father's literary engagement, she and her sister Anne developed a strong literary and religious foundation rooted in their Methodist upbringing. Elizabeth Hart was baptized in the Methodist faith between 1786 and 1804. In 1805, she married Charles Thwaite, a white man who supported her philanthropic efforts. Together with her sister, Elizabeth was among the early advocates for the education of both enslaved and free African Caribbean individuals. Their commitment to antislavery activism was deeply intertwined with their evangelical Methodist beliefs, shaping their writings and public efforts. Elizabeth Hart's contributions to literature include a commissioned "History of Methodism," which is featured in the compilation *The Hart Sisters: Early African Caribbean Writers, Evangelicals, and Radicals*, edited by Moira Ferguson. Their legacy as pioneering female African Caribbean writers highlights their significant role in the intersection of education, religion, and social justice in the Caribbean narrative.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Elizabeth Hart
Nonfiction Writer
- Born: 1771
- Birthplace: Antigua
- Died: 1833
Biography
Elizabeth Hart was born in 1771 into a free eighteenth century black slaveholding family in the Caribbean island of Antigua. Her father occasionally sold poetry to an Antiguan newspaper, and influenced his daughters Elizabeth and her sister Anne in regard to literature. Along with their father’s literary influences, Elizabeth Hart and her sister demonstrated a great deal of piety, which they adopted from their mother and grandmother. Elizabeth Hart was baptized in the Methodist faith somewhere between the years of 1786 and 1804. In 1805, Elizabeth married Charles Thwaite, a white man. He offered much assistance to her benevolent works during the course of their marriage.
Elizabeth Hart and her sister Anne Hart are known for being among the first to advocate and participate in the education of both enslaved and free African Caribbean people. Devout evangelical Methodists, Elizabeth and Anne Hart committed themselves to antislavery activism, and their writings reflect their religion, their politics, their lives, and their status as two of the first female African Caribbean writers. At the request of a British minister, Elizabeth Hart wrote a “History of Methodism,” which was published in The Hart Sisters: Early African Caribbean Writers, Evangelicals, and Radicals, edited by English professor Moira Ferguson.