Stuart Kendall
Stuart Kendall (4 October 1707-16 July 1773) was the son of freed slaves from Jamaica, Elijah and Helen, who adopted the surname of their former master, Sir Hugh Kendall. Sir Hugh, formerly of Bristol, England, was considered an enlightened gentleman for his day and who abhorred the plantation system in what was known as the West Indies, leading to release a number of slaves before economic hardship and threats from his creditors required retrenchment.
The Kendalls and their son arrived in Salthorpe, Isselmere, Isselmere-Nieland in 1713 along with a consignment of rum, molasses, and tobacco from England's American colonies. Despite knowing how to read, write, and to keep accounts, both Elijah and Helen had to find employment as servants. Their employer, the Marquess of Tueslynn, was, however, quick to spot the cleverness of the couple's young boy, whom he had privately tutored.
Following Stuart Kendall's private education under Elizabeth Dewsbury, governess to Tueslynn's daughter Eulalia, the Marquess sponsored the young man's application to the University of Daurmont. This act caused great scandal in the House of Peers, leading to Tueslynn's dismissal from that body in 1725. This setback did not deter Kendall from studying the law informally. With that training, Kendall served as legal advisor to the Marquess, culminating in Tueslynn's reappointment to the Peers and the subsequent removal of the Baron of Haldesham, rector-principal[1] for the University of Daurmont.
In 1756, Kendall achieved the heretofore impossible by becoming the Member of Parliament for Lankton Wold, a rotten borough under the Marquess's tutelage. Kendall's performance in Parliament, in particular his quick wit and forensic skills, ensured his re-election, this time representing the bailie of Tueslynn, in which capacity he served until 1771 when he retired from public service. Kendall died in 1773 of natural causes.
Parliament commissioned a bronze statue of him in 1793 to commemorate the official abolition of slavery. The statue, erected in 1795 to wide acclaim, was said by contemporaries to be like him in appearance, but not in character.
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