Jessie Donaldson
Nestled in the quiet history of Sketty lies an extraordinary story that connects this peaceful Swansea suburb to one of the most dramatic and courageous movements of the 19th century: the fight to end slavery. Jessie Donaldson, a long time resident of Sketty in her later years, played a remarkable role in the Underground Railroad; the secret network that helped enslaved people in the United States escape to freedom.
Jessie Donaldson was born Jessie Heineken on 18 February 1799 in Ware, Hertfordshire. Her family later settled in Swansea, where their home on Dynevor Place became a hub for progressive thinking, particularly in opposition to slavery. Her father, Samuel Heineken, a London trained lawyer, and other members of the Heineken family were active in Swansea’s vibrant abolitionist circles.
By 1829, Jessie and her sister Mary Ann had opened a private school at 32 Wind Street, where they educated local boys and girls. At the same time, she became involved in the Swansea Anti-Slavery Society, the largest group of its kind in Wales. This society hosted public lectures, debates, and petitions calling for the end of slavery across the British Empire and beyond. Jessie’s activism was further encouraged by her Unitarian faith, which was closely aligned with liberal causes like abolition and women’s education.
Jessie’s commitment to the anti-slavery cause was deeply personal. Her aunt, Anna Margaretta Heineken, had emigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1820s with her husband Francis Donaldson Sr. There, they opened their home as a safe haven for enslaved people fleeing across the nearby Ohio River from Kentucky, a slave state. The Donaldsons’ farm became part of the Underground Railroad, the secret network of safe houses used by fugitive slaves seeking freedom in the North.
The view to the River Ohio from Jessie Donaldson's safe house
In 1840, Jessie married her cousin Francis Donaldson Jr.. Although they remained in Swansea for over a decade, living on Grove Place, the couple eventually emigrated to the United States in 1854. They bought a farm in Clermont County, Ohio, near her aunt and uncle, and named their new home Clermont.
There, Jessie and Francis continued the work her family had begun. Their farm became an active station on the Underground Railroad. By offering food, shelter, and secrecy to those escaping slavery, the Donaldsons risked arrest, fines, and social ostracism. Jessie was now not just a supporter of abolition; she was part of a lifeline for those in peril.
In America, Jessie Donaldson formed friendships and corresponded with some of the most important figures in the abolitionist movement. These included Frederick Douglass, the former slave turned statesman; William and Ellen Craft, who had escaped slavery in a daring disguise; William Lloyd Garrison, the radical newspaper editor; and Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin brought the realities of slavery into the public eye.
Welsh immigrants like Jessie played a critical role in the Underground Railroad, particularly in Ohio, which was a key crossing point into free territory. Jessie’s home became one of many “Welsh safe houses” in the area.
After slavery was finally abolished in the United States following the Civil War, Jessie and her husband returned to Swansea around 1866. They first lived on Phillips Parade before settling in Sketty, at a house they named Ael y Bryn.
Even in her later years, Jessie continued to support causes connected to racial justice and liberation. In 1874, she attended a concert in Swansea given by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, an African-American choral group formed by formerly enslaved students from Fisk University in Tennessee. Their moving spirituals captivated British audiences and helped raise money for Black education in post-slavery America.
Her husband Francis died in 1873, and Jessie passed away in Sketty in September 1889 at the age of 91.
Jessie Donaldson’s life is a powerful reminder that the fight for freedom knows no borders. Though she was born in England and spent much of her adult life in the United States, her moral compass was shaped here in Swansea. Her legacy connects our community in Sketty to one of the most significant human rights struggles in modern history.
In recognition of her contributions, Swansea Council unveiled a blue plaque in 2021 at the former site of Dynevor College (near where she once lived and taught) to commemorate her life and work. The unveiling took place on Juneteenth, the day celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.
Jessie Donaldson’s name now appears in school textbooks and historical exhibitions on Black history and Welsh radicalism. Her story adds an international dimension to Sketty’s past; and reminds us how even the quietest streets can be linked to world changing acts of courage.
