Joseph Antonio Emidy
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Joseph Antonio Emidy was born in West Africa in c.1775. He was a slave in early life, but later became a famous and celebrated violinist and composer.
He was captured as a child by Portuguese traders who took him to Brazil and then to Portugal. There he became a virtuoso violinist in the Lisbon Opera. He was kidnapped by British sailors during the Napoleonic wars and spent the next four years as a ship's fiddler.
In 1799, he was abandoned in Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom. In Falmouth, Emidy earned his living as a violinist and teacher. In 1802, he married Jane Hutchins, a local tradesman’s daughter, and together they had eight children. They moved to Truro around 1815. Emidy became the leader of the Truro Philharmonic Orchestra, and went on to become one of the most celebrated and influential musical figures in early 19th century Cornwall. He died in Truro on 23rd April, 1835 and his tombstone is in Kenwyn churchyard.
