Elisabeth Dieudonné Vincent
Elisabeth Dieudonné Vincent (1798-29 November 1883) was a Haitian-born free woman of color, businesswoman and international migrant. Born in 1798 in Saint-Domingue to a former slave and French father, she was illegitimate, although her father acknowledged her. In 1803, the family fled from the violence of the Haitian Revolution to Santiago de Cuba, where they completed paperwork to show that they were free. In 1809, when the Spanish authorities expelled French colonists because of the Peninsular War in Europe, she moved to New Orleans in the Antebellum South.

Vincent married in 1822 and with her husband, Jacques Tinchant, operated a business in New Orleans. The couple also earned money by renting out Vincent's slaves. In 1835 she amended her original marriage record in order to acquire a surname, removing the double stigma of illegitimacy and slave ancestry. Experiencing racial inequality and increasing restrictions as a result of the demanding Black Codes, they moved with their family to France, where they operated a dairy and vineyards in Gan. Poor economic conditions and violence during the French Revolution of 1848 prompted the family to relocate to Antwerp in 1857, where they invested in their sons' new tobacco business.

Vincent's history highlights the fluidity of identity and migration of people during the period spanning from the 1802 Saint-Domingue revolution to the French Revolution of 1848. It confirms the crucial importance of literacy and the documentation required for black and free colored people to maintain their civil and social rights and freedom. The documentation available on Vincent and her family dispel the myth that the history of the African diaspora depends on oral accounts.
Q4131845
Haitian
MEDIA
Q5500267
free woman of color
Concept
Q861551
Saint-Domingue
LOC
Q378505
illegitimate
UNK
Q689128
Haitian Revolution
EVE
Q117040
Santiago de Cuba
LOC
Q152499
Peninsular War
PER
Q34404
New Orleans
LOC
Q7201622
Antebellum South
Concept
Q880661
Black Codes
MEDIA
Q637776
dairy
Concept
Q22715
vineyard
Concept
Q859063
Gan
LOC
Q622774
French Revolution of 1848
EVE
Q12892
Antwerp
LOC
Q385967
African diaspora
Concept
Q85871313
Elisabeth Dieudonné Vincent
PER
1883-11-29T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
29 November 1883
DATE
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1798
DATE
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1822
DATE
1835-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1835
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1848
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1857
DATE
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DATE
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DATE
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NUMBER
date of death
date of birth
field of work
place of death