This photograph of Nancy Daniels is believed to be one of the oldest shot in Barbados. The shot is thought to have been taken in the 1850s, possibly in a studio in Bridgetown by photographer Campion or in the home where she worked as a domestic worker.
Nancy was born between 1751-1755 in West Africa, which was supposed to be modern-day Nigeria because she was of Igbo descent. Her real identity is unclear, however she is thought to have arrived in Barbados as a teenager or young lady. Although Nancy would have grown up in West Africa, surviving the Middle Passage and being sold into slǝvery, the devǝstǝting Bridgetown Fire of 1766, the terrìble hurrìcane of 1780, the Bussa insụrrection of 1816, and Emancipation and Apprenticeship, nothing is known about her life.
She is known to have resided on Synagogue Lane in Bridgetown and worked for the Daniels family as a domestic worker for many years, first as an enslǝved woman and then as a domestic servant following Emancipation. Her age at deǝth was officially reported as 116 years, dying and buried on September 24th, 1871, while oral family sources put her age at 120 years. She is one of Barbados’ oldest residents, reaching supercentenarian rank.
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