The Right Excellent Sarah Ann Gill survived a period that many would not have but even in the face of relentless persecution, including threats against her life she held firm to her beliefs.
Born February 16, 1795, Gill was a social and religious leader in Barbados during the era of slavery. She was born to a black mother and a white father and was baptized with the name Ann.
Sarah married Alexander George Gill, like her, of mixed ancestry, and inherited property from him at his death when she was 28 years old. The couple had one son who, apparently, died before reaching full adulthood.
When the Methodist Church sent missionaries to Barbados early in the 19th century, Sarah embraced this faith and when white planters succeeded in ousting the missionaries from Barbados, she opened her home as a church and kept the faith going, against physical abuse — at one time shots were fired at her home.
Sarah Ann was persecuted continuously for one year with threats of grievous bodily harm, questioned by magistrates about supposedly having guns and ammunition in her home, and finally, prosecuted by the House of Assembly. On each occasion, and at her own expense, she not only defended herself and defied the authorities, but also took the extraordinary step of continuing to hold services in her home.
She donated the land on which the first Methodist Church was built in Barbados. For her exploits in standing firm against oppression in a society in which she was unlikely to find support firstly, as a non-white person, and, secondly, as a woman. She challenged the existing social order and is remembered for her courage, perseverance, and commitment to religious freedom.
Sarah Ann Gill was named a national hero of Barbados in 1998.
