Welsh Journals

Jessie Donaldson. (Women in Jazz, Swansea). Samuel Heineken had married Jennet Donaldson (a cousin) and had practised as a lawyer in London and Bristol before moving to Dynevor Place, Swansea. Jessie was born in 1799 and she and her younger sister Mary Ann and brother Sam grew up in a family active in local and national politics. Jessie in her mid-twenties opened a school for Young Ladies and Gentlemen at 32 Wind Street, Swansea. Later the school advertised for boarders and became a prep school. Jessie remained single and committed herself to the school, while sister Mary Ann married Richard Perkins of Penmaen, Monmouth. Wales, and especially Welsh women, have a tradition of subverting the cultural stereotype of the 'Welsh mam', which safely categorised the woman within her boundaries of home, chapel and community. The Abolitionist movement not only stirred local debates on economics and racism, it challenged traditional perceptions of the woman's role in local and national public life. The Abolitionist movement also precipitated women into international politics on a grand scale; Jessie was one of these women. Opposition to the slave trade was strong in Wales, especially in Swansea where the meetings and organised opposition centred around the Unitarian and Quaker communities. Abolitionists, whether members of the Anti-Slavery Society or indi-