The Tomb of Mrs. Frances Johnson, The Oldest British Resident In Bengal, - At St Johns Church, Kolkata

 Mrs. Frances Johnson (1725-1812)  also known as "Begum Johnson," was a notable  public figure in early British India, connected to significant historical  colonial events in Bengal. She was the daughter of Gov. Edward Croke  of Ft. David, near Cuddalore, TN. 

Born in 1725, she first married William Watts, the British Resident in Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah’s court. Watts played a critical, but a dirty  role in British efforts to destabilize the Nawab’s regime, working closely with Robert Clive to orchestrate the Nawab’s downfall through Mir Jaffer, a high-ranking dissident willing to betray the Nawab in return for British support to sit on the throne. This intrigue ultimately led to the Battle of Plassey in 1757, which marked the British East India Company’s control over Bengal and laid the foundation of the British Empire in India.

Frances Johnson's grave St. John's church, Kolkata en.wikepedia org

Frances gained the title “Begum” due to her close association with Amina Begum, Siraj-ud-Daulah’s mother, giving her significant social standing. Married Watts when aged 23 or 24 and  lived with him for a long time in India  upon Watts's death in 1764, Frances returned to Kolkata to settle her vast estates there. Ten years latershe  married William Johnson, a principal chaplain at Fort William, Kolkata. Though their marriage ended in 1787, she was well-provided for and remained in Kolkata, where she lived a respected life among the colonial elite.

Mrs. Frances Johnson.ciaofamiglia.com

Above image:  Mrs Johnson (aka "Begum Johnson").'' Her  tomb  in black marble is  in St Johns Churchyard, Calcutta (Kolkata)  and on the web. Her obituary from a contemporary book: Died on the 3rd of February 1812, aged 87, the oldest British resident in Bengal, "universally beloved, respected and revered".  She would have been around for James' wedding in 1807 (though it was in Madras)''..

St Johns church, Kolkata en.wikipedia.org

Above image: St. John’s Church,  Kolkata, WB (served as the Cathedral till 1847. First Anglican church built through public subscription and lottery.  image credit-  Kinjal bose 78.one among the earliest public buildings in  this part.......... 

Frances died in 1812 at aged 87,remembered as the "oldest British resident in Bengal with four marriages." Her tomb, located in the graveyard in Kolkata, remains an enduring part of colonial history. St. John’s Church, one of the oldest churches in Kolkata and a significant British structure in India, holds her memorial inscribed with the words, “universally beloved, respected and revered.”

https://www.getbengal.com/home/story_detail/the-british-woman-who-loved-kolkata-more-than-england

http://ciaofamiglia.com/ehfburton/burtonlinks.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Church,_Kolkata

https://www.navrangindia.in/2019/07/well-known-english-lady-and-socialite.html

https://www.navrangindia.in/2019/07/the-tomb-of-mrs-frances-johnson-former.html