Duchess Quamino

Charity "Duchess" Quamino (c. 1739 – June 29, 1804) was a formerly enslaved woman who became famous in the American colony of Rhode Island for her success as an independent caterer. As a child, she was enslaved in West Africa and taken to Newport, Rhode Island. She worked as a cook in the household of a prominent local family, and as a nanny to their son William Ellery Channing. She married John Quamino in 1769, and was widowed in 1779. By 1780, Quamino had gained her freedom, and eventually purchased her own home as a neighbor to her former owners. Her catering business made her a prosperous and well-respected local entrepreneur. She was known as the "Pastry Queen of Rhode Island", particularly famous for her frosted plum cake. At her death in 1804, she was buried in Newport's Common Burying Ground.

Early life The details of Quamino's early life are unclear. She may have been born in Senegal or Ghana, probably in 1739. Their children lived with Quamino at the Channings' household, Quamino worked as a nanny looking after William Ellery Channing, born in 1780, who would later become a Unitarian preacher.