Elisabeth Samson
She brought her own slaves to work on his plantation and within two years, the couple drew up a document confirming their joint ownership of Clevia, as well as of a cattle ranch and two townhomes in the city of Paramaribo.
Samson continued to acquire properties with various family members, including her sister Nanette, with whom she established a successful export business, which traded using her own ship.
[5] In 1736, Samson was convicted of slander for having spread rumors about an alleged dispute between Governor Johan Raye van Breukelerwaard [nl] and a local coppersmith, Mr. Peltser (Pelzer) and his wife.
[6][8][9] Rising through the ranks to captain and successfully assisting Governor Jan Jacob Mauricius in negotiating peace with the local maroons, Creutz was awarded a 1,000-acre plantation, Clevia [nl], in 1749.
[Notes 2][6][8] In 1750, the plantation was registered with local authorities to confirm their cohabitation and in 1751, a legal document was drawn up showing that Samson and Creutz had joint ownership of Clevia; a nearby cattle ranch, La Solitude; and two townhomes in Paramaribo.
[6][8] Their lavish home in Paramaribo was next door to the governor's house and was fitted with all the finery money could buy, including crystal chandeliers, china, mahogany furnishings, silver, a wine cellar and luxurious fabrics.
[17][20] The sisters then jointly purchased Belwaarde Plantation, the neighboring estate to Clevia and formerly owned by Governor Mauricius[17] and began operating a coffee export business.
[21][22] On 21 December 1767, she exchanged vows with a much younger man, Hermanus Daniel Zobre,[23] (1737–1784)[24][25] who had immigrated from The Hague in hopes of becoming a planter[24] and was a neighbor of her sister Nanette.
[24][28] At her death, Samson owned full interest in the Clevia, De Goede Vreed, Toevlugt and Welgemoed plantations and the La Solitude ranch.
When Zobre died in 1784, having never paid the mortgages and with his family refusing the inheritance because of the debt, Jan and Theo Marselis, who owned a mercantile business in Amsterdam took over all of Samson's former estates.
[25] As she had no children and her husband squandered her legacy, Samson was obscured in the historic record, often reflected as part of local folklore until writer and historian Cynthia McLeod decided to research her life,[30] in 1988.
[31] Expanding her search beyond Suriname, McLeod consulted Dutch archives in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, as well as records in Germany, piecing together and salvaging Samson's life story.
[30] Her history gives insight, not only into how black and mixed-race women were able to impact the economy of the Caribbean region and challenge social constructs in the 18th century,[6] but also providing details of the larger society of Suriname in the period.
[14] The Elisabeth Samson House located at 22 Wagenwegstraat in Paramaribo has been declared part of the historic city center and was added to South America's World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 2002.
[32][33] McLeod has lobbied for years to conserve the property and in 2019 established a foundation, hoping to raise adequate funding for faithful restoration of the home to how appeared in Samson's lifetime.
The performance explored Samson's life and whether her ambition to use her wealth and power to gain equal legal treatment was solely for her own benefit.
