Begum Johnson, a famous Calcutta resident, was born on this day. Her father was Edward Crook, the Governor of Fort St David, located near Madras and she was born Frances Crook. Her four marriages are mentioned most in accounts about her, but perhaps other aspects of her life are far more remarkable.
When she was married to her third husband, British East India Company official William Watts, she and her children were taken captive after Siraj-ud-Daula succeeded Alivardi Khan, his grandfather. Frances and her children were looked after by Alivardi Khan’s widow and the two women developed a liking for each other. She returned to England with her family, but after Watts’s death, took the unusual decision of coming back to India.
In Calcutta, she married Rev. William Johnson, and she is remembered by this last surname. But the honorific “Begum” was acquired because of the love that she had for India and for the way she embraced the life and culture around her. She was a gracious host and liked by all. She passed away at age 87.
The inscription on her grave at St John’s Church reads: “The oldest British resident in Bengal, universally beloved, respected and revered.”