WIREFRAME ONLY - NOT YET DESIGNED
1729 - 1805
According to his own words as related in his 1798 memoir, A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa, Venture Smith was born around 1729, as Broteer Furro, probably in Ghana, Africa. His father was a prince of the Dukandarra tribe and Broteer was the oldest child of his father’s first wife. Broteer wrote, “I descended from a very large, tall and stout race of beings, much larger than the generality of people in other parts of the globe, being commonly considerable above six feet in height, and every way well proportioned.”[i]
When Broteer was six years old, his community was attacked in regional warfare. His father was killed and Broteer was marched east to the seacoast, to be sold at the slaving port at Anomabo in Ghana. “The distance they had now brought me was about four hundred miles. All the march I had very hard tasks imposed on me, which I must perform on pain of punishment. I was obliged to carry on my head a large flat stone used for grinding our corn, weighing as I should suppose, as much as 25 pounds; besides victuals, mat and cooking utensils. Though I was pretty large and stout of my age, yet these burthens were very grievous to me, being only about six years and an half old.” When they reached the seaport, Broteer was taken aboard a ship bound for Barbados, and was purchased by the ship’s steward, Robertson Mumford, for a piece of fabric and four gallons of rum. Mumford renamed Broteer “Venture.”
In Barbados, everyone was sold except for Venture and three others. The ship continued to Rhode Island and by the time he was eight years old, Venture was living at Fisher's Island in Connecticuty with his enslaver. When he was about 20 years old, Venture married Meg, who was also enslaved by Mumford. Soon after the birth of their first child, Venture was forced away from his family and was sold to Thomas Stanton of Stonington, Connecticut. Mumford had allowed Venture to do some work for pay, and he brought with him to Stonington money he had made “by cleaning gentlemen's shoes and drawing boots, by catching musk-rats and minks, raising potatoes and carrots, &c. and by fishing in the night, and at odd spells.” About a year and a half later, Stanton purchased Venture’s wife and daughter.
He was separated again from Meg and their child when he was sold to Hempsted Miner of Stonington, who offered to help Venture gain his freedom, but never completed his sale with Stanton and instead passed the bill of sale to Colonel Oliver Smith, with whom Venture had agreed to live. He was now 31 years old and had been sold three times. Venture had been greatly misused and abused by Mumford and the Stantons. Smith, however, agreed to Venture’s request to purchase his freedom, and allowed him to work for others for pay. By this time in his life, Venture later wrote, "I had already been sold three different times, made considerable money with seemingly nothing to derive it from, been cheated out of a large sum of money, lost much by misfortunes, and paid an enormous sum for my freedom." At age 36, he regained his freedom at last and adopted Smith as a surname in recognition of the relationship he had established with the colonel.
Venture left Smith and purchased land in Stonington where he lived in a house he had built there. However, because his family was still enslaved by Thomas Stanton and he did not yet have enough money to purchase their freedom, he sold his house and land and moved to Long Island, New York, where he worked for several years, mainly by cutting vast amounts of cordwood. He purchased a farm with a house and saved the rest of his earnings. At the age of 40, he was able to purchase his two sons and with the 100 pounds left over, he bought an enslaved man and gave him 60 pounds, but the man ran away. With what he had left, Venture acquired more land.
When he was 44, Venture lost his eldest son who, at age 17, had shipped aboard a whaler, but died of scurvy at sea. That same year, Venture was able to purchase his wife, Meg, who was pregnant with their fourth child. Later, he bought two more enslaved men but neither stayed with him long. When he was 46, Venture purchased his oldest child from one of the Mumfords, remarking about his accomplishments, “I had already redeemed from slavery, myself, my wife and three children, besides three negro men.”
About a year later, Venture moved his family to East Haddam, Connecticut, where he purchased land, built a house, and established a farm. Over time, he owned more than 100 acres. Aside from farming, he fished, traded, and continued to log timber. Venture concluded his autobiography reflecting on the tragedies, nardships, and successes of his remarkable life:
“But amidst all my griefs and pains, I have many consolations; Meg, the wife of my youth, whom I married for love, and bought with my money, is still alive. My freedom is a privilege which nothing else can equal. Notwithstanding all the losses I have suffered by fire, by the injustice of knaves, by the cruelty and oppression of false hearted friends, and the perfidy of my own countrymen whom I have assisted and redeemed from bondage, I am now possessed of more than one hundred acres of land, and three habitable dwelling houses. It gives me joy to think that I have and that I deserve so good a character, especially for truth and integrity.”
Venture Smith died on September 19, 1805, at the age of 77 years. He and his family are buried in the graveyard of the First Congregation Church in East Haddam, Connecticut.
[i] Venture Smith, A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, A Native of Africa: But resident above sixty years in the United States of America. Related by Himself. New London: CT, Printed by C. Holt, 1798.