Jeffrey Brace (born Boyrereau Brinch; – April 20, 1827) was a formerly enslaved person who was taken from

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

around 1750 and a veteran of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He became the first African-American citizen of

Poultney, Vermont Poultney is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, Rutland County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Vermont. New York (state), New York state is on its western border. Castleton, Vermont, is on its northern border. Poultney was home to Gr ...

. Brace became blind in his later years. Benjamin Prentiss published his life story as ''The Blind African Slave or the Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch Nicknamed Jeffrey Brace''.

Biography

Brace was born in

circa 1742 with the birth name Boyrereau Brinch. In his memoir, Brace describes growing up in the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

kingdom of "Bow-Woo" before being kidnapped by

slave traders The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, and legal positions of en ...

at a young age and taken to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. As an enslaved sailor, he served in the

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

ship of Captain Isaac Mills, his enslaver, during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. Afterward, he was brought to

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, where he was eventually bought by the Stiles family of

Woodbury, Connecticut Woodbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,723 at the 2020 census. The town center, comprising the adjacent villages of Woodbury and North Woodbury, is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Woo ...

. He served under Return Meigs during the

. After the war, he obtained his freedom from the Stiles family and settled in

. In Vermont, he met and married a widow, Susannah Dublin, and had children with her. Jeffrey Brace died on January 31, 1827, in

Georgia, Vermont Georgia is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,845 at the 2020 census. Geography The town occupies the southwest corner of Franklin County, bordered to the south by Chittenden County. The western border of th ...

Legacy

Brace gave an oral account of his life to an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

publisher, Benjamin Prentiss, who transcribed and published it as ''The Blind African Slave or the Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch Nicknamed Jeffrey Brace''. ''The Blind African Slave'' is part of the

slave narrative The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the (written) autobiographical accounts of enslaved Africans, particularly in the Americas. Over six thousand such narratives are estimated to exist; about 150 narratives were published as s ...

genre. The faculty union at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

now offers a $500 book award in his name "to students who exemplify academic excellence and an active commitment to achieving social and economic justice." A

historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

honoring Brace was erected in 2008 in Poultney.

References

*Nell, William Cooper. ''The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons: To Which Is Added a Brief Survey of the Condition And Prospects of Colored Americans''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brace, Jeffrey 18th-century American slaves People from Poultney (town), Vermont Writers from Vermont 1827 deaths Black Patriots American blind people Royal Navy sailors People from pre-statehood Vermont Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War British military personnel of the French and Indian War People who wrote slave narratives