Georgia in Franklin County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)
Boyrereau Brinch "Jeffrey Brace"
The Blind African Slave Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch
Born in 1742 in West Africa, Boyrereau Brinch was sold into slavery at age 16. Renamed Jeffrey Brace, he fought in the Seven Years War as an enslaved sailor and endured the cruelty of masters in Connecticut. About 1768 he was sold to Mary Stiles, who taught him how to read. In 1783, Brace was manumitted for his service in the American Revolution. A freeman, Brace moved to Poultney in 1784, settling in 1804 in Georgia where he purchased 60 acres of land. Brace, now blind, committed the bible to memory and was baptized at the Baptist Church of Georgia. He filed in the Franklin County Court to receive the $8 per month veteran's pension: it was awarded in 1821. Brace died on April 20, 1827, at his home in Georgia.
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Jeffrey Brace dictated his story to lawyer Benjamin Prentiss, sensing a duty to recount "how poor Africans have been and perhaps now are abused." The memoir begins in Africa, marking all of Brace's "adventures in the British navy, travels, sufferings, sales, abuses, education, service in the American war, emancipation, conversion to the Christian religion, knowledge of the scriptures, memory, and blindness." He wished it would open "the hearts of those who hold slaves and move them to consent to give them that freedom which they themselves enjoy, and which all mankind have an equal right to possess." The Blind African Slave was issued in 1810, the first book published in St. Albans.
Erected 2023.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • War, French and Indian • War, US Revolutionary.
Location. 44° 46.683′ N, 73° 8.033′ W. Marker is in Georgia, Vermont, in Franklin County. Marker is at the intersection of Mill River Road and Old Quarry Road., on the left when traveling west on Mill River Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Saint Albans VT 05478, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Lucrative Trade to Leisure Vacations/Du commerce lucratif au voyage d'agrément (approx. 2 miles away); Rail City / La ville ferroviaire (approx. 3.3 miles away); Franklin County Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.4 miles away); St. Albans War Memorial (approx. 3.4 miles away); St. Albans Raid (approx. 3.4 miles away); St. Albans World War Memorial (approx. 3.4 miles away); St. Albans Civil War Memorial (approx. 3.4 miles away); History on the Hill/Leçon d'historie sur la colline (approx. 3.4 miles away).
More about this marker. Located in Evarts Cemetery.
Also see . . . This Place in History: Jeffrey Brace (YouTube, 3 min.). In our latest installment of This Place in History, Vermont Historical Society Executive Director Steve Perkins takes a look at the eventful life of Jeffrey Brace, a man who was kidnapped from Africa as a teenager and enslaved on a ship, fought in the French and Indian War, American Revolution, and eventually settled in Poultney, Vermont,. He got married, dealt with troublesome neighbors, and wrote a memoir of his life before his death in 1827. (Submitted on August 18, 2023.)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 18, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 12, 2023, by Tim Dusablon of Georgia, Vermont. This page has been viewed 79 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 12, 2023, by Tim Dusablon of Georgia, Vermont. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.