Venture Smith

Venture Smith (1729–1805) was an African captured as a child and transported to the American colonies colonies to be sold as a slave. As an adult, he purchased his freedom and that of his family. His history was documented when he gave a narrative of his life to a schoolteacher, who wrote it down and published it under the title 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.

Read more about Venture Smith:  Early Life, A Slave in Colonial America, A Free Man, DNA Project

Famous quotes containing the words venture and/or smith:

    “Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and that if we venture out, we will fall off the edge. Some of us have ventured out nevertheless, and so far we have not fallen off. It is my faith, my feminist faith, that we will not.”
    —Andrea Dworkin (b. 1946)

    “I am afraid if there is anything to be afraid of. A precipice cannot hurt you. Lions and tigers can. The streets of New York I consider more dangerous than the Matterhorn to a thoroughly competent and careful climber.”
    —Annie Smith Peck (1850–1935)