Venture Smith

I didn’t learn about Venture Smith until I was an adult. He was born Broteer Furro around 1729, in a place called Dukadarra, in West Africa. Reportedly, his father was a local leader and prince. His mother was one of several wives. He spent his early years in Guinea, West Africa. As a child, he worked tending large herds of sheep. The natives thought he would grow up to be a prince like his father.

A marauding army threatened the local people and tortured and killed his father. His father had refused to disclose the location of his treasure. Venture witnessed this horrible act at a young age. He described the army as large, around six thousand men. They were instigated by a white nation who sent the army to subdue and possess the country. At age around age six or so, he was taken captive and marched to the coastal slave-trading center Anomabo (present-day Ghana), sold into slavery, and sent to New England. He arrived in Rhode Island 1737. He was one of approximately 41,000 Africans transported to the colonies during this decade.

Immediately, he was thrust into a world of violence he did not understand. He was sold for four gallons of rum and a piece of calico cloth. His slave owner named him Venture because he was purchased with his private venture. During the 1730s, approximately 45,000 Europeans came to North America. Young Venture worked in the house. In his teens, he grew stronger and resentful. In the book, A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa, he began to resent those who sought to have control over him. One of these people was the slave owner’s young son. He attacked Venture with a pitchfork but Venture dominated the fight. He never tried to control him again.

The life of enslaved people was bleak and meant a lifetime of hard labor. Meanwhile, in New England, money from the slave trade built several thriving industries. Their molasses profit came from the labor of enslaved people in the West Indies.

In the South, males who were not yet men could become slave owners. It was not uncommon for children to own other children. As a man, Venture grew to over six feet tall and weighted around 250 plus pounds. He was taller than most men at the time. In the day, he worked for the slave owner. At night, he worked for himself. He sold fish and game he caught. He began to dream of a life of freedom and he was determined to build that life.

By the time he was twenty-three, he was married and had children. He had been sold to another slave owner. Enslaved women were impregnated every eighteen months to two years. They had to bear children to replenish and strengthen the labor supply. Mothers gave birth to children but they were not their own. Slave owners looked at the children as profit.  None of their children had ever been free.

Venture’s wife Meg, had a volatile relationship with the mistress of the house. His wife spoke her mind and the mistress didn’t like what she heard. Venture tried to make peace. When his slave owner returned, he tried to whip Venture. Venture got the upper hand, threw him to the ground and beat him.

He contacted a Connecticut justice of the peace and accused the slave owner of abusing him. The justice told him there was nothing he could do because he was not considered a man and had no rights. He was considered property. The slave owner came to get Venture and he and his brother beat him. He fought back and overwhelmed them both. The town constable had the blacksmith fit Venture with a pair of iron shackles meant for an animal.

Soon after, Venture was sold to Colonel Smith of Hartford, Connecticut. He promised Venture that he could earn his freedom. He slaved for the colonel for five years and hired himself out after work. For over thirty years, Venture worked for three different slave owners before purchasing his freedom for 71 pounds and 2 shillings. Once free, he adopted the last name Smith, in honor of his final slave owner.

As a free man, he bought a boat and worked hauling goods along the waterways. He began life as a successful business man in Haddam Neck, Connecticut.  He was free but his wife, daughter, and two sons were still enslaved. In 1768, he bought his two sons. It was his thought that profits from their labor as free men would help secure the purchase of his wife and oldest child, a daughter. In 1773, he was able to buy his wife and in 1775, he purchased his daughter.

Venture Smith died in 1805.  His wife Meg died several years later. Smith’s gravestone was carved by John Isham, a well-known carver in the region. It describes him as “Venture Smith, African. Tho the son of a King he was kidnapped and sold as a slave but by his industry he acquired Money to Purchase his Freedom.”

Francie Mae. April 28, 2022.

References

Johnson, Charles and Smith, Patricia. 1998. Africans in America. America’s Journey through Slavery. A Harvest Book. Harcourt Brace and Company. San Diego. New York. London.

Sweet, John Wood. Venture Smith, from Slavery to Freedom. February 16, 2022. Revolution and the New Nation 1754-1820s. Slavery and Abolition. Stonington. Web. Accessed April 27, 2022.

The Haddam Historical Society. Preserving &promoting the history &heritage of Hadda. Venture Smith: The Man. Web. Accessed April 27, 2022.

Venture Smith’s headstone – David C. Nelson.