These are only some of the resources available.
Students may want to visit town clerks in search of Stonington and East Haddam land records.
Venture Smith-Making Freedom by 
Making Freedom by
Catalog: "This book is the first in depth exploration of the life of Venture Smith (1728-1805), a New England slave who was sold into bondage as a boy in Africa and labored for nearly a quarter century before purchasing his own freedom and transforming himself into a highly respected American citizen. Drawing on years of research and documentation, including Venture Smith's rare personal autobiography, the authors recount the extraordinary challenges he overcame. They cast a rare light on what it was like to be an African American in the north during the Colonial era. This story's relevance today prompted the BBC to produce a documentary on scholars' efforts to learn more about Venture Smith, his life, and family. The book includes a wealth of illustrations, a timeline, and Smith's original 1798 narrative in facsimile form."
Venture Smith and the Business of Slavery and Freedom by
LIBGUIDES: "Reconstructs the journey of an eighteenth-century African from enslavement through emancipation"
Five Black Lives by
LIBGUIDES: "Five Black Lives is a collection of ex-slave narratives which spans 150 years in time, from 1729 to 1870, and some thousands of miles in geographical area from Africa to Connecticut. The autobiographies include the lives of Venture Smith, a native of Africa who ended his days as a resident of East Haddam, Connecticut; James Mars, born a slave near Norfolk, Connecticut in 1790, and freed at twenty-five by state law; William Grimes, a native of Virginia, who became Connecticut's first known runway when he arrived in New Haven about 1808; G.W. Offley, from Maryland, who was bought free by his father and later settled in Hartford; and James L. Smith, of Virginia birth, who escaped from slavery and settled in Norwich, Connecticut."--Victor B. Howard, The New England Quarterly
African American Connecticut Explored by
Requires a card from CSL for online access through our catalog, Primo.
These are a few suggestions.
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