1800s
19th century
A01=Sitiki
Africa
Author_Sitiki
biography
biography of a slave
British settlement
British slave
Category=DNBH1
Category=NHTS
Charleston
church
Connecticut
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Florida
Georgia
history
Josiah Smith
Methodist minister
Patricia C. Griffin
Savannah
Sitiki
Slave memoir
Slavery
slaves
South Carolina
St Augustine
The Odyssey of an African Slave
West Africa
Product details
- ISBN 9780813061856
- Weight: 333g
- Dimensions: 151 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 22 Sep 2015
- Publisher: University Press of Florida
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Recently discovered as a hand-written document in the Buckingham Smith Collection at the New-York Historical Society, this remarkable first-person narrative traces the life of Sitiki, whose name was changed to Jack Smith after his enslavement in America.
Captured and sold into slavery in Africa as a five-year-old, Sitiki travelled to America as a cabin boy. Eventually sold by the ship's captain to Josiah Smith of Savannah, Georgia, he lived there and in Connecticut with his new master. Captured by the British during the War of 1812, he was returned to the Smiths, to be freed only after the Civil War. He went on to become the first black Methodist minister in St. Augustine, Florida where he established his own church.
Patricia Griffin does not leave the story at the conclusion of the slave narrative, but explores Sitiki's experiences and places them in clear and valuable context. She presents the narrative unencumbered, allowing Sitiki's authority, compassion, and personality to speak for itself.
Captured and sold into slavery in Africa as a five-year-old, Sitiki travelled to America as a cabin boy. Eventually sold by the ship's captain to Josiah Smith of Savannah, Georgia, he lived there and in Connecticut with his new master. Captured by the British during the War of 1812, he was returned to the Smiths, to be freed only after the Civil War. He went on to become the first black Methodist minister in St. Augustine, Florida where he established his own church.
Patricia Griffin does not leave the story at the conclusion of the slave narrative, but explores Sitiki's experiences and places them in clear and valuable context. She presents the narrative unencumbered, allowing Sitiki's authority, compassion, and personality to speak for itself.
Sitiki, also known as Jack Smith, was born in Africa and died, a free man, in St. Augustine, Florida, USA. He wrote his memoir between 1869 and 1871 with the assistance of historian Buckingham Smith, his former master.
Patricia C. Griffin is an independent historical anthropologist.
Patricia C. Griffin is an independent historical anthropologist.
