Gronniosaw was born in
Bornu (now north-eastern
Nigeria) in 1705. His autobiography claims that Gronniosaw was the grandson of the king of
Zaara, saying "because I was Grandson to the King of Bournou". At the age of 15, Gronniosaw was kidnapped from his family by a
Gold Coast ivory merchant, and threatened with both death and enslavement. A king of the Gold Coast believed Gronniosaw was a spy because of his lineage and ordered his execution, but reversed that decision and sentenced him to slavery. He was sold to a Dutch captain for two yards of check cloth, and forced to cross the Atlantic as a slave. An American bought him in
Barbados, took him to
New York, and resold him for £50 to "Mr. Freelandhouse, a very gracious, good Minister." Freelandhouse is presumed to be the
Dutch Reformed Church minister,
Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, who lived in New Jersey and pastored churches in Middlesex and Somerset counties in the Raritan Valley. In New Jersey, Gronniosaw was taught to read and brought up as a Christian. Gronniosaw wrote in his autobiography that he wanted to return to his family in Africa, but Frelinghuysen denied this request and told him to focus on the Christian faith. During his time with Frelinghuysen, Gronniosaw attempted suicide, distressed by his perceived failings as a Christian. He served in
Martinique and
Cuba, before obtaining his discharge and sailing to England. At first, he settled in
Portsmouth, but when his landlady swindled him out of most of his savings, he was forced to seek his fortune in
London. There, he married a young English widow, Betty, a weaver. She already had a child and bore him at least two more. She lost her job because of the financial depression and industrial unrest and moved to
Colchester. There, they were saved from starvation by Osgood Hanbury (a Quaker lawyer and grandfather of the abolitionist
Fowell Buxton), who employed Gronniosaw in building work. Moving to
Norwich, Gronniosaw and his family again fell on hard times, as the building trades were largely seasonal. Once again, they were saved by the kindness of a
Quaker, Henry Gurney (coincidentally, the grandfather of Fowell Buxton's wife, Hannah Gurney), who paid their rent arrears. A daughter died and was refused burial by the local clergy because she was not baptised. One minister at last offered to allow her to be buried in the churchyard, but he would not read the burial service. After pawning all their possessions, the family moved to
Kidderminster, where Betty supported them by working again as a weaver. On Christmas Day 1771, Gronniosaw had their remaining children, Mary Albert (aged six), Edward Albert (aged four), and newborn Samuel Albert, baptised in the Old Independent Meeting House in Kidderminster by
Benjamin Fawcett, a
Dissenting minister and associate of
Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon and a significant figure in
Calvinistic Methodism. However, at some point during the late twentieth century, an obituary for Gronniosaw was discovered in the
Chester Chronicle. The article, from 2 October 1775, reads:On Thursday [28 September] died, in this city, aged 70, James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince, of Zaara. He left his country in the early part of his life, with a view to acquire proper notions of the Divine Being, and of the worship due to Him. He met with many trials and embarrassments, was much afflicted and persecuted. His last moments exhibited that chearful [
sic] serenity which, at such a time, is the certain effect of a thorough conviction of the great truths of Christianity. He published a narrative of his life. The
burial register for the
Church of England parish church of St Oswald, Chester – a church that occupied the south transept of
Chester Cathedral from 1448 to 1881 – includes an entry from 28 September 1775 for "James Albert (a Blackm[an])", giving his age as 70. Gronniosaw's grave has not been identified. ==The autobiography==