Brace was born in
West Africa circa 1742 with the birth name Boyrereau Brinch. In his memoir, Brace describes growing up in the
Christian kingdom of "Bow-Woo" before being kidnapped by
slave traders at a young age and taken to the
Caribbean. Scholars believe this region may correspond to present-day
Mali, based on geographical and cultural details in his memoir. As an enslaved sailor, he served in the
privateer ship of Captain Isaac Mills, his enslaver, during the
French and Indian War. Afterward, he was brought to
New England, where he was eventually bought by the Stiles family of
Woodbury, Connecticut. Unlike previous enslavers, Mary Stiles taught him to read, and significantly shaped his early life in America. Upon her death around 1773, ownership of Brinch passed to her eldest son, Benjamin Stiles, Esq. Jeffrey served under
Return Meigs during the
American Revolutionary War. He fought in battles such as
White Plains, and
Fort Mifflin. His military service earned him an
Honorable Discharge with a Badge of Merit at
West Point Military Academy in 1783. Despite some accounts suggesting he was freed by Benjamin Stiles, no definitive evidence of manumission exists; it is more likely that his service secured his liberty. After the war, he obtained his freedom from the Stiles family and settled in
Poultney, Vermont. In Vermont, he met and married a free African-born widow, Susannah Dublin, and had children with her. Jeffrey Brace died on January 31, 1827, in
Georgia, Vermont. His descendants live in
St. Albans, Vermont, and the surrounding areas. ==Legacy==