Westminster College : Letter from James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw to the Countess of Huntingdon

Gronniosaw, Ukawsaw; also known as Albert, James; 1705-1775

Westminster College

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>This letter is from Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, also known as James Albert (1705-1775), who here signs himself ‘James Allbate the Black’. He writes to Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (1707-1791) to thank her for her ‘favour’ - possibly a gift of money, or perhaps her influence and sponsorship in the publication of his autobiography? - and talking briefly of his ‘Christian friends’ in Leominster and Warwick, and of George Whitefield.</p><p>James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw was the author of a 1772 autobiography titled <i>A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw</i>. He was kidnapped aged 15 and taken from his home (in modern-day Nigeria) to America, and sold as a slave. After being freed at the death of slave owner Revd Freylinghuysen, Gronniosaw later moved to England, and at the time of this letter, was living in Kidderminster with his wife Betty and their children.</p></p>