James Beckwourth's Life Story

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James Beckwourth James Pierson Beckwourth, born April 6, 1798, was the only African American who recorded his life story in the West. He was born in Fredrick County to an African American slave mother and an English father, Sir Jennings Beckwith. And even though Beckwith actually claimed James as his own son, he was still legally considered a slave. Eventually he acquired the nickname “free negro” When he left his home in Fredrick County to go to Missouri he became an apprentice to a blacksmith. But in 1822, after he had a dispute with his boss, he left on an expedition in the Fever River Area. Then, in the summer of 1824 he signed