Early Life and Education
Beckwourth was born into slavery in Virginia, but sources differ as to the year: 1798 or 1800. His father was Sir Jennings Beckwith, a descendant of Irish and English nobility, and his mother was an enslaved African-American mulatto woman held by Beckwourth. Little was known about her. He apprenticed to a blacksmith but got fired when he got in an argument with him. The boy was said to be third of her thirteen children.
Read more about this topic: James Beckwourth
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