In the 18th Century in Wolverhampton, the notable Molineux family were given an infant boy from Sierra Leone. It was during this time that slavery was still recognised in Britain and black servants were seen as fashionable and a sign of wealth.

The young boy was christened at St. Peter’s Church, Wolverhampton on 31 March 1766 where he was given his English name; George John Scipio Africanus.

George was probably destined for a life similar to the two boys in the von Blass painting but in 1772 a legal judgement made it illegal to own slaves on English soil. Because of this decision many slaves were made homeless and destitute, many went back to their native Africa. However George found employment and was apprenticed to a brassfounder in Wolverhampton.
 
After he finished his apprenticeship, George was free to go where ever he wanted, so, he moved to Nottingham. It was here he lived and became a successful businessman. He started the Africanus Register of Servants. He died a Freeman – eligible to vote in elections – in 1834 and is buried in St Mary’s Church in Nottingham.
 
Slavery was abolished in Britain in 1807 and black men and women in Wolverhampton would then have lived freely. Unfortunately there are few local records of what these men and women did.