For hundreds of years, he was known only as Jersey, an enslaved boy of about 11 rendered in oil on canvas by the great 18th-century portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds. But now the life of the youngster, believed to be Reynolds' earliest depiction of a person of colour, has begun to emerge, thanks to a research project. Details found in admiralty records and other archives have unearthed information about Jersey's identity, his military service and even hint he may eventually have found freedom.