tonypierce.com

Benjamin Banneker was born on November 9, 1731,
in Ellicott's Mills, Maryland,
a half day's walk from Baltimore.
little ben's grandmother, Molly, read the Bible to her grandchildren,
and almost like an answered prayer,
when ben was twelve, a nice quaker man named peter heinrich
moved next door and started a school for boys.
ben became a star pupil.
not to be outdone, right around this time,
ben franklin was inventing the lightening rod