Complex sentence: Samuel Gist (1717 or 1723,--February 1815) was an Englishman who rose from humble beginnings to become a wealthy slave owner and plantation owner in the Colony of Virginia.
Split into simpler sentences: Samuel Gist (1717 or 1723,--February 1815) was a British slave owner. An Englishman, he rose from humble beginnings to become a wealthy slave owner and plantation owner in the Colony of Virginia.