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Josiah Henson

1784-1883

Name: Josiah Henson

Birthplace: Unknown

Occupation/Training: Business Man

Abolitionist Involvement: Josiah Henson is best known as the prototype for the work by Hairiest Beecher Stowe--Uncle Tom's Cabin. he was born a slave in Charles County Maryland. Josiah was known as an efficient worker, and as a young man was made a manager of other slaves on the Isaac Riley plantation in Montgomery county MD. While in Montgomery, Josiah was influenced by a Christian many who was part of the anti-slavery movement. He was inspired to become a preacher to his fellow slaves. In 1830, he escaped with his wife to Canada.

While in Canada he participated in the Canadian Rebellion of 1837, fighting in the defense of Ft. Maldern. He served with a regiment of black soldiers known as the Essex Company of Colored volunteers.

He became a conductor on the Underground Railroad. He helped to establish a manual labor school in Canada, and established himself also as a business man, having established a sawmill. His small business had accumulated some debt, and in an effort to reduce the debts, he traveled to England where he was granted audience with leading British statesmen, including the archbishop on Canterbury and the Prime Minister, Lord John Russell. He was known for speaking about the harshness and cruelty of slavery.

Publications: Autobiography, The life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself. Very much like the autobiography of Frederick Douglass which came out in 3 variations, Josiah Henson's life was written about many times. In 1858, the piece Truth Stranger than Fiction: Father Henson's Story of His own Life was produced. This edition had an introduction by Harriet Beecher Stowe. An expanded edition of this story also appeared in 1878. Biographies of Henson's life appeared in recent years: Black Moses. The Real Uncle Tom by Jessie Louise Beattie, and To Master--A Long Goodnight: The Story of Uncle Tom by Brian Gysin.

Family: 12 Children

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