Josiah henson biography 1789 revolucion

American abolitionist and minister

For the American wrestler, see Josiah Henson (wrestler).

Josiah Henson (June 15, – May 5, ) was an author, abolitionist, and minister.

Born into slavery, in Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland, he escaped to Upper Canada (now Ontario) in , and founded a settlement and laborer's school for other fugitive slaves at Dawn, near Dresden, in Kent County, Upper Canada, of Ontario.

Henson's autobiography, The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself (), is believed to have inspired the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin ().^[1] Following the success of Stowe's novel, Henson issued an expanded version of his memoir in , Truth Stranger Than Fiction.

Father Henson's Story of His Own Life (published Boston: John P. Jewett & Corporation, ). Interest in his experience continued, and nearly two decades later, his life story was updated and published as Uncle Tom's Story of His Life: An Autobiography of the Rev.

Josiah Henson ().

Early life

Josiah Henson was born on a farm near Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland, on a plantation owned by Francis Newman, where Henson experienced slave atrocities.^[2] Henson's father was enslaved by Francis Newman whereas Josiah Henson, his mother, and his siblings were enslaved by Dr.

Josiah McPherson.^[3] When he was a teen, his father was punished for standing up to a slave overseer, for which he received one hundred lashes. In addition, his right ear was nailed to the whipping post and then cut off.^[4] His father was sold away to Alabama.

Josiah Henson experienced hardships and sufferings at the hands of his masters as well, including having his arms broken and an injury to his back.^[5] Following his family's master's death, young Josiah was separated from his mother, brothers, and sisters.

At the slave auction, Henson's siblings were sold first. His mother was bought by Issac Riley of Montgomery County and when she pleaded to her new owner to purchase Josiah Henson, Riley responded by hitting and kicking her.^[6] Josiah Henson was sold to Adam Robb of Rockville, Montgomery County.

Adam Robb encountered Issac Riley and struck a deal which resulted in Henson being sold to Riley and reunited with his mother.^[7] Josiah Henson became very ill.^[8] His mother pleaded with her owner, Isaac Riley, and Riley agreed to buy support Henson so she could at least have her youngest infant with her, on the condition that he would work in the fields.

Josiah Henson, American laborer and clergyman who escaped slavery in and found refuge in Canada, where he became the driving force behind the Dawn Settlement, a model group for former slaves.

Riley would not regret his decision, for Henson rose in his owners' esteem, and was eventually entrusted as the supervisor of his master's farm, located in Montgomery County, Maryland (in what is now North Bethesda). In Riley fell into economic ruin and was sued by a brother-in-law.

Desperate, he begged Henson, with tears in his eyes, to promise to help him. Henson agreed. Riley told him that he needed to take his eighteen slaves to his brother in Kentucky by foot. They arrived in Owensboro, Daviess County, Kentucky, in the middle of April at the plantation of Amos Riley.

In September , Henson returned to Maryland and attempted to buy his liberty from Riley.^[6] with $ he had saved, along with a note promising a further $ Riley, however, added an extra zero to the paper, altering the promissory fee to $ Soon after, Henson learned that Riley planned to sell him in New Orleans, Louisiana, separating him from his wife and four children.^[6] Henson became determined to escape to Canada and freedom.^[9] He took his wife and their children.^[10]

Escape from slavery

After convincing his wife to break out with him, Henson's wife created a knapsack large enough to carry both of their smallest children; the eldest two would accompany his wife.^[3] The Henson family left Kentucky, traveling through the night, and sleeping in the woods throughout the evening.

Phelps, As a child, he was sold to Isaac Riley, who later appointed him superintendent of the farm at an unusually young age because of Henson's strength and intelligence. At age twenty-two Henson married a slave woman whose name remains unknown. They had twelve children, four while enslaved.

They crossed into Indiana, then into Cincinnati, where they were safely welcomed in a home for a few days.^[4] As the Henson family was crossing Hull's Highway in Ohio, Josiah's wife fainted from exhaustion. As they continued on, they encountered Indians, and were reinvigorated with food and rest.

After crossing a lake in Ohio, Josiah encountered Captain Burnham, a ship captain, who agreed to transport the Henson family to Buffalo, New York; from there they would cross the river into Canada.^[3] Upon setting foot into Canada, Josiah Henson described the ecstatic feelings of liberation by throwing himself onto the ground and rejoicing with his family.

On October 28, , Josiah Henson became a liberated man.^[6] &#;

Slavery policy in Canada

Upper Canada had become a refuge for slaves who had escaped from the United States after , when Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe passed "An Act to prevent the further introduction of Slaves, and limit the Term of Contracts for Servitude within this Province" [1].

Josiah Henson, an escaped slave who became an abolitionist minister and author, led over two hundred slaves via the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada, where he founded them a refugee community and educational facility. His autobiography is believed to have been an inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's renowned Uncle Tom's Cabin. As a kid, he was sold to Isaac Rileywho in turn sold him to his brother, Amos Rileyin Kentucky. He first married c.

The legislation did not immediately end slavery in the colony, but it did prevent the importation of slaves^{[citation needed]}. As a result, any U.S. slave who set foot in what would eventually become Ontario, was free^{[citation needed]}.

Later life

Josiah Henson first worked on farms neighboring Fort Erie, then Waterloo Ontario, moving with friends to Colchester in to set up a Black settlement on rented territory. After earning enough, Henson was able to send his eldest son Tom to school, who in turn taught Josiah how to read.

During the period of slavery in the Joined States and afterward in the ongoing struggle for equality and opportunity for people of African descent, Josiah Henson was a man who lived his conviction of being honest in both word and deed. Even while a slave and enduring hostility, when given the choice of defiling his word or gaining freedom, Henson kept his pos. After escaping from slavery and finding freedom in Canada, Henson learned to read and compose and became a religious and community leader both there and in the United States. He traveled throughout the United States, Canada, and England, preaching and speaking for the abolition of slavery.

Henson became literate and was able to lead the growing community of fugitive slaves in Canada.^[11] Through contacts and financial assistance there, he was able to purchase acres (&#;km²) in Dawn Township, in neighbouring Kent County, to realize his vision of a self-sufficient society.

The Dawn Settlement eventually reached a population of ^{[citation needed]} at its height, exporting ebony walnut lumber to the Together States and Britain. Henson purchased an additional acres (&#;km²) next to the Settlement, where his family lived.^[12] Henson also became an active Methodist preacher and spoke as an abolitionist on routes between Tennessee and Ontario.

He also served in the Canadian Militia as a military officer, having led a Inky militia unit in the Canadian Rebellion of In , Henson and the militia successfully captured the rebel ship Anne, cutting off their supply lines to southwestern Upper Canada.

Though many residents of the Dawn Settlement returned to the United States after slavery was abolished there, Henson and his wife continued to live in Dawn for the rest of their lives.

Josiah Henson, 1789-1883. Truth Stranger Than Fiction. Father ...: Josiah Henson (June 15, – May 5, ) was an writer, abolitionist, and minister. Born into slavery, in Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland, he escaped to Upper Canada (now Ontario) in , and founded a settlement and laborer's school for other fugitive slaves at Dawn, adjacent Dresden, in Kent County, Upper Canada, of Ontario.

Henson became the spiritual leader within the community and embarked on several trips to the United States and Great Britain where he met with Queen Victoria.^[13] While in Britain, Josiah publicly spoke to audiences and raised funds for the community back in Canada.^[5] Henson conducted several trips back to Kentucky^[when?] to instruction other slaves to freedom.^[6]

In , Rev.

Henson was described as "a jovial old man", who "considering his age is beautiful active".^[14]

Henson was a Freemason.^[15][16]

Works

Miscellaneous

Josiah Henson is the first black male to be featured on a Canadian stamp.

He was also recognized by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada in as a National Historic Person. A federal plaque to him is located in the Henson family cemetery, next to Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site.

A documentary titled Redeeming Uncle Tom: The Josiah Henson Story covers his life.^[18]

In plans were announced in Owensboro to notice Henson with a memorial site in the city, but the recession of the s set that plan on indefinite keep.

LIFE OF JOSIAH HENSON. I WAS born, June 15, , in Charles County, Maryland, on a farm belonging to Mr. Francis N., about a mile from Port Tobacco. My mother was the property of Dr. Josiah McP., but was hired by Mr. N., to whom my father belonged.

In , a playwright was hired to create a drama based on Henson's Daviess County years; in the summer of , Josiah was staged at the RiverPark Center in Owensboro and its six-night run drew more than 4, people.^[19]

Historic sites

Josiah Henson Museum & Park&#;North Bethesda, Maryland

The actual cabin in which Henson and other slaves were housed no longer exists; it was demolished along with other outbuildings in the s when much of the former Riley plantation was developed into suburbantract housing.^[20] The Riley family house, however, remains and is currently in a residential development in Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland.

After remaining in the hands of private owners for nearly two centuries, on January 6, , the Montgomery Planning Board agreed to purchase the property and the acre of land on which it stands for $1,, (~$&#;million in ).^[21][22] The house was opened to the public for one weekend in ^[23][24] In Rally , the site received an additional $50, from the Maryland state Board of Public Works for the planning and plan phase of a multiyear restoration project.^[25] An additional $, may come from the Federal government that would go towards restoration and planning.^[25] The site was planned to be opened permanently to the public in , until then offering guided tours four times a year.^[25]

As of , the Josiah Henson Museum & Park, in North Bethesda, Maryland, contains the Riley/Bolton property, where Henson's owner lived.

The Montgomery County park site (construction/restoration) reopened to the public on April 23, , after the completion of the renovations and installation of new exhibits and building of the visitor center. "Ongoing archaeological excavations seek to find where Josiah Henson may have lived on the site."^[26]

The Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History

Located near Dresden, Ontario, in Canada, the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History formally called Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site includes the cabin that was home to Josiah Henson during much of his time in the area, from until his death in The hectare complex (5-acre) includes Henson's cabin, an interpretive centre about Henson and the Dawn settlement, an exhibit gallery about the Underground Railroad, outbuildings, a 19th-century historic residence, a cemetery and a offering shop.

See also

References

External links

• Works by Josiah Henson at Proposal Gutenberg
• Uncle Tom's Story of His Life. An Autobiography of the Rev.

  Josiah Henson (Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom"). From to With a Preface by Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, and an Introductory Note by George Sturge London: Christian Age Office,

• The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself.

  Boston: A. D. Phelps,

• Truth Stranger Than Fiction. Father Henson's Story of His Own Life. Boston: John P. Jewett,
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Josiah Henson commemorative stamp
• Digital History: Josiah Henson
• Josiah Henson
• [2]
• National Historic Person plaque, and cemetery photo near Dresden, Ontario
• Henson, Josiah (–).

  The life of Josiah Henson, formerly a slave. London: Charles Gilpin; Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black; Dublin: James Bernard Gilpin, This freely downloadable PDF was accessed February 15,

• The Life of Josiah Henson From the Collections at the Library of Congress
• Works by Josiah Henson at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)