The Magical History Tour

In school, you probably had the opportunity to read Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ very few people know that the book is based on the autobiography of Josiah Henson. Josiah Henson was born enslaved in 1789 in Charles County, Maryland. Josiah grew up knowing the brutality of slavery in the United States. Henson watched his father receive fifty lashes for standing up to a slave owner and then witnessed his father’s ear being severed as part of the punishment. Shortly afterward he watched his father sold off to another slaveholder in Alabama.

Upon the death of his previous owner, Josiah was sold to Isaac Riley and was separated from his mother and siblings. Henson showed extreme loyalty to Riley who, in turn, entrusted him with exceptional responsibilities and allowed him to become a preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church. However, when Henson attempted to buy his freedom, Riley cheated him and made plans to sell him south. Fearing separation from his family, Henson fled north with his wife and children in the summer of 1830. Henson, his wife Charlotte, and their four children escaped across the Ohio River into Indiana, reaching Canada on October 28, 1830. After passing through Ohio and New York, they settled in Dresden, Ontario, Canada.

Once he had established his life in Canada, Henson did not just turn his back on on his past life in the United States. Josiah Henson actively worked to help other who fled slavery. He and others established the Dawn Settlement, a 200 acre farm settlements with its own saw mill, grist mill and crops cultivated on the land. Refugees from the slave trade in the United States were trained to work in the saw mill and grist mill, as well as other trainings and other schooling which was not available to them in enslaved states.

Josiah Henson and the Dawn Settlement also established the British American Institute in 1842. The British American Institute was a vocational school and industrial facility that taught formerly enslaved people job skills to beyond what they had been forced to do during their enslavement. The program created vocational jobs within their own community, and created employable skills for those who wanted to move elsewhere in Canada.

Josiah Henson was a noted lecturer in Canada, the United States and Great Britain. He traveled to Great Britain to talk about his work and his life and was invited to dine with Queen Victoria. The money he raised from his lectures and speaking engagements was invested back into the Dawn Settlement and the British American Institute.

Josiah Henson would live to see the abolition of slavery in the United States, however, he would remain a citizen of Canada. Josiah Henson died May 5, 1883 in Dresden, Ontario jest before his 96th birthday.

Today you can visit two museums to Learn more about Josiah Henson and his work.

Josiah Henson Museum and Park in Montgomery County, Maryland: https://montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/josiah-henson-museum-and-park/

Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History in Dresden, Ontario: https://nationaltrustcanada.ca/destinations/josiah-henson-museum-of-african-canadian-history