josiah henson(june 15,1789 – may 5,1883)was born into sl**ery in charles county,maryland.he escaped to ontario,canada in 1830,and founded a settlement and laborer's school for other fugitive sl**es at dawn,near dresden in kent county.at the time of h** arrival,ontario was known as the province of upper canada(u.c.),becoming the province of canada in 1841,then ontario in 1867,all within henson's lifetime there.henson's autobiography,the life of josiah henson,formerly a sl**e,now an inhabitant of canada,as narrated by himself(1849),** widely believed to h**e inspired the title character of harriet beecher stowe's novel,uncle tom's cabin(1852).following the success of stowe's novel,henson **sued an expanded version of h** life story in 1858 titled,truth stranger than fiction.father henson's story of h** own life(publ**hed boston:john p.jewett&company,1858).interest in h** life continued,and nearly two decades later,h** life story was updated and publ**hed under the title uncle tom’s story of h** life:an autobiography of the rev.josiah henson(mrs harriet beecher stowe’s‘uncle tom’)from 1789 to 1876,with a preface by mrs harriet beecher stowe and an introductory note by george sturge and s.morley esq.mp.henson later died at the age of 94 in dresden,ontario,may 5,1883.
henson's dawn settlement near dresden,ontario,offered blacks the chance to carve a life in a young province.
henson's dawn settlement near dresden,ontario,offered blacks the chance to carve a life in a young province.
when josiah was a young boy,h** father was pun**hed for standing up to a sl**e owner,receiving one hundred lashes and h**ing h** right ear nailed to the whipping-post,and then cut off[1].h** father was later sold to someone in alabama.following h** family's master's death,young josiah was separated from h** mother,brothers and s**ters,when he was sold as property in an estate sale.after h** mother pleaded with her new owner **aac riley,riley agreed to buy back henson so she could at least h**e her youngest child with her;on condition he would work in the fields.riley would not regret h** dec**ion for henson rose in h** owners' esteem,and was eventually entrusted as the superv**or of h** master's farm,located in montgomery county,maryland(in what ** now north bethesda).he tried to buy h** freedom by giving h** master$350 which he had s**ed up over the years,only to find that it had been increased to$1000.cheated of h** money,he escaped to kent county,u.c.,in 1830,after learning he might be sold again.there he founded a settlement and laborer's school for other fugitive sl**es at dawn,canada west.henson also became an active method**t preacher,spoke as an abolition**t on routes between tennessee and ontario.he also served in the canadian army as a military officer,h**ing led a black militia unit in the rebellion of 1837.
henson crossed into upper canada via the niagara river in 1830,with h** wife and four children.ontario had become a refuge for sl**es from the united states after 1793,when lieutenant-governor john gr**es simcoe passed"an act to prevent the further introduction of sl**es,and to limit the term of contracts for servitude within th** province".the leg**lation did not end sl**ery in the province,but it did prevent the importation of sl**es,meaning that any u.s.sl**e who set foot in ontario was free.by the time henson arrived,blacks had already made ontario home,including loyal**ts from the american revolution,and refugees from the war of 1812.
henson first worked farms near fort erie,then waterloo,moving with friends to colchester by 1834 to set up a black settlement on rented land.through contacts and financial ass**tance there,he was able to purchase 200 acres(0.81 km2)in dawn township,in next-door kent county,to realize h** v**ion of a self-sufficient community.the dawn settlement eventually prospered,reaching a population of 500 at its height,and exporting black walnut lumber to the united states and britain.henson purchased an additional 200 acres(0.81 km2)next to the settlement,where h** family lived.
josiah henson ** the first black person to be featured on a canadian stamp.he was also recognized by the h**toric sites and monuments board of canada in 1999 as a national h**toric person.a federal plaque to him ** located in the henson family cemetery,next to uncle tom's cabin h**toric site.
matthew henson,the arctic explorer who accompanied admiral robert e.peary on h** expedition to the north pole in 1909,** josiah henson's great-grand nephew.the state of maryland named an undeveloped state park site in montgomery county after matthew henson[2]in 1991.