He Was The Real-Life Hero Behind Uncle Tom’s Cabin

illustration of josiah henson
Tremain Prioleau II
January 9, 2025

In 1830, Josiah Henson, his wife, and their two youngest children took the huge risk of fleeing more than 1600 miles from Port Tobacco, Maryland, where Josiah Henson was born enslaved. Arriving in Canada, they found the freedom they wanted.

The Hensons made their home in the Dawn Settlement in Dresden, Ontario, one of the final stops on the Underground Railroad. Josiah used his talent to contribute to the community there.

Josiah Henson founded the Dawn Institute, a settlement house teaching trades to people like himself. Although this was admirable work, and Henson loved his new life in Canada, he felt guilty that so many others were still in bondage. So he did the unthinkable.

Josiah Henson would travel back to the U.S. to help guide 118 other enslaved people to freedom. His generosity and courage were believed to have inspired the character of Tom in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Josiah Henson could have stayed safe in Canada but instead risked his hard-won freedom to help other enslaved people. We can’t get so comfortable in our own lives that we forget about our people. We all want liberation, and it will take each of us to make it a reality.

We have a quick favor to ask:

PushBlack is a nonprofit dedicated to raising up Black voices. We are a small team but we have an outsized impact:

  • We reach tens of millions of people with our BLACK NEWS & HISTORY STORIES every year.
  • We fight for CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM to protect our community.
  • We run VOTING CAMPAIGNS that reach over 10 million African-Americans across the country.

And as a nonprofit, we rely on small donations from subscribers like you.

With as little as $5 a month, you can help PushBlack raise up Black voices. It only takes a minute, so will you please ?

Share This Article: