(This collection of literature attempts to compile many of...)
This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.
Twelve Years a Slave: Plus Five American Slave Narratives, Including Life of Frederick Douglass, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Life of Josiah Henson, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Up From Slavery
The Life of Josiah Henson: Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada as Narrated by Himself
(The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhab...)
The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself is a slave narrative written by Josiah Henson, who would later become famous for being the basis of the character of Tom from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. The Life of Josiah Henson, published in 1849, is Henson's first work but was dictated to Samuel A. Eliot, who was a former Boston Mayor known for his anti-slavery views. Although Henson was an accomplished orator, he had not yet learned to read and write. The narrative provides a detailed description of his life as a slave in the south.
The following memoir was written from the dictation of Josiah Henson. A portion of the story was told, which, when written, was read to him, that any errors of statement might be corrected. The substance of it, therefore, the facts, the reflections, and very often the words, are his; and little more than the structure of the sentences belongs to another.
The narrative, in this form, necessarily loses the attraction derived from the earnest manner, the natural eloquence of a man who tells a story in which he is deeply interested; but it is hoped that enough remains to repay perusal, and that the character of the man, and the striking nature of the events of his life will be thought to justify the endeavor to make them more extensively known. The story has this advantage, that it is not fiction, but fact; and it will be found fruitful in instruction by those who attentively consider its lessons.
(The life of Josiah Henson, formerly a slave, now an inhab...)
The life of Josiah Henson, formerly a slave, now an inhabitant of Canada. This book, "The life", by Josiah Henson, is a replication of a book originally published before 1849. It has been restored by human beings, page by page, so that you may enjoy it in a form as close to the original as possible.
Autobiography of Josiah Henson: An Inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom (African American)
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Firsthand account by the man widely regarded as the per...)
Firsthand account by the man widely regarded as the person who provided much of the material for the revered character in Uncle Tom's Cabin. Henson recalls his childhood, forced separation from his wife and children, escape to Canada, role as "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, and meeting with Queen Victoria in England.
Josiah Henson was an African American slave from Maryland. He escaped to Upper Canada (now Ontario) in 1830, and founded a settlement for other fugitive slaves.
Background
Josiah Henson was born on June 15, 1789, in Port Tobacco Village, Maryland, United States, on a farm belonging to Francis Newman. In his early years, under the system of slavery, he saw his mother brutally assaulted and his father mutilated.
Education
Josiah learned his letters from his oldest son, who went to school.
Career
Before Josiah Henson was grown his ability made him superintendent of the farm, and the crop doubled under his management. At the age of eighteen, never before having heard a sermon, he was deeply moved by the discourse of a godly baker, John McKenny, who was opposed to slavery. One evening, in rescuing his master at a con vivial gathering, he offended the overseer of a neighboring plantation, who later attacked him with the assistance of three slaves, broke one of his arms, and otherwise abused him. In 1825, Riley, about to be ruined by his improvidence, exacted from Josiah a promise that he would conduct the slaves of the plantation, about twenty in number, to a brother living in Kentucky. In passing through Ohio they were urged to assert their freedom, but Josiah remained true to his word.
In Kentucky Henson worked under more favorable conditions and in 1828 was admitted as a preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. After trying in vain to purchase his freedom, he was sent to New Orleans to be sold. Deciding to make a bid for freedom he set forth one night with his wife and four young children. It took him two weeks to reach Cincinnati. Later a Scotchman named Burnham, captain of a boat, assisted him in getting to Buffalo, and, October 28, 1830, he crossed over to Canada. He worked hard, became a preacher in Dresden, Bothwell County, Ontarion, and rapidly advanced in influence and esteem. He was interested not only in helping other slaves to escape from bondage but also in cultivating in the negroes the spirit of thrift and in encouraging them to acquire land. He tried to develop a community and to found an industrial school at Dawn, in the territory between Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River, to which place he took his family in 1842. Committees in both England and America were interested, but through the incompetence of an agent the project dragged on for years, little being done. Henson’s own integrity was called in question both in England and by the negroes in the settlement; but he cleared himself to the satisfaction of all concerned.
In 1851, on the second of three trips to England, he was awarded a bronze medal for some black walnut boards that he exhibited at the World’s Fair, was honored before a distinguished company at the home of Lord John Russell, prime minister, and invited by Lord Grey to go to India to supervise cotton raising. A farewell meeting in Spurgeon’s Tabernacle was attended by thousands, and Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle presented him with a photograph of herself framed in gold. A quarter of a century before, on passing through Andover, Massachusetts, Henson had told his story to Harriet Beecher Stowe. In 1849 he published The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself. It appeared enlarged and with an introduction by Harriet B. Stowe in 1858, under the title Truth Stranger than Fiction: Father Henson’s Story of His Own Life, and further enlarged was published in 1879 under the title, "Truth Is Stranger than Fiction”: An Autobiography of the Rev. Josiah Henson, with a preface by Harriet B. Stowe and introductory notes by Wendell Phillips. He died in Dresden, Ontario.
Josiah Henson was a preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Connections
At the age of twenty-two Josiah Henson married a slave girl, who became the mother of twelve children. Late in life, his first wife having died, he married a widow in Boston.