Josiah Henson T-Shirt

A minister, author, military officer, abolitionist, teacher, and businessman, Josiah Henson was born June 15, 1789 in Charles County, Maryland, as the son of two slaves. When Josiah Henson was 44, he escaped from slavery to Ontario, Canada (where many of his descendants still live today). But when he got there, he didn’t sit around lamenting the life that had so far been thrust upon him. First, he founded a school for other fugitive slaves. By 1834, he created a black settlement on rented land. Eventually, he was able to purchase 200 acres that he called the Dawn Settlement. In addition, Josiah became a Methodist preacher and served as an officer in the Canadian military, where during the Rebellion of 1837 he is said to have single-handedly captured a ship that was threatening a nearby town.