Josiah Henson

Josiah Henson

 Josiah Henson was born in June 1789 into slavery in Charles County, Maryland. He was later sold to another slave owner called Isaac Riley while he was still a child. He was separated from his mother but later re-united after he fell sick. His mother had brought him up strong and had some Christian background. From an unusually young age, Henson showed commitment and robustness in his work. Sometimes, he would encourage the other slaves to work harder and for longer hours to earn a kind word from their master. He was regarded as intelligent among other slaves, for he had an intellectual capacity and resilience that surpassed other slaves in the estate.

I agree with the suggestions that the Henson family’s story contains much of what slavery and freedom looked like for Black people. The family name Henson was given to them by Dr. McPherson, who was their owner. As a child and even later in life, Henson and his family suffered the typical hardships that every slave went through. The author notes that the only recollection Henson has of his father is that of seeing his right ear being cut off and being cruelly punished for beating the farm’s overseer who had brutally assaulted the wife of a slave. He was later separated from them and sold in Alabama. Josiah, who was then a baby, was separated from his mother because her new master, Riley, refused to buy the mother and her baby as well. Her mother tried to beg not to be separated from her child, but her pleas fell on deaf ears, and instead, she was beaten up violently. It was not until Henson fell so sickly that he was allowed to re-unite with his mother because his master knew he was going to die.

Henson and his family were treated as commodities and were owned by estate owners who could dispense them for any amount of money they deemed fair to them. When Isaac Riley realized that his estate was about to be confiscated, he sends Henson to lead his fellow slaves to Kentucky to his brother, who was to be their new master. Henson regrets not taking the chance to free himself and the other slaves that were with him, especially in Cincinnati, where the free Negroes they had met asked him and the rest of the slaves to join him. He notes, “Often since that, has my soul been pierced with bitter anguish at the thought of having been thus instrumental in consigning to the infernal bondage of slavery so many of my fellow beings. I have wrestled in prayer with God for forgiveness. Having experienced myself the sweetness of liberty, and knowing too well the after the misery of a great majority of them, my infatuation has seemed to be an unpardonable sin. But I console myself with the thought that I acted according to my best light, though the light that was in me was darkness.” (3) In his words, he insinuates having tasted what freedom was like and, at the same time, let us know of the misery associated with slavery. He also expresses regret at having not allowed the slaves traveling under him to join the free Negroes.

The Henson family also may have known what freedom was like, especially for Henson. His intellectual capabilities, as well as loyalty, earned him the trust of his master Riley who entrusted the management of his estate to him. It was not a common phenomenon in states that allowed slavery to have a black person-in-charge of other slaves. Being in a managerial position meant he enjoyed some privileges and was not a full-time worker in the fields like other slaves. He accompanied his master Riley around protecting him, especially when he got drank. He also had the opportunity to meet with anti-slavery whites, who introduced him to Christianity. In 1828, a Methodist preacher who was white and was against slavery spoke to him in confidentiality and asked him to seek permission to visit his old master. He would then take the opportunity to raise money to buy his freedom.

Josiah Henson was intellectually endowed and hardworking, and thus, despite going through mistreatments such as being separated from his mother, he also had the opportunity to thrive as a free person. He was put in-charge of fellow blacks by Riley because he was trustworthy and intelligent. The above situations are, therefore, significant to agree that the Henson family’s story represents what slavery and freedom were experienced for blacks.

References

Hartgrove, W. B. (1918). The Story of Josiah Henson. The Journal of Negro History, 3(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.2307/2713789