(1789 - 1883)

English

After escaping to Upper Canada from slavery in Kentucky, the Reverend Josiah Henson became a conductor of the Underground Railroad and a force in the abolition movement. The founder of the Black settlement of Dawn, he was also an entrepreneur and established a school, the British-American Institute. His fame grew after Harriet Beecher Stowe stated that his memoirs published in 1849 had provided "conceptions and incidents" for her extraordinarily popular novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Henson's celebrity raised international awareness of Canada as a haven for refugees from slavery.


French

Après s'être enfui du Kentucky où il vivait en esclavage, le révérend Henson s'installa au Haut-Canada et s'imposa comme chef de file dans le réseau de chemin de fer clandestin et au sein du mouvement abolitionniste. Fondateur de la communauté noire de Dawn, il fut aussi un entrepreneur et mit sur pied une école, le British-American Institute. Il devint particulièrement célèbre quand Harriet Beecher Stowe déclare s'être inspirée de ses mémoires, publiés en 1849, pour écrire son célèbre roman La Case de l'oncle Tom. La renommée de Henson révéla au monde que le Canada s'avérait un terre d'accueil pour les esclaves fugitifs.

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Show me all markers in:  Dresden, Ontario  |  Chatham-Kent Division  |  N0P 1M0  |  Ontario  |  Canada

Spirituality and Community
Henson House
Sawmill
Harris House
The Dawn Settlement
The Founding of Dresden
Burning of British Ships / American Encampment
The Legend of the Paw Paw
British Encampment: Forks of the Thames
Casualties of the Skirmish

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