Finding Josiah Henson

Julia King

At CCASM's February 9th meeting Dr Julia King of Saint Mary's College discussed “Finding Josiah Henson: How Charles County Shaped the Life of this Conductor on the Underground Railroad“.

Josiah Henson was an escaped slave who was active in the underground railroad and founded a settlement in Canada for other fugitive slave.  His life was one of the inspirations for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

In 1796 or shortly thereafter, he was born a slave on a plantation now know as La Grange, near present day La Plata.  Although he left La Grange at about age 9, the brutality of slavery he experienced there in his formative years greatly impacted his later life.

Josiah Henson

With support from Mr. L. Gordon Croft, a Charles County native, archaeologists from St. Mary's College of Maryland are beginning to piece together the details of Henson's early life through a focus on his birthplace and boyhood home.  

Last summer Dr King and students from Saint Mary's College and the College of Southern Maryland, uncovered the location of the 18th century slave quarter at La Grange.  The historic artifacts they found associated with the plantation house covered a period of over 200 years while the artifacts associated with the slave quarter dated to the late 18th and early 19th centuries only.  Originally the front of La Grange faced towards Port Tobacco, and the slave quarter was behind the house.  Sometime around 1830 the house was changed so it faced towards present day La Plata.  This meant that the original slave quarter would then have been located in the front yard.  It is believed that the original slave quarter was abandoned at that time, and new slave quarters erected elsewhere on the property.

Dr. Julia King is a Professor of Anthropology at Saint Mary's College of Maryland and has talked to CCASM multiple times about her work in Charles County.

Attendance: 24

Thanks to Elsie for providing this posting and to Barbara for the group photo.

 

Finding Josiah Henson: 
How Charles County Shaped the Life of this Conductor on the Underground Railroad

Josiah Henson spent his early years on a plantation in Charles County, where he witnessed the brutality of slavery even as he developed an extraordinary humanity.  With support from Mr. L. Gordon Croft, a Charles County native, archaeologists from St. Mary's College of Maryland are beginning to piece together the details of Henson's early life through a focus on his birthplace and boyhood home.