#uncle tom

People use the term “Uncle Tom” all the time, but most have never looked at where it came from.

The name traces back to a character from 1852 who refused to betray other enslaved people, even under brutal pressure. Over time, stage shows and minstrel performances changed that character into something completely different, and that version is what stuck.

Most people have heard or used the term UNCLE TOM when we refer to a sell-out, but did you know that the inference is totally wrong.

The real Uncle Tom was a hero, Josiah Henson, was an abolitionist who helped slaves escape among other great things.

Josiah Henson was born into slavery in 1789 in Charles County, Maryland. Growing up he watched his father receive beatings for standing up to his slave owner and also witnessed his father's ear being severed as part of the punishment and also his father being sold off.

Upon the death of his owner, Henson was also separated from his family in an estate sale. He remained on his new owner's farm in Montgomery County, Maryland, until he was an adult. As he aged he rose to become a trusted enslaved and supervised other enslaved people on the farm. 

However, he used his new position to make his escape from slavery. Following the Underground Railroad, Henson escaped from Maryland to the Province of Upper Canada (Ontario), Canada with his wife and four children by way of the Niagara River in 1830.

Henson worked on farms in his first years in Canada to support his family. In 1834 founded a black settlement on rented land. He purchased 200 acres of land in Kent County and founded a settlement and laborer's school for other fugitive slaves.

Henson later became a Methodist preacher and a conductor on the Underground Railroad between Tennessee and Ontario helping the enslaved escape from slavery, he also served as a military officer in the British Army in Canada.