The Life of Josiah Henson : An Inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom

Although a powerful orator, Josiah Henson had not yet learned to read and write in 1849.

His remarkable slave narrative was first published in that year, when he recounted it to Boston's abolitionist mayor.

His readers included Harriet Beecher Stowe, who modeled the character of George Harris, a fugitive slave in Uncle Tom's Cabin, on Henson.