Born into slavery in 1789, Henson escaped to Canada in 1830, founding a settlement and school for other fugitive slaves. In 1849 he published the first version of his autobiography which provided the inspiration for one of the characters in Harriet Beecher Stowe's 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'. Following the success of Stowe's novel, Henson issued an expanded version of his book in 1858 and nearly two decades later, in 1876, he updated it again. Reprinted from the 1858 edition.