Henry had six siblings, who were sold to various owners. He had very little contact with his mother and was hired out by his owners to other plantations. He attempted his first escape when he was only ten years of age. He married in his late teens and was furious when his wife's owner forced her into prostitution.
In 1937, Henry made a successful escape and went to Cincinnati, Ohio. He returned to the south for his wife and family, but all were captured and sold to various owners. The family escaped again. When they were recaptured, Henry was sold to an American Native. He was able to escape once more and made his way to Detroit, Michigan, where he became a lecturer for the anti-slave movement. He became well known as an activist and worked for the Liberty Party, which was formed in 1840.
While lecturing, Henry met Mary Miles of Boston. They were married in 1848.
In 1851, Henry met fellow activist Josiah Henson and they joined forces to form the Refugee's Home Colony for escaped slaves in Sandwich Township, Ontario. This took place after the United States passed the Fugitive Slave Act.
Henry published the first Black newspaper, "Voice of the Fugitive." Martin Robinson Delaney, a freed Black man who had published the anti-slave newspaper, "The Mystery, in 1843, was a regular contributor.
Henry led a campaign that brought escaped slaves and freed Blacks to Canada. He continued to head this campaign until his death in 1854 at the young age of thirty-nine.
Henry left a great legacy behind. He urged Blacks to travel to Canada where they would be safe from their owners and slave hunters. He lived to see many of his people settled in Ontario.
Henry was president of the North American Convention of Colored People. He condemned the Fugitive Slave Act. He was not only an editor, but an author. In 1849, the Anti-Slave Society published his autobiography, "The Life and Adventures of an American Slave." In 1844, Henry wrote to his former owner, "I subscribe myself as a friend to the oppressed."
Henry devoted his life to the abolishment of slavery. He was one of a rare breed of autobiographers who actually had worked in the Deep South. Henry's book is one of the earliest and rarest books ever written by an American slave. It has been reprinted numerous times, the latest being in December 2000. The first edition is very rare and valuable.
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