Henry Walton Bibb was born on May 10, 1815, and died on August 1, 1854. He was an American writer and activist who worked to end slavery. Bibb wrote a book called Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave, which described his experiences as a slave, including several failed attempts to escape. He eventually escaped to Detroit, Michigan. After moving to Canada with his family, Bibb started a newspaper named Voice of the Fugitive to support the fight against slavery. He faced legal challenges because of his work helping enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad. Bibb lived in Canada for the rest of his life.

Biography

Henry Bibb was born on May 19, 1816, to an enslaved woman named Mildred Jackson on a plantation in Shelby County, Kentucky. His father was Senator James Bibb, who was related to George M. Bibb, a Kentucky state senator. Williard Greenwood, a slaveholder, sold Bibb’s six siblings to different buyers. Bibb was hired out by his father to earn wages. After wanting to read the Bible, he received some education from Miss Davis at a school until the school was closed by locals.

When Bibb was young, he saw the Ohio River as a barrier to freedom. He often looked across the river and wondered how to cross it. He knew that if he crossed, he could reach Canada and be free, but he believed it would be very hard to do.

In his autobiography, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, Bibb described his first marriage. He met Malinda when he was 18. She lived on a plantation near where he lived in Oldham County, Kentucky. Bibb quickly fell in love with her, but they were worried about marriage because both dreamed of freedom. They agreed to wait a year and marry if they still wanted to. In 1833, Henry and Malinda married and had a child named Mary Frances. Bibb’s escape attempts kept him away from his family for long periods. At one point, he escaped to Canada but returned for his family and was captured. After escaping for the final time, he learned that Malinda had been living with another man because she believed he was dead.

Around 1837, Bibb escaped slavery and fled to Cincinnati, Ohio. Six months later, he returned to free his wife but was captured and enslaved again. Bibb and his daughter were sold to a slaveholder in Vicksburg, Ohio. After a failed escape attempt, Bibb was sold to Cherokees on the Kansas-Oklahoma border.

Bibb described the Cherokee slaveholder who bought him as the most kind of all the slaveholders he met. Because of this positive experience, he did not include the man’s name in his narrative. This was the only owner whose name Bibb left out. He believed Native American slaveholders grew crops for their own use, while Southern slaveholders grew crops to sell and make money.

In 1842, Bibb fled to the Second Baptist Church in Detroit, an Underground Railroad station run by Rev. William Charles Monroe. He hoped to free his wife and daughter. After learning that Malinda had been sold to a white planter, Bibb focused on his work as an abolitionist. Monroe taught him to read and write.

Bibb traveled and gave speeches across the United States with Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown. He supported the Underground Railroad. In 1846, he helped Lewis Richardson cross the border to Amherstburg, Canada. Bibb was a member of the Liberty Party. In May 1847, he met his second wife, Mary E. Miles, and they married in June 1848. Between 1849 and 1850, he published his autobiography, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, An American Slave, Written by Himself. In 1850, Bibb became the secretary for the American League of Colored Laborers, the first Black labor union in the United States.

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it illegal to help escaped slaves, increasing danger for Bibb and his wife, Mary E. Miles. To stay safe, the Bibbs moved to Canada with his mother and settled in Sandwich, Upper Canada (now Windsor, Ontario). In 1851, Bibb started the first Black newspaper in Canada, The Voice of the Fugitive. The newspaper helped create a more welcoming environment for Black people in Canada and supported new arrivals.

Henry and Mary E. Bibb supported Canadian emigration and helped found the Refugee Home Society in 1851 with Josiah Henson. Mary started a school for children.

Because of his fame as an author, Bibb was reunited with three of his brothers, who had also escaped to Canada. In 1852, he published their stories in his newspaper.

Henry Bibb died on August 1, 1854, in Windsor, Canada West (now Ontario), at age 39. His cause of death was listed as congestion of the brain. The abolishment of slavery in Canada was finalized on that date in 1833, and the date is still celebrated as a national holiday.

Later life and legacy

Henry Bibb is best known for escaping slavery and writing about his experiences in his book, but his work did not stop after his escape. After successfully escaping, Bibb spent the rest of his life helping others on the Underground Railroad and writing about ending slavery while living in Canada. On the Underground Railroad, Bibb focused on helping enslaved people travel from Detroit to Canada across the Detroit River. Enslaved individuals who reached Detroit were safe and could choose to stay there or cross the river to Canada. Bibb worked hard to support this effort and helped make the Detroit River area a safe place and symbol of freedom for African Americans escaping slavery.

Even after moving to Canada to avoid legal trouble for his Underground Railroad work, Bibb continued to help enslaved people by sharing their stories through his writings. His book, The Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, ensured that his experiences and the struggles of enslaved people remained remembered.

Ruminations on slavery

In The Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, Bibb described the superstitions that enslaved people, including himself when he was young, practiced. At the time he wrote his story, Bibb thought many enslaved people who used witchcraft were pretending to know how to use it. However, he admitted that most enslaved people truly believed in its power.

Bibb shared two experiences where he believed he was tricked by conjurers, who he thought were only interested in money. In one case, he tried to win the love of a woman. In another, he followed a conjurer’s advice to escape slavery.

After these failed attempts, Bibb no longer believed in these superstitions. He noted that enslaved people often believed in them because they had little education.

In the final chapter of his story, Bibb expressed concern that people might think he exaggerated his experiences. He insisted that his stories were true and that slavery was so terrible that it could not be exaggerated.

Agent on the Underground Railroad

During Henry Bibb's time as an agent for the Underground Railroad, he lived in Detroit. Although he lived in Detroit, his work required him to travel frequently between Detroit and Canada across the Detroit River. Bibb helped people trying to escape slavery by guiding some across the river and meeting others in Canada. Information about Bibb’s role in the Underground Railroad comes from letters he wrote and from other writings about him during his time as an agent. Additional details were shared in books Bibb wrote later in life.

One letter describes the escape of a man named Lewis Richardson. Bibb helped Richardson, who was born in Kentucky, cross the Detroit River to reach Canada. After Richardson arrived safely in Canada, Bibb celebrated his freedom by singing a song called The Fugitive’s Triumph.

A letter written by Henry Bibb in Windsor on June 19, 1850, to a man named John Calkins has been preserved in Bibb’s handwriting and is available online. This letter is three pages long and explains how Bibb provided financial help to enslaved people fleeing to Canada through the Underground Railroad. The letter shows that Bibb actively supported the Underground Railroad.

Appendix ofThe Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb

The appendix acts as a list of sources. In this section, Bibb includes letters and parts from the Voice of the Fugitive.

Bibb wrote to James G. Birney, an abolitionist who claimed Bibb was not honest in his story. Bibb briefly explained that he was telling the truth and that he valued Birney’s honest review of his work. He admitted that his unclear memory of dates caused Birney and others to doubt his honesty. He stated his plan to prove his honesty.

Henry Bibb wrote two letters to Albert G. Sibley. The first letter was written on September 23, 1852. When Sibley did not reply, Bibb wrote a second letter on October 7 of the same year.

In the first letter, Bibb told Sibley that he was not a real Christian. He also informed Sibley that his siblings, who escaped from Sibley’s plantation, were now free and living with him in Canada. Bibb continued by describing the very bad actions connected to enslaving people, which he said went against the teachings of God.

In the second letter, Bibb reminded Sibley that he had not responded to the first letter. He argued that for Sibley to be a real Christian, he must stop holding enslaved people. Bibb challenged the common belief that freed enslaved people could not care for themselves by stating that enslaved people cared for themselves, their masters, and the plantation. He ended the letter by saying that if Sibley disputed anything he wrote, he would provide proof. At the bottom of the letter, Bibb added a note stating that if Sibley ignored his letters again, he would send more.