Henry Bibb – A determination for freedom for all
Henry Bibb was an enslaved African American who lived in Newcastle, Kentucky. In 1835, Mr. Vires hired Bibb, who lived on a nearby farm. Although Bibb hoped to reach Canada easily, he was captured in less than twenty-four hours, whipped, and placed in isolation. However, Bibb planned and executed another escape attempt, but the same result occurred. They recaptured him rather quickly and whipped him once again. Despite the hardships, Bibb remained determined to obtain his freedom.
Dating temporarily halted Bibb’s determination to ultimately gain his freedom. He subsequently married an enslaved African American woman named Malinda, who resided on a nearby plantation in Oldham County, Kentucky. Once married, Bibb soon became a father. However, the hardship of having a wife and child owned by a white man soon reignited Bibb’s aspiration to escape. With a promise to return to his family after he was completely free, Bibb absconded on Christmas Day in 1837.
Path to Freedom
Local African Americans helped Bibb reach Cincinnati, Ohio, where abolitionists introduced him to a group of like-minded individuals. The abolitionists helped him travel north through the Underground Railroad of Cincinnati to Perrysburg, Ohio. Bibb stayed in Perrysburg for several months before returning to Kentucky to free his wife and child. When he reached them, Bibb developed a plan to help them escape by steamship once they reached the Ohio River.
Unfortunately, they failed to reach the rendezvous point on time. A slave catcher who had been posing as a local abolitionist recaptured Bibb. Consequently, they shipped him to Louisville, Kentucky, to sell him. However, Bibb managed to escape from his captor once again. After his escape, Bibb traveled to central Ohio. Several years later, in 1839, he returned to Kentucky again to try to free his wife and child. They recaptured him and shipped him to Louisville again, but this time, they sent his family with him to prevent another escape attempt.
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Several months later, the slave owner placed Bibb, his family, and several hundred enslaved African Americans on a steamship. The steamboat left Louisville, bound for Vicksburg, Tennessee, and eventually New Orleans, Louisiana.
In 1840, local gamblers bought Bibb’s wife and daughter, while a local Native American purchased Bibb himself. However, the following year, in 1841, Bibb escaped from the Native Americans for good this time. He traveled to the Mississippi River and then secretly climbed aboard a steamboat en route to Portsmouth, Ohio.
By the late 1840s, Bibb had concluded that he would never see (first) his wife and child again. As a result, he remarried in 1848. Over time, he became an ardent African American abolitionist in several New England and Middle Atlantic states. As an abolitionist, to tell his story to a broader audience, in 1849, Bibb published his autobiography titled Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, An American Slave. In 1849, he and his new wife published the first African American newspaper in Canada, Voice of the Fugitive.
Related Article: African American political leaders in the history of Cincinnati
About the author, Eric R. Jackson
Eric R. Jackson holds a doctorate from the University of Cincinnati. He is a professor of history and Black studies in the Department of History and Geography at Northern Kentucky University, where he teaches courses in American and African American history/studies, race relations, and peace studies.
He has over 50 publications, including articles in such journals as Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, Journal of African American History, and Journal of World Peace.
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Image provided by Dr. Eric R. Jackson
