"The Life of Josiah Henson Formerly A Slave"
"I was born, June 15, 1789, in Charles County, Maryland, on a farm belonging to Mr. Francis N., about a mile from Port Tobacco. My mother was the property of Dr. Josiah McP., ..
In consequence of his decease it became necessary to sell the estate and the slaves, in order to divide up the property among the heirs; and we were all put up at auction and sold to the highest bidder, and scattered over various parts of the country. My brothers and sisters were bid off off one by one, while my mother, holding my hand looked on in an agony of grief, the cause of which I but ill understood at first, but which dawned on my mind, with dreadful clearness, as the sale proceeded. My mother was then separated from me and put up in her turn. She was bought by a man named Isaac R., residing in Montgomery county,..."
