At the Josiah Henson Museum, his descendants stitch their family history

More than 40 descendants of the Rev. Josiah Henson, who escaped from slavery in Montgomery County to Canada and helped over 100 others through the Underground Railroad, gathered recently for their annual family reunion at the North Bethesda museum built upon the site where their ancestor was once enslaved.

They also got a front-row seat to the unveiling of a new quilt, now on permanent display at the museum, honoring Henson’s legacy.

“He wasn’t just our father — he was everyone’s father,” said Mia Lewis, one of Henson’s great-great-great-great granddaughters. “We love sharing him with the world.”

The Josiah Henson Museum and Park opened to the public in 2021 to honor the man who served as the real-life inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which exposed many white Americans to the horrors of slavery.

“Had there been no ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ there would have been no Lincoln in the White House,” abolitionist Sen. Charles Sumner once argued.

Since its opening, the museum has welcomed more than 66,000 visitors, and has plans to add an amphitheater, other outdoor amenities and more programming to allow for larger group visits. But its latest addition is an 11 1/2 feet by 7 1/2 feet quilt, handmade by a group of volunteers eager to help share Henson’s story.

“We wanted to carry on the history of our story and make sure that we are telling our story — not someone telling it for us,” said Tisha Thorne, a sewing and quilting instructor and the owner of Sew Creative Lounge in Lanham. “To see the family be in total awe ... I’m going to try not to cry.”

Quilting across the country

An enormous black and white quilt, depicting a pixelated version of a portrait of Henson in his later years, now hangs in the museum’s visitor center.

Thorne, who is married to Mark Thorne, the historic site manager, helmed creative operations for the project. She and her team at Sew Creative helped sort nearly 7,000 2-by-2-inch squares in 14 shades of white, black and gray into separate kits that they later shipped to the rest of their volunteers.

Thorne and many of her fellow quilters had never attempted a pixelated design before. But they were up for the challenge.

Each quilter received a grid design to sew together on a 12-by-12-inch cloth. When they finished, they shipped their piece of the puzzle back to Tisha Thorne, who sewed them together.

“It was like coloring by number, but with fabric,” Thorne said.

In all, it took more than 50 women from about 15 states about a year to complete the project. They put on the finishing touches about three weeks ago, in time for Saturday’s reunion.

“It’s absolutely beautiful, and to think about the collaboration it took to put this together — that’s just something remarkable within itself,” Lewis said. “I think having items like this displayed within our museum just continues to add to how important it is to carry on his legacy.”

‘I shall use my freedom well’

The museum has long worked with Henson’s descendants to preserve his legacy.

The Henson-Nevels family, also named for the side of the family tree descending from Henson’s granddaughter whose married name was Nevels, includes historians devoted to keeping Henson’s legacy alive. They have their own website; Lewis often serves as a family representative for special occasions, such as events for International Underground Railroad Month every September.

Seeing how the Henson Museum and artists like Tisha Thorne and her quilting team are preserving their ancestor’s legacy, Lewis says they can rest a little easier knowing that future generations have access to a place dedicated to spreading his story.

“We still want to make sure that we’re giving some sort of history lesson to our younger generation, but with the museum, that’s another thing,” she said. “They get it when they walk through those doors.”

There’s a quote commonly attributed to Henson that was often referenced during Saturday’s reunion: “I shall use my freedom well.”

During speeches throughout the day, family members made good on their ancestor’s words. They promised each other to eat well (courtesy of paper plates piled high with cookout staples from Prince George’s County-based Zig’s Kitchen), play well (a tug-of-war competition following the quilt unveiling got “really serious,” as one relative put it) and connect with someone new.

They spent the day remembering and honoring their past, but also enjoying the present for the sake of their family’s future.

“It’s awesome to be able to come together and not for a funeral,” Lewis said. “We cherish this. ... I just think it attests to the legacy that he continued to pass down from generation to generation.”

She added: “My friends always say, ‘My goodness, y’all’s family is insanely in love with one another.’ I say, ‘All 1,200 of us.’”