ABSTRACT
Benjamin Johnson was born a slave, in Virginia. He informed me that when he was about sixteen years old, he became awakened to a sense of his situation as a slave; he could not reconcile it with the justice and goodness of his Creator, that one man should be born to serve another, without compensation; to be driven about, and treated as the beast of the field. As he grew in years, these considerations pressed more heavily upon him. When about twenty-five years old, he resolved to make an effort to effect his liberty. Accordingly, he left his master; and after encountering many difficulties, arrived in Philadelphia. In order more effectually to secure his liberty, he entered on board a vessel, and went several voyages to sea. When about thirty years old, he married, and soon after let himself to the late Dr. Benjamin Rush, 2 one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, as a coachman. He continued in that situation about two years. Upon leaving the service of the doctor, he gave him a certificate of honesty, sobriety, and capability as a coachman; it likewise stated that he was a free man.
