Henry Box Brown mailed himself in a wooden box to seek freedom

Henry “Box” Brown: The Man Who Mailed Himself to Freedom
Discovered at Toronto’s historic Necropolis Cemetery

On a damp walk through Toronto’s Necropolis Cemetery, with my glass cross in hand, I came across the eroding gravestone of an extraordinary freedom seeker: Henry “Box” Brown — a man who quite literally boxed his way out of slavery.

In one of history’s most daring escapes, 33-year-old Henry Brown, enslaved in Richmond, Virginia, devised an audacious plan. On March 29, 1849, with the help of a local shoemaker and a white shopkeeper sympathetic to the abolitionist cause, he had himself sealed inside a wooden crate and shipped to Philadelphia, a free city.

The box — labeled “This Side Up” and “Handle with Care” — measured just 3 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 2.5 feet deep. Brown spent 27 harrowing hours inside, enduring rough handling, being turned upside down multiple times, and receiving no food, no water, and little air. Miraculously, he survived.

When the box was finally opened by abolitionists in Philadelphia, Henry stood up and said:

“How do you do, gentlemen?”

Adding “Box” to his name in honour of his escape, Henry Box Brown became a symbol of defiance against the brutality of slavery. He toured the United States and the United Kingdom as a speaker, showman, magician, and advocate for the abolitionist movement — often reenacting his escape on stage to educate and inspire.

Brown eventually settled in Toronto, where he lived and worked for over a decade, performing across Ontario and continuing to share his story. Records show his final known performance was on February 26, 1889.

Henry Brown died in Toronto on June 15, 1897. He was 81-82.

1815-1816- 1897

The song sung by Mr. Brown on being removed from the box.