# Charlotte — Father Henson’s Story of His Own Life character guide

> Charlotte in Father Henson’s Story of His Own Life by Josiah Henson.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0004-iii-my-boyhood-and-youth

## Who they are

Josiah's wife, whose steadiness across forced separations turns a marriage into a quiet act of resistance and a destination worth escaping toward.

## Relationships

### [Amos Riley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/characters/amos_riley)

_professional_

Amos Riley is the master of Charlotte, an enslaved woman, and their relationship is defined by exploitation and control.

## In the story

### [Father Henson's Story of His Own Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/father-henson-s-story-of-his-own-life)

Josiah's mother, whose defense by his father led to the father's brutal punishment and sale.

### [I: My Birth and Childhood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/i-my-birth-and-childhood)

Josiah's mother, a slave of Dr. Josiah McPherson, who was assaulted by the overseer.

### [My First Great Trial](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/ii-my-first-great-trial)

Josiah's mother, a deeply religious woman who prays fervently, is sold to Isaac Riley, and desperately begs to keep her youngest son, only to be violently kicked away.

### [My Conversion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/iv-my-conversion)

Urges Josiah to seek permission to attend the sermon, emphasizing the importance of taking up his cross despite fear of beatings.

### [V: Maimed for Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/v-maimed-for-life)

Not directly mentioned in this chapter; omitted.

### [A Responsible Journey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/vi-a-responsible-journey)

Josiah's wife, who accompanies him on the journey with their two children.

### [VII: A New Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/vii-a-new-home)

Henson's wife; mentioned as part of his family he seeks to free.

### [Return to Maryland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/viii-return-to-maryland)

Henson's wife, who questions him about how he raised the money and reveals the betrayal.

### [IX: Taken South, Away from Wife and Children](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/ix-taken-south-away-from-wife-and-children)

Josiah's wife; sews his manumission paper into his clothing before he departs.

### [XI: Providential Deliverance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/xi-providential-deliverance)

Josiah's wife; mentioned as part of the family from whom Josiah fears being separated.

### [Escape from Bondage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/xii-escape-from-bondage)

Josiah's wife, initially terrified and reluctant, but ultimately agrees to flee with him and their children.

### [Journey to Canada](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/xiii-journey-to-canada)

Josiah's wife, who collapses from exhaustion but is revived and continues the journey.

### [XIV: New Scenes and a New Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/xiv-new-scenes-and-a-new-home)

Josiah's wife, who falls sick along with the children after their arrival but later appreciates their new home.

### [Closing Up My London Agency](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/chapters/xxiii-closing-up-my-london-agency)

Josiah's beloved wife; lies at the point of death, reunites with Josiah, and dies peacefully after a few weeks.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/characters/charlotte
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/father_henson_s_story_of_his_own_life_se/characters