From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Henry Walton Bibb was born a slave in Shelby County, KY. He was the son of Mildred Jackson, a slave, and James Bibb, a white state senator who was also a slave holder.

Henry taught himself to read and write. He had many failed escape attempts, which eventually led to his being sold. Bibb was last owned by Native Americans before he escaped to Detroit, Michigan. He became an abolitionist lecturer and later moved to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, where he edited the Voice of the Fugitive newspaper. He also organized the Refugee Home Society for runaway slaves.

For more see Narrative of the life and adventures of Henry Bibb, an American slave, by H. Bibb [available online at the Documenting the American South website]; "Henry W. Bibb" in The Kentucky Encyclopedia; and "Death of Henry Bibb," New York Daily Times, 8/19/1854, p. 3.