Collection Blog

A new showcase display at Dorset Museum & Art Gallery will focus on the little-known and extraordinary story of John Brown, who escaped enslavement in the USA and lived in Dorchester during the 1860s.

It has been curated by Jordan Cole, a student at Bath Spa University, and uses research from a number of sources to piece together Brown’s story. It is part of a series of projects Dorset Museum & Art Gallery will be working on over the next few years to research and reveal hidden histories, as part of their funded work in the Wessex Museums Partnership.

John Brown was born into enslavement in Virginia, USA around 1811. Brown faced significant trauma whilst he was enslaved. Through resilience and determination, he escaped in 1845 by travelling via the Underground Railroad to Michigan, where slavery had been abolished. He recounted: “I did know that if my master caught me and brought me back, I should get perhaps paddled or scourged nearly to death.”

In 1850 Brown moved to England to live as a free man. Like others who had escaped and emigrated to the UK, Brown went around the country giving lectures on what he had experienced, and the lectures helped raise support and funds to end the enslavement of people in the US. His book Slave Life in Georgia (1855) was published with the help of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society.

He spent 13 years living in the southwest, including from 1865 until 1870 in Dorchester where he made a living as a herbalist, residing in Durngate Street. He ran several advertisements marketing cures for a range of ailments which included testimonials from customers, detailing how effective his treatments were.

In 1868, while living in Dorchester, he gave a talk at the town’s Corn Exchange about his experiences of being enslaved, and to advocate for recently freed black people in the USA.

During the time Brown spent in the South West (which also included Yeovil and Trowbridge), he filed three court cases, mostly relating to his business and lack of payment from customers. In one, the judge warned the plaintiff he shouldn’t have trusted Brown to treat him, due to ‘the cunning generally ascribed to black men’. However, in a different case, the judge stated that ‘the black man must be protected as well as the white one’ and ruled in Brown’s favour.

Jordan Cole, Curator of the display says, “Researching John Brown’s strength and courage in escaping slavery and starting a new life here in Dorchester has been an amazing experience and I hope that this exhibition gives people the same opportunity I have in learning about his journey.”

Elizabeth Selby, Director of Collections and Public Engagement says: “This is an important display which reveals a story of which many people living in Dorchester and the wider county will be unaware. Brown’s experiences of enslavement were recounted in his book and he was able to escape and make a new life in the UK. The few sources available to us show that he was able to make a life here, but this must have been one of extraordinary struggle and resilience.”

The exhibit will be on display until Thursday 30 May 2024 and is included as part of your normal Museum entry ticket.