
Henrietta Wood and her ground-breaking lawsuit
BY ANTOINE J. DAVIS / VN STAFF WRITER
A simple question – “did she win?” – about an obscure historical figure took center stage Tuesday, Feb. 2, for the first Black History Month guest lecture this year.
This question was posed by the director of the Chicago branch of the National Archives regarding the lawsuit filed by a former slave against her kidnapper in the 19th century.
“On one level that question was easy for me to answer,” said Caleb McDaniel, winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for history on his Zoom talk before an online forum of about 65 participants. “I already knew that Henrietta Wood had won her case.”
McDaniel had already read the court papers and interviews that proved as much.
But this simple three-word question went deeper than a verdict, and McDaniel challenged the audience to consider it while he outlined the difficult life of Wood for a little over 45 minutes.
As McDaniel and the audience would discover, that modest monetary judgment would greatly impact the lives of Wood, her son and future generations.
Born to slaves in 1820, Wood spent her early years shuffled between the families of two wealthy merchants after being separated from her family at the age of 14.
Wood’s fortune changed though when the wife of her last owner moved her to Cincinnati in the free state of Ohio.
“According to the laws at the time,” McDaniel said, “Henrietta Wood had to register at the county courthouse as a free woman.”
Woods was later interviewed having said that she remembered her first five years as her “sweet taste of liberty,” the title of McDaniel’s award-winning book.
However, freedom did not drastically change Wood’s lifestyle.
She was still only able to get work as a domestic and many times without wages.
Danger also still lurked just across the river from Ohio in her birth state of Kentucky.
Somehow, Woods was tricked, kidnapped and re-enslaved by Covington, KY, Sheriff Zebulon Ward in 1853.
Woods would spend the next 17 years living from Kentucky to Texas trying to regain her freedom.
After successfully finding her way back to Ohio in 1870, Wood retained a lawyer and filed a lawsuit against Ward for lost wages.
Woods won her lawsuit, and he was ordered to pay her $2,500.
“The largest known sum ever awarded by a U.S. court,” McDaniel said.
Remember the question posed earlier.
Did this landmark case benefit Woods or her family?
After winning her case, she moved to Chicago with her son, whom she had given birth to during that period of re-enslavement.
Her son, Arthur H. Simms, was able to buy a house and fund an education for himself.
Simms became a lawyer and practiced until his death in 1951.
Many of Woods’ descendants led successful lives.
In McDaniel’s opinion, Woods did win, because the restitution positively impacted her life and the lives of her descendants.
Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly
More VN News Articles
- Bolden breaks barriers on state Supreme Court
- ‘De-Stress’ event will celebrate end of year
- Students sound off on latest tuition increase
- ‘Include everyone in the conversation,’ PR pro says
Recent VN News Articles
Discuss This Article
MOST POPULAR VN

Bolden breaks barriers on state Supreme Court By Isabella Filary

‘Mario’ movie packs fun, nostalgia By Jorge Reyna, Jr.

Senior track athlete chases dental dreams By Kara Wolfbauer

‘De-Stress’ event will celebrate end of year By Lorenzo Izzi
GET TOP STORIES DELIVERED WEEKLY
FOLLOW OUR NEWSPAPER
LATEST VN NEWS
- Bolden breaks barriers on state Supreme Court
- ‘Mario’ movie packs fun, nostalgia
- Theologian explains Transpacific cultures
- Senior track athlete chases dental dreams
- Studies show benefits of a 4-day workweek
- Does NBA’s most valuable player award still matter?
- Leading a non-profit at 21 brings joys, challenges
RECENT VN CLASSIFIEDS
OUTSIDE THE LINES
- What You Need To Know About Marfan Syndrome
- As Extreme Disasters Mount, Help Ensure No One Faces...
- Save Time, Save Money And Go See The World
- Even Good Dogs Have Bad Days
- Understanding Sickle Cell Disease
- What to Know About Pregnancy and COVID Vaccines
- What to Know About Pregnancy and COVID Vaccines
- What to Know About Pregnancy and COVID Vaccines
- What to Know About Pregnancy and COVID Vaccines
- Postal Service Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the...
FROM AROUND THE WEB
- Custom Rings Are the Perfect Fit for Special Occasions
- How to Think About AI in the Workforce
- CARSTAR Kick Starts Summer with Yeti® Cooler and Swag ...
- BookBites: A Modern Fable About Preparing for Your Future
- How to Make 'Trying' Less Trying
- Self-Help, Mystery, the Afterlife and Animal Rescue
- From High School to High Pay and a Personally Rewarding...
- 10 Pool Opening Tips for Swim Season 2023
- Top Water Safety Tips for Kids and Families this Summer
- How to Help Your Aging Parents
COLLEGE PRESS RELEASES
- DOSOMETHING.ORG LAUNCHES GENERATION FUTURE AWARD TO RECOGNIZE YOUTH LEADERS FUELING CHANGE
- The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Announces Study Abroad Grant Recipients
- Shoff Promotions Comic Book & Sports Card Show
- Earth Day Bombshell: An Open Letter to the UN Provides Educators, Psychologists and Students With Suppressed Remedies for our Broken World Lies and Painful War on Nature.
- Leading Publisher, Taylor & Francis, Hosts Webinar for Researchers in Environmental Sciences on How to Get Published, Make an Impact and Save the Planet