Julia O. Henson
Julia O. Henson (October 1852 – after 1922) was an American social justice activist and leader. She was born Julia W. O'Ree in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and moved to the United States in 1883. In Boston, she worked as a dressmaker and lived in a boarding house. She married George D. Henson on September 12, 1894, and by 1900 they ran a rooming house on Holyoke Street with 19 residents. After her husband died on October 23, 1909, she lived alone in a mortgaged house on Arie Street and supported herself as a dressmaker.
Henson was active in advancing opportunities for African Americans. In 1904 she donated her home to Harriet Tubman to be used as a residence for unmarried African American women who lacked access to dormitories or quality housing. She served as president of the Harriet Tubman House, and Tubman visited Boston and stayed there at times.
She worked with Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin to found the African American Northeastern Federation of Women's Clubs and was a co-founder of the NAACP. At the outbreak of World War I, Ruffin, Henson, and Maria L. Baldwin helped establish the Soldier's Comfort Unit to support African American troops. She also gave public talks, including a 1908 address in New York City on “What a Young Woman can do to make a happy home.”
Julia O. Henson died sometime after 1922.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:52 (CET).