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John Henry, hero of a widely sung African American folk ballad. It describes his contest with a steam drill, in which John Henry crushed more rock than did the machine but died “with his hammer in his hand.”.
History. The historical accuracy of many of the aspects of the John Henry legend are subject to debate. [1] [2] According to researcher Scott Reynolds Nelson, the actual John Henry was born in 1848 in New Jersey and died of silicosis and not due to exhaustion of work. [4]
- 1840s or 1850s
- American folk hero
Folklorists have long thought John Henry to be mythical, but historian Scott Nelson has discovered that he was a real person—a nineteen-year-old from New Jersey who was convicted of theft in a Virginia court in 1866, sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary, and put to work building the C&O Railroad.
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Dec 9, 2020 · John Henry was a steel drivin' man / He died in West Virginia / With his hammer in his hand. Yet the song remains true to the basic story, which continues to resonate with audiences today.
Apr 13, 2024 · The origin of the John Henry legend can be traced back to the late 19th century, during the height of railroad construction in the United States. According to folklore, John Henry was a steel driver—a manual laborer tasked with hammering steel drills into rock to create holes for explosives.
Aug 1, 2013 · Here is a video from the historic album: The make-up of the story is four-fold: (1)a prophecy as a child that John Henry would die with his hammer in his hand; (2)the events leading up to the contest; (3)the contest and the death of John Henry; (4)his wife’s reaction to his death.5.
He was born a slave in the 1840's but was freed after the war. He went to work as a steel-driver for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, don't ya know. And John Henry was the strongest, the most powerful man working the rails.
