William Wells Brown (1814-1884) also compiled "The Anti-Slavery Harp: A Collection of Songs for Anti-Slavery Meetings," pub. Boston, by B. Marsh, 1849.
Brown is called "the first black novelist" by Dena J. Epstein, 1977, "Sinful Tunes and Spirituals, Black Folk Music to the Civil War," Univ. Illinois Press, pp. 181-182.

Brown's father was a white slave-holder, George Higgins. He escaped in 1834, and by 1843 lectured on an anti-slavery circuit.
While still a slave, he was hired to Elijah P. Lovejoy, editor of the St. Louis Times, who Brown described as a good master and teacher. Otherwise, Brown was largely self-educated.

Brown probably wrote the song for his anti-slavery lectures, modeling it on "Uncle Ned" by Foster. "Clotel" was a novel and the episodes are fictional, however much they may be modeled on real life.