Personal Vita
March, 2000
Frederick Douglass
[Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey; Frederick Douglass]
[source: Compiled and edited by Shirley A. Rowser, March 1, 2000; data obtained from various sources -- see the "references/bibliography" section
Some information may be found at the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data, Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895.
Bio/Historical Notes
Born a slave on Holmes Hill Farm, Talbot County, Maryland, and son of Harriet Bailey and a white man that he knew little about except his name, Master Aaron Anthony. He escaped from slavery and married Anna Murray, a free slave, in 1838. They were married for 44 years until Anna's death August 4, 1882. After Anna's death, he married his former secretary and a white woman, Helen Pitts, of Rochester, NY. Children (with Anna): Rosetta Douglass, Annie Douglass Sprague, Lewis Henry Douglass, Frederick Douglass, Jr., and Charles Remond Douglass. Was an agent for the Bristol Anti-Slavery Society lecturing against slavery. William Garrison, publisher of The Liberator, was his mentor. Supported the Women's Rights Convention held July, 1848, and cast the lone male vote in favor of it. Chosen vice-presidential candidate at the Liberal Party convention. Served as recruiter for the 54Th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment. Appointed Assistant Secretary to the Commission of Inquiry in the possible annexation of Santo Domingo. Nominated for vice-president by Equal Rights Party. Named president of Freedman's Savings and Trust Company. Appointed US Marshall of the District of Columbia. Appointed Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia. Appointed Charge d'Affaires for Santo Domingo and Minister Resident, and Consul General to Haiti by President Harrison. He died, at Cedar Hill, Anacostia section of Washington, DC. His body is buried in Rochester in Mount Hope Cemetery.
Birth Date
1818 (Exact date unknown)
Death Date
February 20, 1895
Source of Death Date
Meltzer, M. (1995). Frederick Douglass - In his own words. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company.
Education
Was taught beginning reading by his master's wife Sophia Auld. However, was basically self-taught through reading various literatures, particularly The Columbian Orator that he purchased for $.50. It was a collection of speeches and handbook on oratory. This is how he learned to put his thoughts into words.
Work History
1836-1838 Baltimore shipyards as a Caulker
1841-1895 Lecturer on the Anti-slavery movement, Abolitionist
1847-1860 Publisher of a weekly newspaper, North Star, later to be named Fredrick Douglass's Paper
1870 Owner and editor of The New National Era, weekly newspaper, in Washington, DC
1874 President of Freedman's Savings and Trust Company
1877 US Marshall of the District of Columbia
1881-1891 Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia
Associated Subjects
Lecturer on Anti-slavery
Black Men Rights
Voting Rights
Women's Rights
Associated People
Abby Kelley Foster
William Lloyd Garrison
President Abraham Lincoln
Wendell Phillips
Gerrit Smith
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Charles Sumner
Harriet Tubman
Mark Twain (Sam Clements)
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Associated Organizations
American Anti-Slavery Society
Equal Rights Party
Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment
Associated Events
The Civil War
Emancipation Convention
Free Soil Party Convention
Liberal Party Convention
Women's Rights Convention
The World Temperance Convention
Associated Places
Cedar Hill, Anacostia section of Washington, DC
Douglass Archives of American Public Address (Northwestern University)
Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center (Rochester, NY)
Publications
Douglass, F. (1845).The narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass: An American slave. Boston: The Anti-Slavery Office, No.25, Cornhill.
Douglass, F. (1855). My bondage and my freedom. [on-line]. Available: eng.hss.cmu.edu/race/bondage-and-freedom.txt.
Douglass, F. (1881). Life and times of Frederick Douglass: His early life as a slave, his escape from bondage, and his complete history to the present time. [on-line]. Available: metalab.unc.edu/docsouth/douglasslife/douglass.html.
References/Bibliography
Melzer, M. (1995). Frederick Douglass: In his own words. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company.
Stanton, E. C. , & Dubois, E. C. (1995). Eighty years and more reminiscenses:1815-1897. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Deeley, S. (1996). A Frederick Douglass chronology. [on-line]. Available: www.ggw.org/freenet/f/fdm/chronol.html.
Thomas, S. (1997). Frederick Douglass "Abolitionist/Editor". [on-line]. Available: www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/home.html.
References to
The Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center, Rochester, NY. See their webpage: www.ggw.org/freenet/f/fdm/.
The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Washington, DC. See their webpage: www.nps.gov/frdo/.
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