American Abolitionists with Mystery of History

Just in time for Black History Month.

Frederick Douglass-Civil Rights leader.

*Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born in 1818 to a slave woman (Harriet Bailey) and (possibly) her white slave master (Aaron Anthony).  The exact date in 1818 is unknown.


*His mother Harriet was the only woman of color who could read in Tuckahoe, and his grandmother, Betsy Bailey, was a nurse.


*Douglass became separated from his mother at a young age.  She walked in the dark 12 miles back and forth to see him a handful of times in secret.

Anna

*Douglass wanted to read more than anything as a young boy.  He was taught by children who lived close to him.  He paid them with slices of bread for the lessons.  He learned every word in Webster's Spelling book


*Douglass attempted to escape from slavery at the age of 17 but he was caught and put in jail.  After this, he changed his name from Bailey to Johnson and then later to Douglass.

Helen

*He married a free black woman named Anna.  They were married 44 years before she died. Together they had five children.   Interestingly enough, his second wife was a white woman named Helen Pitts (her parents came over on the Mayflower, John and Priscilla Alden).  Pitts was 20 years younger than Douglass and the families were not supportive of the marriage.


*Douglass met with President Lincoln at least three times.

Four of the Douglass children

*Douglass was a republican.


*Douglass made $450 a year working for the American Antislavery Society.


*After slavery was officially abolished, he was paid $100+ for his speeches.  His most famous speech was Self Made Men.



*Douglass was the first African-American to hold a high U.S. government rank.

*Douglass died of a massive heart attack and died February 20, 1895 at his Cedar Hill house at the age of 77.  He is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, New York, in section A.

Cedar Hill

Fun facts:

~Did you know he was nominated to be vice president by the Equal Rights Party?

~He was also the first African-American to buy a house in the Washington area (Cedar Hill).

~Did you know Douglass was 6 feet 4 inches tall?  That is the same height as Lincoln!

~He liked to be fashionable and dress up.

~His favorite authors were Shakespeare and Dickens.

~Douglass was licensed to preach for the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

~He created the North Star Newspaper.

There are so many more things to the credit of  Douglass but as you can see from this brief outline, there is no doubt he was an eloquent speaker, a phenomenal politician, a great writer, and a very courageous man!

Learn more here and here.

My favorite Douglass quote.  Broken men cannot not be fixed and there are way too many running around today!

American Abolitionists with Mystery of History

*Like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Ross was born into slavery some time between 1819 and 1822 in Maryland.

*Her birth name was Araminta Ross, and she went by Minty.

With John Tubman 1844

*Her parents were Harriet Green and Benjamin Ross.



*When Harriet was 24 in 1844, she married a free African-American named John Tubman.

*She never gave birth to a child of her own but she did adopt a little girl with her second husband and named her Gertie.



*When Harriet was 12, she was hit in the head with a two-pound iron weight.  This was actually being thrown at another slave but hit Harriet instead.  After that, she had issues with narcolepsy.


*In 1851, Harriet freed herself using the Underground Railroad.  This was a network of safe houses and secret routes that enslaved Africans could use to escape to the north and Canada.

*She felt freedom for the first time when she crossed the Mason Dixon line.

*Harriet and Thomas Garret (a Quaker abolitionist from Delaware) help to free over 3000 enslaved Africans.  She was called the Moses of her people.

*Harriet's husband died during the Civil War, and she later married Nelson Davis.

*Harriet was a nurse, a solider, and a spy during the Civil War.  She never received one penny for her services.

*Did you know Harriet Tubman was the first female to guide an armed expedition in the war?  You do now!

*Later in her life, she worked hard for women's rights issues.

Left to right: Harriet Tubman; Gertie Davis [Tubman's adopted daughter]; Nelson Davis [Tubman's husband]; Lee Cheney; "Pop" Alexander; Walter Green; Sarah Parker ["Blind Auntie" Parker] and Dora Stewart [granddaughter of Tubman's brother, John Stewart].

*In the late 1890s, Harriet had brain surgery at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital, and she refused to have any anesthesia.  It is said she chewed on a bullet during her surgery.  She had seen Civil War soldiers do this when they were having amputations and other surgeries performed.

*Harriet died at the age of 91 on March 10, 1913 from pneumonia.  She is buried in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.  She was buried with military honors.

*Harriet Tubman is a very important figure in history and will be remembered for her unrelenting desire to free enslaved Africans and advocate for women's rights.

Read more at PBS.
Another blog post by me, Underground Railroad lantern craft.

Next up, Frederick Douglass.

Sojourner Truth - Mini Biography

American abolitionists with Mystery of History

MOH lesson 28 brings us to a few of the most important people in the history of the abolition of slavery.

First up, Sojouner Truth.

*She was born to James and Elizabeth Baumfree on a farm in Swartekill, New York in 1797.

*Her birth name was Isabella Baumfree but in 1843 she changed it.

*Sojouner was born a slave just like her ten siblings.

*Her master was Colonel Hardenbergh.

*A very intesting fact to point out is that Sojouner was only taught to speak Dutch.

*Colonel Hardenbergh died when Sojourner was 9 years old.

*She was then purchased, along with a flock of sheep, by John Neely for a mere $100.


*She was sold again in 1808 to Martinus Schryver for $105, and then again to John Durmont in 1810. I cannot believe we are still talking about a person being sold. Disgusting!

*Sojourner fell in love with a slave named Robert who lived nearby.  Robert's owner forbid the relationship and Robert was beaten to death.

*Sojourner later married a slave named Thomas, they had three children, Peter, Elizabeth, and Sophia.  Sojourner had two children before this marriage.  It is speculated that either Robert or her master John Durmont fathered these children.  They were James and Diana.  Sadly, James died during childhood.

*John Durmont sold Sojouner's 5-year-old son illegally in Alabama.  She took Mr. Durmont  to court over this, and she is the first African-American woman to win a case like this in the US history.

*Soujourner set out on a mission to abolish slavery.

*She was also lucky enough to meet President Lincoln, and she told him her story of her life and about being a slave.

*Sojourner died on November 26, 1883 at her home in Battle Creek, Michigan.  More than 3,000 were in attendance at her funeral service.

Next up Harriet Tubman.