Historic Frederick Douglas Marker

Frederick Douglas, born February 1817 - died February 28th, 1895, was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. Douglas would learn how to read in secret at a young age which would lead him to learn about the anti-slavery movement. On September 3, 1838, Douglas would escape slavery in Maryland and would move on to be a national leader of the abolitionist movement. Douglas would go on to head several equal rights movements throughout his life.

Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born around 1818 into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland. Due to being born a slave the exact date of Fredericks's birth is unknown, but later in his life, he would choose to celebrate it on February 14th. Frederick would be raised by his grandmother Betsey Bailey at the Holme Farm where he was born. [1] In 1824 Frederick would move to a plantation on the Wye River, where he would live with his three siblings Perry, Sarah, and Eliza. Frederick's mother would pass away in 1826 when Frederick was only ten years old. [1] The same year of his mother's death Frederick would be sent to Baltimore to live with Hugh Auld and his wife Sophia.

[2] Defying a ban on teaching slaves to read and write, Baltimore slaveholder Hugh Auld’s wife Sophia taught Frederick the alphabet when he was around 12. This halt to his teaching did not stop Frederick however as he would continue to learn through his interactions with others and through news articles he would obtain. In 1835 Frederick would make an escape attempt but would be discovered and jailed for his efforts. He would later be released and then returned to Baltimore to work as a caulker in a Baltimore shipyard. After joining the East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society, a debating club for free Black men, Frederick would meet Anna Murray his future wife. 

On September 3, 1838, Frederick would escape slavery thanks to the papers loaned to him by several free Black sailors. [1] Fredrick would escape to New York where he would change his last name to Johnson.  On September 15, 1838, Frederick marries Anna Murray. The two of them move to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where Frederick works as an unskilled laborer. [1] Frederick and Anna move in with Mary and Nathan Johnson. Nathan suggests that Frederick take on the last name Douglas, from a character in Sir Walter Scott's poem The Lady of the Lake. He does so, spelling it Douglass. [2] After settling as a free man with his wife Anna in New Bedford in 1838, Douglass was eventually asked to tell his story at abolitionist meetings, and he became a regular anti-slavery lecturer. Frederick and Anna would have their first daughter on June 24, 1839 and would name her Rosetta. In 1840 the couple would have their 2nd child a son named Lewis.

In 1841 Frederick speaks at an antislavery meeting in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It is here where Fredrick becomes closely allied with Garrison and his abolitionist views. On October 21, 1844 Fredericks second son Charles Remond is born. In 1845 Frederick Douglass would publish his first book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. [1] In 1847 Frederick would move to New York and with the funds given to him by English and Irish friends he would buy a printing press. Using it Frederick would publish the abolitionist weekly North Star until 1851. [3] In addition to abolition, Douglass became an outspoken supporter of women’s rights. In 1848, he was the only African American to attend the Seneca Falls convention on women's rights. Elizabeth Cady Stanton asked the assembly to pass a resolution stating the goal of women's suffrage.

On March 22nd, Fredericks's daughter Annie is born. In 1859 Frederick fleed to Canada and then to England out of fear of being arrested for being an accomplice in John Brown's raid on the federal arsenal. In March of 1860 while Frederick was still in England his daughter Annie passed away. This lead Frederick to return to the United States where he was not charged in the John Brown raid. In 1855 Frederick would publish his second autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom. [1] In 1863 due to the start of the American Civil War Douglass became a recruiter for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first regiment of African-American soldiers; his sons Lewis and Charles join the regiment. On August 10th, 1863 Frederick would meet with current president Abraham Lincoln to discuss unequal pay and poor treatment of Black troops. On April 9th, 1865 the American civil war comes to an end. Five days later Abraham Lincoln would be assassinated. 

In 1872 the Equal Rights Party nominated Douglass for vice-president of the United States on a ticket headed by Victoria C. Woodhull. In 1881 Frederick publishes his third and final autobiography, The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. [1] On February 20th, 1895 after speaking at a meeting of the National Council of Women in Washington D.C. Frederick dies suddenly that evening of heart failure while describing the meeting to his wife.

[1] - “1818 To 1835 : Frederick Douglass Timeline : Articles and Essays : Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of Congress : Digital Collections : Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress. Accessed December 14, 2021. https://www.loc.gov/collections/frederick-douglass-papers/articles-and-essays/frederick-douglass-timeline/1818-to-1835/. 

[2] - “Frederick Douglass.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, July 15, 2021. https://www.biography.com/activist/frederick-douglass. 

[3] - “Frederick Douglass.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed December 14, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/frdo/learn/historyculture/frederickdouglass.htm.