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Helen Pitts Douglass (1838–1903) was an American suffragist, known for being the second wife of Frederick Douglass. She also created the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association, [1] which became the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.
On the morning of January 25, 1884, Jane Pitts woke up to newspaper headlines that her daughter Helen, without her knowledge, had married the famous abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass.
- Early Life and Work
- Frederick Douglass
- Married Life
- Frederick Douglass’ Later Work and Travels
- Working to Memorialize Frederick Douglass
- Sources
Helen Pitts was born and raised in the small town of Honeoye, New York. Her parents, Gideon and Jane Pitts, had North American 19th-century Black activist views and participated in anti-enslavement work. She was the oldest of five children, and her ancestors included Priscilla Alden and John Alden, who had come to New England on the Mayflower. She ...
Frederick Douglass, the well-known North American 19th-century Black activist and civil rights leader and formerly enslaved person, had attended and spoke at the 1848 Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention. He was an acquaintance of Helen Pitts’ father, whose home had been part of the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad. In 1872 Douglass had been no...
On Jan. 24, 1884, Douglass and Helen Pitts were married in a small ceremony officiated by the Rev. Francis J. Grimké, at his home. Grimké, a leading Black minister of Washington, had also been enslaved from birth, also with a White father and an enslaved Black mother. His father’s sisters, the famous women’s rights and North American 19th-century B...
From 1886 to 1887, Helen and Frederick Douglass traveled together to Europe and Egypt. They returned to Washington, then from 1889 to 1891, Frederick Douglass served as the U.S. minister to Haiti, and Helen lived with him there. He resigned in 1891, and from 1892 to 1894, he traveled extensively, speaking against lynching. In 1892, he began to work...
After Douglass died, his will leaving Cedar Hill to Helen was ruled invalid, because it lacked enough witness signatures. Douglass’ children wished to sell the estate, but Helen wanted it as a memorial to Frederick Douglass. She worked to raise funds to establish it as a memorial, with the help of African American women including Hallie Quinn Brown...
Douglass, Frederick. Life and Times of Frederick Douglass. 1881.Douglass, Helen Pitts. In Memoriam: Frederick Douglass.1901.Harper, Michael S. “The love letters of Helen Pitts.” TriQuarterly. 1997."Marriage of Frederick Douglass." The New York Times, 25 Jan. 1884. https://www.nytimes.com/1884/01/25/archives/marriage-of-frederick-douglass.html- Jone Johnson Lewis
Helen Pitts Douglass (1838–1903) was an American suffragist, known for being the second wife of Frederick Douglass. She also created the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association, [1] which became the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.
Helen Pitts was a revolutionary woman within the conservative and restrictive nineteenth century world in which she lived. She was not afraid to express her love for a man of the opposite race or to appeal to the masses for the equal treatment and political and social rights of women.
Married Helen M. Pitts, a younger, white woman. Their interracial relationship caused a public controversy, as well as disapproval from many members of both families. Democrat Grover Cleveland elected President of the United States.
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An activist prior to their marriage, HELEN PITTS DOUGLASS, second wife of Frederick, was widowed after his 1895 death. According to Mr. Douglass’s will, Cedar Hill – their final home – was to be inherited by Helen Pitts Douglass. An error was found in the will and it was challenged in court.
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