Anna Murray-Douglass
Encyclopedia
Anna Murray-Douglass was an American abolitionist, member of the underground railroad
, and the first wife of American social reformer and statesman Frederick Douglass
, from 1838 to her death.
, to Bambar(r)a and Mary Murray. Unlike her seven older brothers and sisters, who were born in slavery, Anna Murray and her younger four siblings were born free, her parents having been manumitted
just a month before her birth. A resourceful young woman, by the age of 17 she had established herself as a laundress and housekeeper. Her laundry work took her to the docks, where she met Frederick Douglass, who was then working as a caulker.
Murray's freedom made Douglass believe in the possibility of his own. When he decided to escape slavery in 1838, Murray encouraged him, and helped him by providing him with sailor's clothing, which her laundry work gave her access to, and by giving him part of her savings, which she augmented by selling one of her feather beds. After Douglass had made his way to Philadelphia and New York, Murray followed him, bringing enough goods with her to be able to start a household, and they were married eleven days later, on 15 September 1838. At first they took Johnson as their name; upon moving to New Bedford, Massachusetts
, they adopted Douglass as their married name.
Anna Murray-Douglass had five children within the first ten years of the marriage: Rosetta, Lewis, Frederick Jr., Charles and Annie. She helped support the family financially, working as a laundress and learning to make shoes, as Douglass's income from his speeches was sporadic and the family was struggling. She also took an active role in the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society
and prevailed upon her husband to train their sons as typesetters for his abolitionist newspaper, the North Star. After the family moved to Rochester, New York
, she established a headquarters for the underground railroad
from her home, providing food, board and clean linen for hundreds of fugitive slaves on their way to Canada
.
Anna Murray received little mention in Douglass's autobiographies; Henry Louis Gates has written that "Douglass had made his life story a sort of political diorama in which she had no role". His long absences from home, and her feeling that as a relatively uneducated woman she did not fit in with the social circles Douglass was now moving in, led to a degree of estrangement between them that was in marked contrast to their earlier closeness. Hurt by her husband's liaisons with other women, she nevertheless remained loyal to Douglass's public role; her daughter Rosetta reminded those who admired her father that his "was a story made possible by the unswerving loyalty of Anna Murray."
After the death of her youngest daughter Annie in 1860 at age 10 she was often in poor health; she died of a stroke in 1882 at the family home in Washington D.C. She was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery
in Rochester; her husband, too, was buried there after his death.
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
, and the first wife of American social reformer and statesman Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, from 1838 to her death.
Life
Anna Murray was born in Denton, MarylandDenton, Maryland
Denton is a town in Caroline County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,960 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caroline County. Denton is the birthplace of former Delaware governor Sherman W. Tribbitt and author Sophie Kerr, as well as the long time home of former Maryland...
, to Bambar(r)a and Mary Murray. Unlike her seven older brothers and sisters, who were born in slavery, Anna Murray and her younger four siblings were born free, her parents having been manumitted
Manumission
Manumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. In the United States before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished most slavery, this often happened upon the death of the owner, under conditions in his will.-Motivations:The...
just a month before her birth. A resourceful young woman, by the age of 17 she had established herself as a laundress and housekeeper. Her laundry work took her to the docks, where she met Frederick Douglass, who was then working as a caulker.
Murray's freedom made Douglass believe in the possibility of his own. When he decided to escape slavery in 1838, Murray encouraged him, and helped him by providing him with sailor's clothing, which her laundry work gave her access to, and by giving him part of her savings, which she augmented by selling one of her feather beds. After Douglass had made his way to Philadelphia and New York, Murray followed him, bringing enough goods with her to be able to start a household, and they were married eleven days later, on 15 September 1838. At first they took Johnson as their name; upon moving to New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, they adopted Douglass as their married name.
Anna Murray-Douglass had five children within the first ten years of the marriage: Rosetta, Lewis, Frederick Jr., Charles and Annie. She helped support the family financially, working as a laundress and learning to make shoes, as Douglass's income from his speeches was sporadic and the family was struggling. She also took an active role in the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society
Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society
The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist, interracial organization in Boston, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. "During its brief history .....
and prevailed upon her husband to train their sons as typesetters for his abolitionist newspaper, the North Star. After the family moved to Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, she established a headquarters for the underground railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
from her home, providing food, board and clean linen for hundreds of fugitive slaves on their way to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Anna Murray received little mention in Douglass's autobiographies; Henry Louis Gates has written that "Douglass had made his life story a sort of political diorama in which she had no role". His long absences from home, and her feeling that as a relatively uneducated woman she did not fit in with the social circles Douglass was now moving in, led to a degree of estrangement between them that was in marked contrast to their earlier closeness. Hurt by her husband's liaisons with other women, she nevertheless remained loyal to Douglass's public role; her daughter Rosetta reminded those who admired her father that his "was a story made possible by the unswerving loyalty of Anna Murray."
After the death of her youngest daughter Annie in 1860 at age 10 she was often in poor health; she died of a stroke in 1882 at the family home in Washington D.C. She was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery
Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester
Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York, founded in 1838, is the United States' first municipal rural cemetery. Situated on 196 acres of land adjacent to the University of Rochester on Mount Hope Avenue, the cemetery is the permanent resting place of over 350,000 people...
in Rochester; her husband, too, was buried there after his death.
External links
- My Mother as I Recall Her, by Rosetta Douglass Sprague (1900), The Frederick Douglass Papers at the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
- Painting of Anna Murray-Douglass on the website of the US National Park Service