Star Democrat, “‘Her home was the council chamber of the free’: Anna Murray-Douglass focus of Lecture” [by Tom McCall, December 1, 2023]

DENTON — The Museum of Rural Life was abuzz with living history as Scottish professor Celeste-Marie Bernier gave a lecture on Anna Murray-Douglass, the wife Frederick Douglass.

The event was put on by the Caroline County Historical Society on Wednesday, Nov, 29. Vicki Wilson, secretary of the Frederick Douglass Honor Society, introduced Bernier.

“Celeste is the Professor and Chair of United States and Atlantic Studies at University Edinburgh in Scotland,” Wilson said. “She is an author and world-renowned historian.”

Anna Murray was born free in Denton.

Early in her relationship with Frederick Douglass, who was enslaved when Anna was free, she gave him all of her savings to run away to his freedom. He refused.

When she told him she loved him and that he could return the money later, he finally agreed. He escaped and eventually returned the money. They got married in New York City in 1838.

“She lived her life by the conviction that her home was the council chamber of the free,” said Bernier. Anna, working as an agent of the Underground Railroad, fed hundreds of people, day or night.

She worked with Harriet Tubman on the Eastern Shore, said Bernier.

In his writings, Frederick Douglass relates a story about a woman from Easton, who came to them for help.

“This poor woman’s back and shoulders had been literally hacked to pieces,” he said. “Three months ago, her cheek was branded with burning irons. We sat with her, and all she said was ‘I want to get to Canada.’”

Bernier, working from original source documents, delivered a lecture on Murray-Douglass with descriptions like, “freedom fighter,” “revolutionary liberator” and “human rights philosopher.”

Anna did not just sit in her kitchen baking biscuits. According to Bernier, Anna was an expert cook and could whip up everything from dishes from the African diaspora to European styles of cuisine. There were a lot of hungry people to feed, and at times she had to ask her own family to sacrifice food and a warm bed for someone else.

She was interested in how fashion could reflect a person’s wholeness. She designed a silk plum colored wedding dress for herself in 1830 in New York City. Anna worked tirelessly to help newly emancipated slaves by feeding them and giving them dignified clothes.

Anna knew the power of printing and publishing her own story. This control of her own representation was crucial. Her descendants knew this too and wrote to make the abolitionist cause manifest.

Bernier called Anna an “egalitarian human rights philosopher.” And she raised her five children to carry on this fight against white supremacy.

“They took that intergenerational pain, that intergenerational trauma, that inter-generations suffering, and they turned it into intergenerational liberation, intergenerational activism and a blueprint for what a world based on equal human rights would actually look like,” Bernier said.

Bernier said it is hard to estimate how many slaves Anna set free. One estimate is 1,200, but Bernier wonders if it is much higher.

The historian painted a picture of Anna as Frederick’s equal and protector. She said Frederick had a way with words, and Anna had a way with numbers.

Anna was always on the move to avoid persecution and to keep her husband safe, but the cause of liberty echoed loudly in the Douglass’ homes. Their final home was on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. They bought it with her money.

When Anna dies in 1882, 3,000 people attended her funeral.

After Bernier’s lecture, there was time for questions and mingling with coffee. The historian signed copies of her book “If I Survive,” which was also authored by Andrew Taylor.

Bernier opened her laptop to share images of the Douglass family with some of the abolitionists’ living relatives, who came to the lecture.

One descendent, Thelma Nichols of Denton, is a spry 97. She shared stories that her father had told her.

“It is exciting to know that I am a relative of someone as important as Anna,” said Deborah Murray-Dates of Cambridge, Anna’s great-niece. “Incredible.”

The Douglasses had five children. Rosetta Douglass Sprague, Lewis Henry Douglass, Frederick Douglass Jr., Charles Remond Douglass and Annie Douglass.

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Read the full story HERE

“The Lost History of the Fiancé of Frederick Douglass” [Virtual presentation -> March 20, 2023 & March 30, 2023 @ 7:30 PM]

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To recognize Women’s History Month 2023, learn about the long lost history of the fiancé of Frederick Douglass in this groundbreaking presentation.

Following the August 1882 death of Anna Murray Douglass, wife of Frederick Douglass for 44 years, her husband was crestfallen. However, Frederick Douglass remained active within Washington’s Black community attending weddings, school exhibitions, benefit events and political functions. By the spring of 1883 rumors began to emerge that Frederick Douglass was surprisingly engaged to a “young colored lady.” However, this engagement was broken off. In late January 1884 Frederick Douglass married Helen Pitts and the history of the “young colored” fiancé of Douglass was lost. Until now.

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**RSVP — Monday, March 20, 2023 @ 7:30 PM**

** RSVP — Thursday, March 30, 2023 @ 7:30 PM **

Did Anna Murray parlez-vous français? Pourquoi, bien sûr.

Les historiens ne vous l’ont pas encore dit, donc vous ne savez pas.

Frederick (Bailey) Douglass était un francophile noir américain en raison de l’influence de sa femme honorée et digne; Anna du Tuckahoe.

Frederick ne pouvait pas briser les coins et les communautés avec des réfugiés haïtiens, priant dans une langue étrangère à une nation étrangère, tout comme Anna.

“Le regard blanc” du honteux Leigh Fought, et presque tous les historiens blancs qui ont déjà étudié Douglass, n’ont jamais compris la complexité d’Anna.

Les femmes blanches ne devraient plus jamais écrire sur Anna Murray après le travail honteux de Leigh Fought.

Anna Murray était une abolitionniste internationale une décennie avant que le monde n’entende parler de son mari.

Nous savons qui sont ces historiens honteux: David Blight, Leigh Fought, John Stauffer, Celeste Marie-Bernie et toute l’équipe d’historiens des mensonges blancs.

Anna Murray a été affiliée et initiée avec des abolitionnistes internationaux à l’adolescence; elle garde un évêque de l’Église épiscopale méthodiste africaine sur le Tuckahoe. Anna Murray a eu du respect sur chaque crique de la côte est et à l’angle de la ville de Baltimore.

Nous devons élever l’histoire, l’âme et l’esprit d’Anna Murray; le héros le plus méconnu du mouvement abolitionniste international. Sans Anna, nous ne connaîtrions pas Frédéric.

Nous avons été élevés par des grands-mères, des tantes, des sœurs, des cousines, des dames d’église, des bibliothécaires, des enseignants et des gardiens du coin dans l’esprit d’Anna Murray. Par conséquent, nous devons raconter une fois et pour toujours l’histoire perdue.

Thank you Caroline County Public Library for uplifting the lost local history of Dr. Frederick Douglass! (February 9, 2019)

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DENTON, Maryland (Caroline County):
February 9, 2019

On a weekend of competing interests for local Shore historians and Douglassonians with overlapping events happening in Cambridge and Annapolis, reportedly seventy people of all ages and nationalities huddled into the second-floor large meeting room of the Denton Branch Library to hear the debut presentation of “Lost History of Frederick Douglass in Caroline County” by John Muller, author Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C.: The Lion of Anacostia.

With authorization from Old Anacostia Douglassonians and support from families with ancestral origins in Caroline County and the Eastern Shore before American Independence, the presentation provided an abbreviated introduction into the interconnectedness of the families of Anna Murray, Bishop Alexander Wayman, Frederick (Bailey) Douglass and Perry (Bailey) Downs.

Chronicled in contemporary newspapers in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Delaware and the Eastern Shore, details of a previously unknown visit Dr. Douglass made to Caroline County were briefly shared.

Continuing to uplift the lost history of Frederick Douglass in Maryland with support of public libraries across the state, Muller will present “Lost History of Frederick Douglass in Western Maryland,” Tuesday, February 12 at the Fletcher Branch of the Washington County Library in downtown Hagerstown. On the evening of Thursday, February 28, Muller, along with Dr. Ida E. Jones, author and Morgan State University Archivist, will present “Lost History of Frederick (Bailey) Douglass in Baltimore” at the main branch of the Enoch Pratt Library in downtown Baltimore City.

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— **SPECIAL THANKS** — 

Tara Coursey, Amanda Watson & Debbie Bennett (Caroline County Public Library)
Dr. Linda Duyer (Eastern Shore community historian, pending nomination as City Historian for Salisbury, Maryland)
Mrs. Robinson and the Greensboro Teen Activity Group
Eric Zhang, unofficial official photographer of the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Celebration
Honorable Ken B. Morris, Jr., Chairman Professor Dale Glenwood Green, Honorable Tarence Bailey, Sr. (US Army, ret.)
Members of the Bailey, Coursey, Green, Murray and Wayman families
Becky Riti, Maryland Room; Easton Branch of Talbot County Free Library
Cassandra Vanhooser (Talbot County Economic Development and Tourism)
Ceres Bainbridge (Caroline County Office of Tourism)
Jim Dawson of Unicorn Bookshop
Star Democrat (Jack Rodgers, Dustin Holt and Abby Andrew)
Talbot Spy (Dave Whelan)
Master Historian John Creighton (Cambridge, Maryland)
Master Historian William Alston-El (Old Anacostia, SE Washington, DC.)
Dr. Ed Papenfuse, retired archivist of the state of Maryland
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
16th & W Street Douglassonians
Choptank River Heritage (Don Barker)
Denton Town Councilwoman Doncella Wilson (Denton Fireflies)
Dedra Downes Hicks
Ridgely Historical Society, Greensboro Historical Society, Preston Historical Society and Caroline County Historical Society
St. Michaels Museum at St. Mary’s Square (Kate & Jeff Fones)
Dorchester County Historical Society
Secrets of the Eastern Shore
Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center (Bill Jarmon & Donald Pinder)

“LOST HISTORY: Frederick Douglass in Caroline County, Maryland” [Sat., February 9, 2019 – 1:30 PM @ Caroline County Central Library – Denton]

LOST HISTORY:
Frederick Douglass in Caroline County, Maryland

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2019 – 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM

** CAROLINE COUNTY CENTRAL LIBRARY – DENTON **
100 MARKET STREET
DENTON, MARYLAND 21629

In recognition of the consequential Eastern Shore history of Dr. Frederick (Bailey) Douglass, a special presentation will be made on Saturday, February 9, 2019 at the Caroline County Central Library in Historic Denton, Maryland detailing a previously unknown visit Douglass made to Caroline County in the fall of 1883.

With the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial being celebrated and recognized throughout the country, and world, the local impact and significance of his life can often be overlooked. Based in Washington, D.C., local historian John Muller made headlines in the Star Democrat last September introducing and presenting research detailing previously unknown visits Douglass made to Cambridge in Dorchester County.

The subject of biographies and focus of manuscripts for generations, including Young Frederick Douglass: The Maryland Years by Eastern Shore historian Dickson J. Preston, the fuller and more complete story of Dr. Douglass on the Shore has yet to be told.

Join local history enthusiasts and community leaders for a debut presentation detailing a previously unknown high-profile visit Dr. Douglass made to Denton, Maryland, arriving by train, escorted through town by a brass band from Centreville, speaking at the old county courthouse and departing by boat.

Following the presentation will be a Q&A.

Featured Presenters
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Denton Town Councilwoman Doncella Wilson, a native of Queen Anne’s County, will offer introductory remarks. Wilson is the founder of the FireFlies Denton, a community-based organization that recognizes outstanding youth and advocates, and serves in a variety of leadership roles and advocacy positions.

John Muller is the author of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C: The Lion of Anacostia (2012) and Mark Twain in Washington, D.C.: The Adventures of a Capital Correspondent (2013) and is at work on Lost History: Frederick Douglass and Maryland’s Eastern Shore. He will be presenting “The Lost History of Frederick Douglass in Western Maryland” at the Washington County Central Library in Hagerstown February 12, 2019 and “Lost History: Frederick (Bailey) Douglass in Baltimore” at the Enoch Pratt Central Library in Baltimore on February 28, 2019.

Invited Elected Officials, Community Leaders and Organizations

Invitations will be extended to Denton Mayor Abigail W. McNinch, members of the Denton Town Council, Caroline County Historical Society, Ridgley Historical Society, Maryland Commission on African-American History and Culture, Caroline County Office of Tourism, Caroline County Commissioners, elected officials within the Maryland State Senate and Maryland State Assembly representing Caroline County, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, University of Maryland-College Park, Salisbury University’s Edward H. Nabb Research Center, Dean of the Frederick Douglass Library at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, Maryland Humanities Council, National Museum of African-American History and Culture, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, members of the Douglass and Bailey Family and others.

CONTACT:

Tara Hill-Coursey
North County Branch Manager
thill-coursey@carolib.org / 410.482.2173

Caroline County Central Library – Denton

The Caroline County Central Library is located in downtown Denton at First and Market Street. The library is easily accessible by car from Easton, Cambridge, Baltimore and Washington, D.C with a parking lot behind the library and available street parking throughout Denton.

Denton, Maryland is the county seat of Caroline County, Maryland and includes stops on the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.

For more information on the program and/or directions please call 410.479.1343 or visit http://www.carolib.org/.

“On the Life of Black Abolitionist Anna Murray Douglass” by Professor Leigh Fought (AAIHS)

On the Life of Black Abolitionist Anna Murray Douglass

By Leigh Fought November 29, 2018 0

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*This post is part of our online forum on the life of Frederick Douglass.

Anna Murray Douglass helped Frederick escape from slavery, and continued to support his abolitionist work for the rest of her life (Wikimedia Commons).

 

Point Boys Douglassonians: Dr. Edward Papenfuse, Maryland State Archivist, retired, presents on the Baltimore Anna Murray and Frederick Bailey left behind.

UPDATE: Was Anna Murray Douglass still buried in DC when Frederick Douglass died in 1895?

A couple days ago I posted a clipping from the Baltimore Sun indicating Anna Murray Douglass was buried in Graceland Cemetery within days of her death on August 4, 1882. I then called the clerk of Mount Hope Cemetery who told me their records indicate Anna Murray Douglass was buried there in 1882, but didn’t have the exact date of her internment. Fair enough.

NY Times, Feb. 22, 1895

A friend and a reader have since sent an article I’d overlooked from February 22, 1895 revealing that upon Frederick’s death in Washington in February 1895, his children intended to “disinter” Anna, who was still buried in DC, now at Glenwood Cemetery (as Graceland Cemetery closed in July 1894), and move her to Rochester to rest alongside Frederick, and their youngest daughter, Annie.

I called over to Glenwood Cemetery on Lincoln Road NE and spoke with Walter, the superintendent. I explained all the background and said I was trying to get to the bottom of this mystery. Ever gracious Walter gave a thorough once-over through the card files and internment book from 1894 until 1896. This would have covered Anna’s possible move from Graceland and/or her disinterment, right Well, Walter didn’t see anything but extended the invitation to come over and check the books out in person, if I’d like.

What I find interesting is, that if Anna Murray Douglass was moved from Graceland to Glenwood, she was moved to what Richardson calls one of the city’s “big five” white cemeteries of the last nineteenth/early 20th century. Those five being, Oak Hill, Rock Creek, Congressional, Glenwood, and Mount Olivet, which was a biracial burial ground. The “big five” of Washington’s black cemeteries of this time, Richardson writes, were Harmony, Payne’s (east of the river), Mount Olivet, Mount Zion, and Mount Pleasant.

Now, back to Mount Hope. The New York Times clipping must be read with a certain level of critical perspicacity. At the time of Frederick’s death in 1895, Rosetta, his oldest daughter, was alive, but his youngest daughter Annie, had been dead for thirty-five years. So, only one of Douglass’ daughters was buried in Rochester, not two.

Calling Mount Hope I spoke with Lydia Sanchez, a clerk at Mount Hope Cemetery which is run by the city of Rochester. I explained Lydia my quandary. Once again, Lydia confirmed that according to Mount Hope’s records Anna Murray Douglass was buried in 1882. It wasn’t until 1888 that datebooks of burials were kept.

With this info, is it correct to say that if Anna Murray Douglass was buried in Mount Hope in late February or early March 1895 alongside her husband of 44 years there would be an exact date. I have a whole collection of newspaper accounts of Douglass’s funeral service in DC and Rochester and his subsequent burial in Rochester that I can examine as well as letters. This is not something I had expected to find, but it’s been found nonetheless.

Foner, Quarles, and McFeely don’t really get into detail about Anna’s death and burial. Deadrich in Love Across Color Lines does go there, stating that Anna was brought to Rochester and buried there right after her death. Her citation does nothing to prove her claim. While Douglass’ other biographers didn’t step up to bat on this one, Diedrich did. But she struck out.

My main man, Frederic May Holland, and his blasphemously ignored work 19th century work on Douglass, may come the closest to to giving some valuable clues to solving his mystery.

Will look into this further and get up another post. To be continued….