The Douglass family is a prominent American family originating from Cordova, Maryland, United States. It was founded by the politician and activist Frederick Douglass.
History Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, Frederick Douglass assumed the surname from the poem The Lady of the Lake (1810) by Sir Walter Scott after his escape from slavery to hide from his former master. He did this as a result of the proposal of a friend. As he explains in his first autobiography:
His family would later go on to become a part of the African-American upper class, continuing to provide leadership and intermarrying with descendants of the African-American educationist and political kingmaker Booker T. Washington.
Members in selection Frederick Douglass (c.1818–1895), statesman, writer Anna Murray Douglass (1813–1882) abolitionist, first wife of Frederick Douglass Rosetta Douglass-Sprague (1839–1906), teacher and activist Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry (1872–1943), philanthropist Lewis Henry Douglass (1840–1908), soldier Frederick Douglass, Jr. (1842–1892), abolitionist, essayist, newspaper editor, soldier Charles Remond Douglass (1844–1920), soldier, journalist, and real-estate developer Joseph Douglass (1871–1935), musician Helen Pitts Douglass (1838–1903), suffragist, second wife of Frederick Douglass
See also
List of things named after Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass Memorial Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge
References