Frederick Douglass Louise Tobias Dorsey, September 19, 1865
Rochester[, N.Y.] 19 Sept[ember] 1865.
MY DEAR MRS DORSEY:
I am greatly pleased by a line from you which has just reached me.1Louise Tobias Dorsey’s letter to Douglass has not survived. Our Kind Friend Carter Stewart2Born in Virginia, Carter A. Stewart (c. 1828-91) was a successful mixed-race barber who was prominent in the District of Columbia’s black community. In 1868 he was elected to the city’s common council, and in 1869 he was appointed to the board of aldermen. 1860 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 12; 1870 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 14; 1880 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 32-33; Scott E. Casper, Sarah Johnson’s Mount Vernon: The Forgotten History of an American Shrine (New York, 2008), 122; Kate Masur, An Example for All the Land: Emancipation and the Struggle Over Equality in Washington, D.C. (Chapel Hill, N.C., 2010), 153-54, 162. had informed me of the illness of Dear Maine3Mary Louise Dorsey Harlan’s familiar nickname was “Minnie.” before your note came to hand—and I rejoice to be assured that the precious child is again on her feet. I did not receive a single line from you while you were in New York—so you see your notes must have miscarried. Had I known that yourself and the Dear Mary were still in New
York, and Mary sick I Should have travelled from Rochester to have seen
her. It must have been a relief to you both to have Dorsey come over to see
you at New York. I know something of the skill of Doctor Cheveux4Probably Jean Fresne Chauveau (c. 1831-1903), who was a successful physician in New York City. Chauveau was born on the island of Martinique and received his medical degree from the Geneva (New York) Medical College in 1853. After graduation, he set up practice in Manhattan, where he remained for the rest of his life. In 1860 his race was listed as mulatto, as was that of his wife, Amina, and son, Frank. By 1880, however, when he was listed with a second wife, named Margaret, who was born in Russia, and his race was listed as white. This remained consistent through the 1900 Census. 1860 U.S. Census, New York, New York, 66; H. Wilson, comp., Trow’s New York City Directory, for the Year Ending May 1, 1865 (New York, 1864), 157; 1880 U.S. Census, New York, New York, 1880, 20; 1900 U.S. Census, New York, New York, 291; P. Brynberg Porter, ed., Yearbook of the Medical Association of the Greater City of New York (New York, 1904), 50.—
And also of the kindness of the Dear Reasons.5Possibly the family of Charles L. Reason. I am sure they were very
kind in their Attentions to you and Dear Maine. You express the hope
of seeing me and of having much to tell me. I sh[ould be] very glad both
to see and hear you. I am to speak in Chester Co. Pa on Friday of next
week and shall probably spend Thursday night at your house—if it shall
be convenient.6Although Douglass’s visit with the Dorsey family following a speech in Chester County cannot be confirmed, there is evidence that Douglass spoke at the third anniversary celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation in Avondale in the same Pennsylvania county on 22 September 1865. In a letter to Gerrit Smith dated 8 October 1865, which is also included in this volume, Douglass mentions that he has just returned from making speeches in Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore. New York Weekly Anglo-African, 14 October 1865; Douglass Papers, ser. 1, 4:xxi.
I have nothing very important or pressing to communicate. My sum-
mer has not been a very pleasant one; for I have been much at work.
Please remember me kindly to Dear Tom.7Thomas J. Dorsey. Tell him to touch her light, and save his health.
My household are all well, Love to you and yours. Your Friend
FREDK DOUGLASS.
ALS: Frederick Douglass Collection, Cty.