CHARLES R. DOUGLASS TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS

[Washington, D.C.]¹Charles Douglass added “Third Auditors Office” to his address. 13 May 1873.

DEAR FATHER,

My intentions yesterday on seeing you were simply to deny , and
charges of an improper character that have been made against me.²As noted in this letter, Charles attributed the strains in his marriage to his wife’s long-standing jealousy as well as to a general sense that she did not quite meet, in class or education, his brothers’ (or more importantly, their wives’) expectations of a suitable spouse for one of Frederick Douglass’s sons. The extent to which Charles’s ongoing financial difficulties, the death of their daughter Annie Elizabeth in July 1872, the recent birth of their fourth child, Julia Ada, in January 1873, and ill health may have also contributed to Libbie Douglass’s distress seems to have gone largely unnoticed, or at least unremarked upon, by her husband. Bernier and Taylor, , 36–37; Fought, , 223, 268, 310, 358n.
I begged Libbie not to go to you, I asked her to listen to me but she was
fired up by outside influence and would not listen, and now in justice to
myself I must now afflict you with my statement. On Sunday night I went
into the barn as I have done before going to bed for some time past, to see
that all was right, and to put Manny’s³Charles is probably referring to his brother Frederick’s brother-in-law, Emanuel D. Molyneaux Hewlett (1850–1929). Hewlett was born in Brooklyn, New York, but raised in Boston, where he was educated at a local preparatory school. In 1877, he graduated from Boston University Law School and practiced there until 1880, when he joined his sister Virginia Hewlett Douglass in Washington, D.C. A highly regarded criminal defense attorney who specialized in defending African Americans and their rights, Hewlett was admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1883. He subsequently served as counsel or cocounsel on ten cases heard by the Court. In 1890 he was appointed justice of the peace for the District of Columbia by President Benjamin Harrison and was reappointed to that same post by Presidents Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt, serving continuously through 1906. Washington , 22 September 1929; R. Volney Riser, (Baton Rouge, La., 2010), 43; John Clay Smith, (Philadelphia, 1993), 131–33; Find a Grave (online). little rat dog in the barn in order to
protect the little chickens. When I left door, Freds door⁴Although the 1873 city directory for Washington, D.C., lists Charles Douglass’s address as Nichols Avenue and Frederick Douglass, Jr.’s as Barry Farm, they were neighbors. Nichols Avenue ran through the center of the Barry Farm neighborhood, and it appears that Charles’s house was on Nichols Avenue, and his brother’s house must have been located either behind or beside his, with a fence separating the two properties. In 1875, both brothers were listed as living on Nichols Avenue in Hillsboro, according to the city directory. Hutchinson, , 89; Muller, , 95–96; “U.S., City Directories, 1822–1995.” was open and
I heard them talking aloud Manny’s voice above the rest, I called the dog
and he followed me to the barn, I stooped down to pick him up and he ran
behind Freds barn, I followed him on my side of the fence and stood still
waiting for him to come around, <and> while waiting I looked around and
saw Lizzie Smith⁵Based on the available evidence, it is possible that Lizzie Smith might have been the young Maryland-born African American woman (c. 1851) who was working as a domestic servant for a well-off white widow named Harriet Mitchell, who first appears in the 1870 census. 1870 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 273; “U.S., City Directories, 1822–1995.” coming out of Freds. I suppose I called for her to come
to the corner opposite to where I stood so that the dog would allow her
to pick him up, he being shy of me, Lizzie said “No Mr. Charles it is too
muddy[”]and immediately went towards Freds. house, thinking I heard
the dog coming back I stepped aside that he might not see me, and immediately Libbie who was standing in the door called out “I have caught
you! “I have caught you!” Not thinking of Lizzie <Smith> at the moment
I said caught who! when she said Lizzie and myself together. Lizzie then
said [“]do you think I have been with Mr. Charles” Knowing that Libbie
had become angry at me on coming home at something I had said about a
young man who she was acquainted with by the name of Simmons,⁶The identity of Simmons remains uncertain. According to the 1873 Washington, D.C., city directory, at least twenty-five men named Simmons resided there, with occupations including laborer, policeman, waiter, and sexton. At least one of the men, George Simmons, was, like Charles R. Douglass, a clerk at the Treasury Department, and another, William H. Simmons, was a student at Howard University. Without more information to go on, however, there is no way to determine which of these men was the “young” Simmons about whom Charles and his wife were arguing. “U.S., City Directories, 1822–1995.” and
the company he kept, I simply said to her that I knew her object in raising
the cry she did, and after reminding her of the many times I had done the
same thing with reference to catching the dog I went into the house. She
made me angry at the time but as the same thing had been charged to me
before I made up my mind to say nothing know[ing] that she had no foundation for her action. Yesterday after I left for the Office, she called Lizzie
to her and questioned her, cautioning her to tell the truth and threatening
to have her arrested if she did not. Lizzie told her substantially what I have
told you in the foregoing. She then asked Lizzie to say my intentions were
improper or rather she tried to get Lizzie to give that as her idea. After that
she went to you and I dont know what she has told you, but she informed
me this morning that you had taken sides against me and said that you

would not have done what you have for me, had you known this before.
Were I guilty of an improper act I should not desire to see you, neither did
I think you could give credence to such an improbable charge. A bright
moonlight night, with every body astir, for Libbie nor Rosetta⁷Most likely this is Rosetta Douglass Sprague. had retired,
Manny was standing at an upper window and Fred. & Virginia⁸Virginia L. M. Hewlett Douglass. were in
their room with their light lit, and both houses were open. Without having had any previous conversation with Lizzie or even knowing that she
would allow improper conduct.

I must be set down as a terrible passionate person in view of all these
circumstances, and a jealous wife to attempt any such thing at my own
door. Libbie is incurably jealous, has been since we first married, and has
to made me feel sore on many an occasion. Only a few days ago when
Miss Peirson⁹The editors have not been able to identify anyone by this name working in either the District of Columbia’s school system or the Treasury Department during this time period. But the woman in question might have been a member of the English Quaker family with whom Charles lived in Lockport, New York, after John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. At least two of Thomas and Hannah Smith Peirson’s daughters, Elizabeth (1826–aft. 1900) and Mary Ann (1833–aft. 1900), seem to have maintained long-term friendships with members of the Douglass family. 1870 U.S. Census, New York, Niagara County, 73; 1900 U.S. Census, New York, Niagara County, 163; Fought, , 170–71, 179, 241, 270; “England and Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578–1837.” was at the table and I said something to her about my duties at the Office Libbie not hearing what I said charged me with saying
something I ought not to say. Whether Miss Peirson understood the meaning of her remarks or not I cant say, but fearing that she did I spoke up
and asked Miss Peirson to repeat to Libbie what I had said and she did so,
and I told Miss Peirson right before her that Libbie was jealous. I had to
say something to explain her conduct and to keep Miss Peirson from feeling uncomfortable, you can ask her if what I have said is not true. When
Miss Patterson¹⁰Probably Mary Jane Patterson (1840–94), an African American educator who started teaching in Washington, D.C.’s school system in 1869. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, she was the daughter of a skilled mason who obtained his and his family’s freedom in 1856. Shortly thereafter, her family settled in Oberlin, Ohio. In 1862, she graduated from Oberlin College, becoming the first African American woman to complete a bachelor’s degree in the United States. In 1864 she taught for a year in Chillicothe, Ohio, before moving to Philadelphia, where she spent the next several years teaching at the Institute for Colored Youth. Moving to Washington, D.C., in 1869, she spent two years as a teacher at the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth (later known as Dunbar High School) before being promoted to school principal in 1871. In 1873, however, she was demoted to assistant principal and returned to teaching. The following year she was once again promoted to principal and served in that capacity until 1884, when she was once again reassigned back to teaching full time, which she did until her death in 1894. Fletcher, , 2: 534–35; Alison Stewart, (Chicago, 2013), 32; Jerry Aldridge and Lois McFadyen Christensen, (New York, 2013), 79–80. the school teacher was at our house I handed her a check
for her salary, Libbie happening in just as I handed it to her flew into a
rage and charged me with passing notes to Miss Patterson of an improper
nature. I had again to call in on Miss Patterson to show the note,—and
when she saw what it was she could say nothing, but looked ashamed as
she did before Miss Peirson. This last charge is to keep me from visiting
Freds. house because she is out with Virginia, Amelia¹¹The third and oldest-surviving child of her parents’ eight children, Helen Amelia Loguen Douglass (1843–1936) was born in Steuben County, New York. Her father, Jermain Wesley Loguen, was, much like her father-in-law, Frederick Douglass, a self-emancipated man who achieved remarkable success. Loguen, who escaped slavery in 1834, married the wealthy, educated, mixed-race Caroline Storum in 1840. In 1847 the family settled in Syracuse, New York, where Amelia’s father served as a teacher, minister, and, later, bishop, of the African American Methodist Zion Church. Amelia was both educated in Syracuse public schools and privately tutored by her mother. In the years preceding the outbreak of the Civil War, she participated in her parents’ Underground Railroad activities. By 1862, she was being courted by Lewis H. Douglass, but marriage plans were indefinitely delayed upon his enlistment in March 1863. Later that same year, Douglass was severely wounded in battle, further delaying their marriage. In 1864, Amelia began teaching at the Hawley Street School for African American children in Binghamton, New York, where she remained for several years. In 1869, following an unusually lengthy engagement, she and Douglass were married at her parent’s home in Syracuse on 7 October. Following her marriage, Amelia appears to have permanently given up her career as a teacher and settled with her husband in Washington, D.C., where she remained for the rest of her life. 1860 U.S. Census, New York, Onondaga County, 39; 1870 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 62; 1880 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 7C; 1910 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 8A; 1930 U.S. Census, District of Columbia, Washington, 9A; Bernier and Taylor, , 23–24, 46–50, 60; Fought, , 188, 216, 268, 358n; Find a Grave (online). is also out with
Virginia, and between Amelia, Mrs. Sh[illegible], & I am sorry to say Libbie, they have done all in their power to keep me from using my influence
in Virginia’s behalf. Both Virginia and Amelia have treated Libbie badly
by making fun of her dress and her education, she feels it, but Amelia has
now made her believe that Virginia was the one who had said all and she
only listened, and now Libbie is a tool in her hands to be dropped as soon
as she is through with her. I have told her so repeatedly and it will turn
out so. For my interest in behalf of others I have made enemies instead of
friends, and enemies who would scruple to nothing to accomplish their
end, but as I <have> said before, although you can only take my word for
it, I never have and never will disgrace myself. If I have placed myself in a
position to arouse suspicion I have done so unwittingly, and am truly sorry

for that, but in the eyes of one not jealous or prejudiced I dont believe the
same construction could be put upon my action. I feel almost satisfied that
Libbie in her own heart does not believe her own statement to be true, but
at the time she was in high temper and has no control of her temper as <I>
could show if I desired you to have an unfavorable opinion of her. I shall
strive to cure her of this jealous feeling if it is possible. I am attached by
no tender ties to my family, and I know full well, what the result would
be of any improper act on my part. I have a large circle of friends in this
city, some that I made before marriage, and some since and I challenge
<any> one of them to say aught against my character. Neither have they
ever intimated anything of the kind against me. I am innocent of all this
stuff and shall remain so. I have written this out because I can explain
myself, I think, better by letter than verbally.

Aff. Yr. son as ever

CHAS. R. DOUGLASS

ALS: General Correspondence File, reel 2, frames 678R–81, FD Papers, DLC.