Helen Pitts Douglass (1838â1903) was an American suffragist, known for being the second wife of Frederick Douglass. She also created the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association, which became the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.
She was born in Honeoye, New York, in 1838. Her parents were activists in the abolitionist and suffragist movements. She was also a descendant of John Alden and Priscilla Alden, who sailed to America on the Mayflower, and a cousin of John and John Quincy Adams. Pitts graduated from Mount Holyoke College (then called the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary) in 1859. After her graduation, she returned to her parents’ home in Honeoye.
After the U.S. Civil War, she taught at the Hampton Institute, a school that educated black men and women. While teaching at the institution, she caused local controversy by accusing several local residents of directing insults and abuse towards her students, resulting in their arrest. In 1882, Helen moved to Uniontown in Washington, D.C. to live with her uncle, where she lived next door to Frederick Douglass’ home, Cedar Hill.
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