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Pathfinders ->
Many Roads to Freedom ->
Frederick Douglass'
Funeral in Rochester |
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MANY ROADS TO FREEDOM:
FREDERICK DOUGLASS' FUNERAL IN ROCHESTER
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For a more complete description of these events, you can read
chapter 2
[pdf,
1.3 MB]
of
An Authentic History of the Douglass Monument
[pdf, 13.8 MB]
by John W. Thompson.
Click here for additional chapters.
For pdf help, click
here
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Other
remembrances. If you want to experience two unique memorials to
Frederick Douglass, Rochester Public Library has Frederick Douglass
scrapbooks which you can view here:
Douglass.
Obituaries, accounts of his funeral and other
material complete [pdf,
66 MB].
Click here for Scrapbook sections.
Frederick Douglass scrapbook
complete[pdf, 175
MB].
Click here
for Scrapbook sections. |
You can also read In
Memoriam: Frederick Douglass,
written by Helen Pitts Douglass in 1897. She was the second wife of
Frederick Douglass. |
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The Death of
Frederick Douglass
Douglass died at his home, Cedar Hill, in Anacostia section of Washington,
D.C. on February 20, 1895. That day Douglass had been at a women's
suffrage meeting of the National Council of Women. After dinner, he was
talking with his wife when he suddenly collapsed. Two passers-by
endeavored to help him but to no avail. |
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Services in
Washington and Removal to Rochester
There were services for Douglass at his home and at the Metropolitan
Methodist Episcopal Church. The church service attracted an overflow
crowd. Many dignitaries took part, including representatives from the
government of Haiti, members of Congress and the judiciary branch, and
members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Susan B.
Anthony spoke at the service. Members of Congress and the facility of
Howard University were also present. Around 7 o'clock that evening
Douglass' remains were placed on a train bound for Rochester.
The Arrival in Rochester
Rochester's Common Council met in special session to plan for
Douglass's funeral in Rochester. By the time the train arrived in
Rochester, the crowd had grown so large that it was difficult to clear a
path for the march to City Hall. Thousands, including school children who
were let out for the day, paid their respects to Douglass as his body lay
in state at City Hall. |
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The Funeral Service at Central Presbyterian Church
The funeral at Central Presbyterian Church (which later became Hochstein
Music School) consisted of prayers, poetry reading, music, a speech by
Mary S. Anthony and the address of the day, delivered by Rev. William
Channing Gannett. Following the benediction, the cortege made its way to
Mount Hope Cemetery. There Douglass' body was committed to the receiving
vault to await burial in the springtime.
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