Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 03.djvu/317

 DOUGLASS

DOUW

public speech, which procured for him the ap- pointment as agent of the Massachusetts, Rhode Island and American anti-slavery societies. He occupied the next four years in travelling and lecturing throughout New England and the northern middle states. His personality and eloquence attracted large audiences and the publication of his "Narrative" enhanced the interest with which he was regarded. The in- creasing danger of recapture, however, deter- mined him to go to Great Britain, where he also addressed crowded houses and awakened great enthusiasm. His friends, Mrs. and Miss Richard- son of Newcastle-on-Tyne, lawfully manumitted him, paying £150 as his ransom to his former master. He returned to America in 1H47, settled in Rochester, N.Y., and there established the North Star, afterward changing its name to Fred- erick Douglass's Paper. In 1859, when Governor Wise of Virginia, supposing Mr. Douglass to be in Michigan, made a requisition on the governor of that state for his arrest, charging him with implication in the John Brown raid, he fled to England, but after several months returned to Rochester, N.Y., and continued to publish his newspaper. He urged upon President Lincoln the employment of the negroes as soldiers, and the proclamation of emancipation as a war measure. In 1863 he helped to enlist men into the colored regiments and especially aided in the organization of the 54th and 55th Massachusetts, in which his sons, Lewis and Charles, were vol- unteers. He discontinued his paper when eman- cipation was accomplished, and devoted himself to the lecture platform. He. established the New National Era, Washington, D.C., in 1870, and in 1871 went to San Domingo as assistant secretary of the commission composed of Senator Wade, Dr. S. J. Howe and President Andrew D. White, sent to that island to report on the condition of affairs with a view to annexation to the United States. Meanwhile his sons, Lewis and Frederick, continued the newspaper. He was one of the territorial covmcil of the District of Columbia by api^ointment of President Grant, and in 1873 was presidential elector-at-large for the state of New York and was delegated to carry the official vote to the national capital. In 1877 he was appointed by President Hayes U.S. marshal for the District of Columbia, and this appointment created a pro- found sensation, as he was the first colored man in the historj^ of the nation to be so honored. In 1881 he was appointed by President Garfield recorder of deeds for the district. In 1886 he went abroad, extending his travels to Egypt and Greece, and on his return in 1889, was appointed by President Hayes U.S. minister to Hayti and charge (Vaffaires to San Domingo. He resigned in 1891, greatly venerated and esteemed by the

Haytian republic, whicii, as a token of its regard, appointed him commissioner of the republic of Hayti at the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago. His wife, Anna Murray, the mother of his five children, died Aug. 4, 1882, and on Jan. 24, 1884, he was married to Helen Pitts of New York state, a white woman of social position and an emploj^ee in the office of I'ecorder of deeds, Washington, D.C. Their marriage was the occa- sion of severe criticism by individuals of both the white and the negro race, but the result they anticipated did not follow, and Mr. Douglass steadily gained in his ascendancy as leader till the end of his life. His published works include : Narrative of My Experience in Slavery (1844); 3Iy Bondage and My Freedom (1855); and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881; rev. ed., 1893). He died suddenly at his home. Cedar Hill, Ana- costia, D.C, Feb. 20. 1895.

DOUGLASS, James Clayton, naval officer, was born at '" Mordington, "" Kent county, Del., Nov. 24, 1817; son of Walter and Harriet (Clay- ton) Douglass; nephew of John M. Clayton; grandnephew of Dr. Joshua Clayton; grandson of James and Mary (Stevens) Douglass; great- grandson of William and Sarah (Davis) Douglass; and great-grandson of James Douglass, who with his brothers' Archibald, Thomas and Andrew, removed from Scotland in the early part of the eighteenth century and settled in the Pequea valley, Pennsj'lvania. He received a classical education; vaught school in Georgia for one year; was a civil engineer and bridge architect in the construction of the Illinois Central railroad; was a purser in the U.S. navy, 1842-53, during which time he was on board the St. Louis in her voj-age around the world; on the Fulton in the Gulf of Mexico; and at the Brookyn na%'y yard where he was inspector of clothing and provisions for the navy. He was at Washington, D.C, in 1849, where he Avas private secretary to his uncle, Jolm M. Claj-ton, secretary of state in Pi-e«ident Taylor's cabinet. He was married in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Ellen, daughter of Purser William Sin- clair, U.S.N. He was an active member of the Historical society of Delaware. He died at " Bu- ena Vista," near New Castle, Del., Dec. 13, 1874.

DOUW, Volkert Peter, jurist, was born at "Wolvenhoeck," Greenbush, N.Y., March 23, 1720. He was recorder of Albany, 1750-56; a member of the provincial assembly, 1759-68; mayor of Albany, 1761-70; presiding judge of the court of common pleas, 1769-70; Indian commissioner, 1774; delegate to the N.Y. provincial congress, 1775, serving as vice-president of the congi-ess; commissaiy of the northern army, 1779-80, with the rank of captain; state senator, 1786-93; and county judge, 1778-81. He died at " Wolven- hoeck." Greenbush, N.Y., March 20, 1801.