Frederick Douglass found refuge in New Bedford but also a black community that achieved a measure of business and professional success.
“The most astonishing as well as the most interesting thing to me was the condition of the colored people…I found many living in finer houses, and evidently enjoying more of the comforts of life, than the average of slaveholders in Maryland.”
- Frederick Douglass on New Bedford
”
New Bedford’s Most Famous Fugitive
Frederick Bailey escaped slavery by dressing in sailor’s clothing and traveling north
by train and steamer. In New Bedford
he was directed to the home of Nathan
and Polly Johnson, black entrepreneurs,
whose house was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Needing an alias, they
advised against taking the too popular
name “Johnson.” Instead they suggested
Douglas, after a heroic character in a
story by Sir Walter Scott. He spelled it
“Douglass” to honor a black family with
that name, active in Philadelphia.
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass saw opportunities in Massachusetts, “I was now living in a new world”…”and was wide awake to its advantages.” In 1839 he gave his first known public address at the African Christian Church in New Bedford.
- The Art Institute of Chicago
Ann Murray-Douglass
Frederick’s wife, joined in planning his escape and settled in New Bedford.
- The Art Institute of Chicago
Nathan and Polly Johnson
Frederick Douglas and other fugitive slaves stayed
with Nathan and Polly Johnson. The Johnsons
were among the most successful African-Americans in New Bedford. For a time Nathan worked
for whaling entrepreneur Charles W. Morgan. He
later joined his wife Polly in a catering business.
Nathan was tried, but not convicted, for beating
another black man, suspected of spying on runaways for southern owners
- Daniel Case
Charles W. Morgan
Whaling merchant Charles W. Morgan was consistently anti-slavery but sometimes disagreed with radical abolitionists on
tactics. The ship Charles W. Morgan, at Mystic Seaport, carries
his name.
- Mystic Seaport
Sweetness
Polly Johnson was an accomplished “confectioner” whose clients
included members of New Bedford’s elite. Among her offerings
were “fresh Bordeaux Almonds, superior (French) Olives,
Oranges, Lemons, Lemon Syrup, Jellies, Ice Cream, Cake,
Candies…served in the best manner and charges moderate.”