"Frances Ellen Harper"(September 24,1825-February 22 1911)

Was an African-American abolitionist,poet and author.Born free in Baltimore Maryland,she had a long and prolific career,publishing her first book of poetry at age 20 and her first novel,the widely praised Lola Leroy at age 67.After her mother died,when she was three,Frances was orphaned.She was raised by her maternal aunt and uncle,Rev.William Watkins,who was a civil rights activist.She was educated at his Academy for Negro Youth.William was a major influence on her life and work.At fourteen, Frances found work as a seamstress.She had her first volume of verse,First Leaves,published in 1845(it has been lost) when she was twenty.Her second book,Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects (1854),was extremely popular.Over the next few years,it was reprinted numerous times.In 1859 ,her story "The Two Offers"was published in Anglo-African Magazine.She continued to publish poetry and short stories.Frances had three novels serialized in a Christian Magazine from 1868 to 1888,was better known for what was long considered of the AME Church.(Union closed in 1863 when the AME Church diverted its funds to purchased Wilberforce University,the first black-owned and operated college.)The school in Wilberforce was run by Rev. John Brown(not the same as the abolitionist).In 1853,Frances joined the American Anti-Slavery Society and became a traveling lecturer for the group.In 1854,she delivered her first anti-slavery speech on "Education and the Elevation of Colored Race."The success of this speech resulted a two year lecture tour in Maine for the Anti-Slavery Society.She traveled,lecturing throughout the East and Midwest from 1856 to 1860.In 1860 she married Fenton Harper,a widower with three children.They had a daughter in 1862.For a time Frances withdrew from the lecture circuit.After her husband died in 1864,she returned to her travels and lecturing.Frances was a strong supporter of abolitionist prohibition and woman's suffrage,progressive causes linked before and after the American Civil War.She also was active in the Unitarian Church,which supported abolitionism.She often read her poetry at the public meetings,including the extremely popular "Bury Me in a Free Land."Frances was connected with national leaders in suffrage,and in 1866 gave a moving speech before the National Women's Rights Convention,demanding equal rights for all,including women.Frances was active in black organizations.From 1883 to 1890,she helped organize events and programs for the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union.She helped organize events and programs for the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union.Frances helped organize the National Association of Colored Women in 1896,and was elected vice president.