A timeline of events retold in Douglass's Narrative (1845). Events covered in our reading are in bold.
1818 Frederick Bailey (Douglass) born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, Maryland. Mother – Harriet Bailey, a slave; father – a white man, perhaps the master. Separated from mother in infancy.
1824 Harriet Bailey dies; seen only by son four or five times when she'd travel twelve miles by foot at night.
1817-1825 Lived on the "Great House Farm" plantation of Colonel Edward Lloyd; master was Captain Anthony, Colonel Lloyd's clerk.
1825 Moved to Baltimore, Maryland, home of Mr. Hugh Auld, brother of Colonel Lloyd's son-in-law, Captain Thomas Auld.
1825 Mrs. Sophia Auld, new mistress, begins to teach Frederick to read; Mr. Auld finds out and forbids it, calling it "unlawful" and "unsafe."
1825-1832 Lives with Aulds; continues to learn to read and write, often bribing the poor white children to help him.
1828
Returns to Colonel Lloyd's plantation after death of Captain Anthony and his youngest son Richard so that property, including horses and slaves, can be divided between two surviving children, Mrs. Lucretia and Master Andrew; falls to the portion of Mrs. Lucretia and is returned to Baltimore.
1829 Reads "The Columbian Orator," giving words to his feelings about slavery; learns the meaning of the word "abolition"; meets two kind Irishmen who advise him to run away to the north; "from that time on I resolved to run away."
March, 1832
Mrs. Lucretia and Master Andrew have both died; Master Thomas Auld, Lucretia's husband, remarries and has a misunderstanding with Master Hugh. As punishment of Hugh, Frederick goes to live with Master Thomas in St. Michael's, Maryland. Master Thomas is not as good a master; he feeds his slaves very little.
Jan. 1, 1833
Sent to live with Mr. Covey who has the reputation "for breaking young slaves" (p. 70); Frederick is frequently whipped. He writes, "Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!"
Aug. 1833
Frederick becomes ill in the fields; Mr. Covey whips him. Frederick runs away from Mr. Covey and files a complaint with Master Auld which is rejected. When Frederick returns to Mr. Covey's he vows to fight which he does; Mr. Covey's treatment toward him begins to change; Frederick vows that he never will be whipped again. "This battle with Mr. Covey. . . rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood."
Jan. 1, 1834
Moved to home of Mr. William Freeland, three miles from St. Michael's. Mr. Freeland was "an educated southern gentleman" and much kinder to the slaves. Frederick begins a Sabbath school for slaves; if they were caught they would be whipped, but they wanted to learn to read and write.
Jan. 1835 Mr. Freeland again hires Frederick from his master. Frederick and several other slaves plot an escape but are discovered and sent to jail. For a reason unknown to Frederick, Master Thomas Auld decides to send him back to Baltimore to Hugh Auld.
1835
Sent to learn the trade of caulking at a shipyard; severely injured in fight with white carpenters; Mr. Hugh Auld takes Frederick to work in shipyard where he is foreman; Frederick learns quickly and is soon earning wages which he must turn over to Master Hugh Auld.
Spring 1838 Frederick applies to Master Thomas to allow him to hire his time; Thomas refuses; however, later Hugh agrees making a deal which guarantees him more money. Frederick agrees to the plan since it is the only way he can earn money to escape. When Frederick goes out of the city on work without permission, Master Hugh tells him to "bring my tools and clothing home forthwith." This makes Frederick more committed to find a way to escape.
Sept. 3, 1838 Frederick escapes to New York; he does not reveal the means in his narrative, stating that it could embarrass some and keep others from escaping; he is helped by Mr. David Ruggles who houses Frederick in his boarding house and helps him get Anna Murray, a free black woman, to New York.
Sept. 15, 1838 Anna Murray and Frederick Johnson (name changed from Frederick Bailey) marry; this is particularly important since slaves were not permitted to marry; they leave for New Bedford. In New Bedford the couple is helped by Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Johnson. Frederick asks the Johnsons to help him pick a new name; Mr. Johnson who is reading "Lady of the Lake" selects Douglass.
Aug. 11, 1841
At the anti-slavery convention at Nantucket Mr. William C. Coffin urges Frederick Douglass to speak. Douglass writes, "It was a severe cross, and I took it up reluctantly. The truth was, I felt myself a slave, and the idea of speaking to white people weighed me down" (p. 119).
A timeline of events retold in Douglass's Narrative (1845). Events covered in our reading are in bold.1818
Frederick Bailey (Douglass) born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, Maryland. Mother – Harriet Bailey, a slave; father – a white man, perhaps the master. Separated from mother in infancy.
1824
Harriet Bailey dies; seen only by son four or five times when she'd travel twelve miles by foot at night.
1817-1825
Lived on the "Great House Farm" plantation of Colonel Edward Lloyd; master was Captain Anthony, Colonel Lloyd's clerk.
1825
Moved to Baltimore, Maryland, home of Mr. Hugh Auld, brother of Colonel Lloyd's son-in-law, Captain Thomas Auld.
1825
Mrs. Sophia Auld, new mistress, begins to teach Frederick to read; Mr. Auld finds out and forbids it, calling it "unlawful" and "unsafe."
1825-1832
Lives with Aulds; continues to learn to read and write, often bribing the poor white children to help him.
1828
Returns to Colonel Lloyd's plantation after death of Captain Anthony and his youngest son Richard so that property, including horses and slaves, can be divided between two surviving children, Mrs. Lucretia and Master Andrew; falls to the portion of Mrs. Lucretia and is returned to Baltimore.
1829
Reads "The Columbian Orator," giving words to his feelings about slavery; learns the meaning of the word "abolition"; meets two kind Irishmen who advise him to run away to the north; "from that time on I resolved to run away."
March, 1832
Mrs. Lucretia and Master Andrew have both died; Master Thomas Auld, Lucretia's husband, remarries and has a misunderstanding with Master Hugh. As punishment of Hugh, Frederick goes to live with Master Thomas in St. Michael's, Maryland. Master Thomas is not as good a master; he feeds his slaves very little.
Jan. 1, 1833
Sent to live with Mr. Covey who has the reputation "for breaking young slaves" (p. 70); Frederick is frequently whipped. He writes, "Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!"
Aug. 1833
Frederick becomes ill in the fields; Mr. Covey whips him. Frederick runs away from Mr. Covey and files a complaint with Master Auld which is rejected. When Frederick returns to Mr. Covey's he vows to fight which he does; Mr. Covey's treatment toward him begins to change; Frederick vows that he never will be whipped again. "This battle with Mr. Covey. . . rekindled the few expiring embers of freedom, and revived within me a sense of my own manhood."
Jan. 1, 1834
Moved to home of Mr. William Freeland, three miles from St. Michael's. Mr. Freeland was "an educated southern gentleman" and much kinder to the slaves. Frederick begins a Sabbath school for slaves; if they were caught they would be whipped, but they wanted to learn to read and write.
Jan. 1835
Mr. Freeland again hires Frederick from his master. Frederick and several other slaves plot an escape but are discovered and sent to jail. For a reason unknown to Frederick, Master Thomas Auld decides to send him back to Baltimore to Hugh Auld.
1835
Sent to learn the trade of caulking at a shipyard; severely injured in fight with white carpenters; Mr. Hugh Auld takes Frederick to work in shipyard where he is foreman; Frederick learns quickly and is soon earning wages which he must turn over to Master Hugh Auld.
Spring 1838
Frederick applies to Master Thomas to allow him to hire his time; Thomas refuses; however, later Hugh agrees making a deal which guarantees him more money. Frederick agrees to the plan since it is the only way he can earn money to escape. When Frederick goes out of the city on work without permission, Master Hugh tells him to "bring my tools and clothing home forthwith." This makes Frederick more committed to find a way to escape.
Sept. 3, 1838
Frederick escapes to New York; he does not reveal the means in his narrative, stating that it could embarrass some and keep others from escaping; he is helped by Mr. David Ruggles who houses Frederick in his boarding house and helps him get Anna Murray, a free black woman, to New York.
Sept. 15, 1838
Anna Murray and Frederick Johnson (name changed from Frederick Bailey) marry; this is particularly important since slaves were not permitted to marry; they leave for New Bedford. In New Bedford the couple is helped by Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Johnson. Frederick asks the Johnsons to help him pick a new name; Mr. Johnson who is reading "Lady of the Lake" selects Douglass.
Aug. 11, 1841
At the anti-slavery convention at Nantucket Mr. William C. Coffin urges Frederick Douglass to speak. Douglass writes, "It was a severe cross, and I took it up reluctantly. The truth was, I felt myself a slave, and the idea of speaking to white people weighed me down" (p. 119).