Description:

Douglass Frederick 1817 - 1895 Frederick Douglass signed Washington, DC deed of trust

Partly typed and partly handwritten 4 pp fold-out legal document on pale blue lined paper with red borders, front unfolded measuring 8.5" x 14", relating to trusteeship of land as loan security. Printed and inscribed front and back, Deed of Trust title page neatly signed "Fredk. Douglass, Recorder" who also notes that this document, no. 1020, was stored in Folio 226S-eeq. Twice signed by "E.D. Wright, Notary Public, District of Columbia" within with seal located in lower left corner of third long page. Expected wear including isolated toning, ink fading, and minor tears, none of which affect the delicacy of Douglass's signature.

Washington, DC land recorder Frederick Douglass entered the following deed of trust into District of Columbia records on October 17, 1882 at 12:40 pm. The document deeds two land parcels from Jeremiah J. Brosnan to C.C. Duncanson and John Brosnan, the last two who served as neutral third party land trustees. Jeremiah J. Brosnan accepted a $425 loan from Robert H. Graham in the form of two promissory notes, to be charged at a 6% annual interest rate until repaid in full. The debtor places his land, lots 13 and 16 as listed in John M. Graham's records, as security against the repayment of the debt. The document is signed by Jeremiah J. Brosnan and marked by his wife, Catherine.

Frederick Douglass (c. 1819-1895) was born a slave in Maryland. At the age of twenty, he escaped to New York masquerading as a sailor, and later relocated to the thriving free black community of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Douglass's early education and natural eloquence enabled him to easily express his ideas about slavery, suffrage, and civil rights in both expository and oral form. Encouraged by seminal abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), Douglass wrote two autobiographies and also gave lectures. After the publication of his first work, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave, the best-selling author was the most well-known free black man in America. Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson asked Douglass for advice regarding black soldiers and voters. By the late 1870s, Douglass had accepted several political positions, serving as President of the Freedman's Savings Bank, charge d'affaires to the Dominican Republic, and United States Marshal. At the time that Douglass processed Jeremiah J. Brosnan's deed of trust paperwork in 1882, he was Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia.

This extraordinary document, beautified by Douglass' clear and elegant signature, provides us with some interesting insights into late nineteenth-century life in the nation's Capital. First, consider the remarkable personal trajectory of Frederick Douglass; he was born a slave forty years prior to emancipation, and yet was employed as a federal bureaucrat only twenty years after the conclusion of the Civil War. He was also exceptional in his own right, since he was mainly self-taught and yet offered one of the most articulate voices of his generation. Second, the document prompts us to consider the prevalence of female illiteracy in the 1880s, since Brosnan's wife only made her mark instead of signing her name. Third, the document, with its complicated clauses, co-signatories, and notarized seal, reminds us of the complexity of the legal code just a century after the country's inception.

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