This is a picture of a quilt square called "the log cabin." The log cabin means, "you can come in my house and it is safe if you are a freedom seeker. This relates to Helen Pitts because her house in Honeoye was one of the stops on the Undergound Railroad.

When she got older Helen worked as a secretary for Woman’s Rights. She worked for Woman’s Rights because Helen did not think it was fair to treat woman differently than men. Later at a Woman’s Rights meeting Helen met Frederick Douglass. When she got older she moved to Washington D.C. During this time Frederick and Helen stayed great friends.

After Helen moved to Washington, on January 24, 1884 Helen Pitts married Frederick Douglass! After the marriage Frederick said, “They would have had no objection to marrying a person much darker than myself, but to marry one much lighter, and of the complexion of my father rather than of my mother, was, in the popular eye, a shocking offense, and for which I was to be ostracized by white and black alike.” Helen was friends with Abraham Lincoln because Frederick was too. Both Abraham and Helen did not like slavery.

Throughout Helen’s life she had experiences with oppression. For example, Helen wanted to get married to Frederick Douglass (and did), but her family did not want Helen to marry Frederick because he was a different skin color. Frederick’s family did not want him to marry Helen because she was a different skin color too.

Two ways that Helen fought oppression by holding Woman’s Rights meetings and by hiding freedom seekers in her house in Honeoye New York. Helen Pitts Douglass helped a lot of people in her lifetime and everyone should be proud of her for that.

Related Links:
Frederick Douglass
Mount Hope Cemetery