Biographical Database of Black Woman Suffragists

Biography of Harriet Ann Lee, ca. 1810-?

By Linda D. Wilson, Independent Historian

Harriet Ann Lee, an African American woman who lived in Washington, D.C., signed a petition for woman's suffrage in 1877. Signing as "Harriet H. Lee," she was one of fifteen black women and eighteen black men who signed a "Petition for Woman Suffrage" in the District of Columbia. Prominent among the signers were Frederick Douglass, Jr., his wife Virginia (Hewlett) Douglass, his sister Rosetta (Douglass) Sprague, and her husband Nathan.

Lee appears in public records as Harriet H. Lee as well as Harriet A. Lee and Harriet Ann Lee. She was born circa 1810 in Virginia or Washington, D.C. (federal census records vary) of unknown parentage. Extant records do not indicate if she married and had children. She first appears in public records in the 1850 federal census. In 1850 she is age forty and living with George and Patty Bryant. No other members of that household have the surname of Lee. The 1850 census does not give the relationship to the head of household or the marital status of the individual. Therefore, no conclusion can be made of her marital status. Ten years later Lee is living and working as a servant in Ward 14, District 3, New York City. She is living with a white woman who is head of the household and two other African American women, who are also working as servants. Historian Mary Farmer-Kaiser presents the possible reason for Lee's move to New York. Farmer-Kaiser states that with the assistance of the Freedmen's Bureau and other agencies and organizations, many women were sent north to populous cities to work as "domestic servants, laundresses, and cooks"-- thus, relieving the bureau of the responsibility of supporting them. By 1870, Lee had moved back to Ward 1 in Washington, D.C. and was living by herself and working as a servant.

During the mid-1860s, Lee's life is documented in newspapers and the Freedmen's Bureau records. According to notices published in the National Republican in late November 1865, Harriet A. Lee is administratrix of her deceased sister Elizabeth Jane and husband Henry Felson's estate. A notice in the National Republican newspaper on November 17, 1865, indicates that she lost the administration papers that she was carrying in a large brown pocketbook, when she traveled from Lincoln Hospital to the nation's capital. A reward was offered for the return of the items at the Orphan's Court or with the paymaster at Lincoln Hospital. In addition to handling the estate, Lee gained guardianship of her nephew and niece: Henry and Maria Felson.

Through extant Freedmen's Bureau correspondence and records, the researcher learns that Harriet A. Lee sent the two children to another family member in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On July 19, 1867, the bureau made an inquiry regarding the children's well-being. Through correspondence with an African American minister named Reverend John Peck, in Pittsburgh, the bureau ascertained that the boy was living in an orphanage in that city. Harriet Lee had recently been in Pittsburgh to retrieve Henry Felson; however, the director of the orphanage did not believe Lee had authority to take the boy. At that time, Lee had her niece, Maria Felson. Records state that Lee took Maria Felson with her when she moved from Washington, D.C. to New York. At some point, Lee places the young girl with a Mr. Wheeler of Covert, Seneca County, New York. No further reference is made of the children in the Freedmen's Bureau records and no record of them can be found in extant newspapers and public records.

On July 13, 1866, at the request of the Freedman's Bureau, J. B. Bellinger, a carpenter, sent a letter to the bureau reporting that he "will settle with Mrs. Harrette [sic] Lee for carpenter work performed in the construction of house on lot 12 square 80 . . ." having materials worth $450 on hand. Bellinger stated that he would construct the house for $850, which was fifty dollars less than the written contract price. He further noted that he had the material to complete the floor, three flights of stairs, eleven pairs of sashes and venetian blinds, and three doors.

After settling into her home, Harriet Lee turned her thoughts to improving the community. On October 2, 1866, she wrote a letter to the Freedmen's Bureau requesting "that a house on G A [Avenue?] above 21st joining Mrs. Lords property be made into a house of industry for colored people." On February 9, 1867, the local superintendent reported that the building was being torn down.

On at least two occasions, Harriet Lee received aid from the assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau. On December 2, she and other freedmen received fuel and groceries. She was given assistance because she had a sick child living with her. On January 18, the bureau gave her a dollar, because she had been out of work. The records do not indicate an exact year. However, these accounts are grouped with bureau records that span the period from 1865 to 1872. Her death date is unknown.

Sources:

"District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8937-XSCV-M?cc=2333782&wc=9J3J-3TG%3A1069293202%2C1069293501 : 3 August 2016), Local superintendent for Washington and Georgetown (correspondence) > Roll 14, Registers of letters received, vol 1-3, Jul 14-Aug 17, 1865, Oct 18, 1865-Sep 11, 1868 > image 70 of 363; citing NARA microfilm publication M1902 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G937-FQ4?cc=2333782&wc=9J3J-3TP%3A1069293202%2C1062924905 : 3 August 2016), Local superintendent for Washington and Georgetown (correspondence) > Roll 14, Endorsements sent and received, vol 1-2, Jul 22, 1865-Sep 16, 1868 > image 76 0f 378; citing NARA microfilm publication M 1902 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G937-NKSJ?cc=233382&wc=9J3J-DPX%3A1069293202%2C1069293201 : 3 August 2016), Local superintendent for Washington and Georgetown (correspondence) > Roll 17, Unregistered letters received, Aug 1865, Feb 24, 1866-Oct 3, 1868 > image 56 of 534; citing NARA microfilm publication M1902 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L937-FGSM?cc=2333782&wc=9J3J-SPX%3A1069293202%2C1069293906 : 3 August 2016), Assistant inspector general > Roll 1, Letters sent, Mar 21, 1866-Sep 7, 1868 > image 101 of 146; citing NARA microfilm publication M1902 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L937-NFLB?cc=2333782&wc=9J3J-DPX%3A1069293202%2C1069293201 " 3 August 2016), Local superintendent for Washington and Georgetown correspondence) > Roll 17, Unregistered letters received, August 1865, Feb 24, 1866-Oct 3, 1868 > image 55 of 534, citing NARA microfilm publication M 1902 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G937-NVBF?cc-2333782&we=9J3J-DPX%3A1069293202%C1069293201 : 3 August 2016), Local superintendent for Washington and Georgetown (correspondence) > Roll 17, Unregistered letters received, Aug 1865, Feb 24, 1866-Oct 3, 1868 > image 54 of 534; citing NARA microfilm publication M1902 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org.ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G937-FPG?cc=2333782&we=9J3J-ZNR%3A1069293302%2C1069293908 : 3 August 2016), Assistant inspector general > Roll 1, Letters received and endorsements sent, Mar 1866-Dec 1868 > image 59 of 78; citing NARA microfilm publication M1902 (Washington. D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"District of Columbia, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1863-1872," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903:3:1:3QS7-L937-FGDW?cc=2333782&we=9J3J-SPX%3A1069293302%2C1069293906 : 3 August 2016), Assistant inspector general > Roll 1, Letters sent, Mar 21, 1866-Sep 7, 1868 > image 28 of 146; citing NARA microfilm publication M1902 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), April 2, 1863, and November 12, 1867.

Frederick Douglass, Jr. and Other Residents of the District of Columbia. "Petition for Woman Suffrage." Petitions and Memorials, 1813-1968. Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1789-2011, Record Group 233, National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/douglass-petition-woman-suffrage

Mary Farmer-Kaiser, "With a Weight of Circumstances Like Millstones About their Necks:" Freedwomen, Federal Relief, and the Benevolent Guardianship of the Freemen's Bureau," Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 5, no. 3, (2007): 428.

National Republican (Washington, D.C.), November 17, 25, and 27, 1865; August 9, 1867; and October 2, 1877.

Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, African American Women in the Struggle for the Vote, 1850-1920 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998), 46-47.

"United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872," images, Family Search (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TD-KD7P?cc+2427901&we+73RQ-3MH%3A151384020%2C1513853101 : 23 March 2017), District of Columbia > Roll 16, Records relating to the relief of destitute freemen, weekly reports of operations of the special relief commission, 1866-1868 > image 278 of 715; citing multiple NARA microfilm publications: Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861-1880, RG 105; (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1969-1980).

"United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Assistant Commissioner, 1865-1872," images, Family Search (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TD-KDRX?cc+2427901&we=73RQ-3MJ%3A151384020%2C151407949 : 23 March 2017, District of Columbia > Roll 16, Records relating to the relief of destitute freedmen, register of destitute persons recommended for relief, 1866-1868 > image 89 of 98; citing multiple NARA microfilm publications; Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1861-1880, RG 105; National Archives and Records Administration, 1969-1980).

U.S. Census, 1850 and 1870, Ward 1, Washington, District of Columbia. U.S. Census, 1860, Ward 14, District 3, New York City, NY.

Homer A. Walker, comp., Death Records of Washington, D.C., 1801 to 1878 Pt. 2 (Washington, D.C.: n.p, n.d.), Record # 5175, Felson, Henry and Elizabeth J., their estate. Accessed through Ancestry.com, Historical court records of Washington, District of Columbia: death records of Washington, D.C., 1801 to 1878, on August 23, 2021. [This source is an index and does not give any details regarding the value or content of the estate. Further research is necessary at the National Archives and Records Administration.]


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