Diary of Frances Anne Rollin
date: label: Date
content: 1868
name: label: Written by
content: Frances Anne Rollin, American, 1845 - 1901
label: Manufactured by
content: Taggard & Thompson, American, c. nineteenth century
label: Subject of
content: Frances Anne Rollin, American, 1845 - 1901
label: Subject of
content: Martin Robison Delany, American, 1812 - 1885
label: Subject of
content: William J. Whipper, American, 1834 - 1907
notes: label: Caption
content: Frances Rollin and her four sisters, Charlotte, (Chair of the SC Woman Suffrage Association), Katherine, Louise, and Florence were 19th century suffragettes who actively advocated for equal rights for women. During Reconstruction, they operated a successful political salon in Columbia, SC where blacks, whites, women and men discussed civil, social and political rights for all Americans.
label: Caption
content: Frances Anne Rollin was also a writer and the author of Life and Public Services of Martin R. Delany which upon appearing in 1868 became the first full-length biography written by an African American. Rollin also kept a diary in 1868, making it the earliest known diary by a southern black woman.
label: Caption
content: Major Martin Delany, the highest ranking black in the military, was so impressed by the young teacher that he commissioned her to write his biography. Rollin traveled to Boston to write and to seek a publisher. Her account describes her writing experience as well as her meetings with notable abolitionists and luminaries of the Civil War era and notes Delany’s financial challenges once the Civil War ended.
label: Caption
content: Returning to South Carolina in 1868, Frances Rollin was employed by a Pennsylvania-born black attorney, William J. Whipper, who had been recently elected to the South Carolina Legislature. Rollin and Whipper married a few months later.
label: Caption
content: Rollin continued her diary during their brief courtship and first year of marriage. The diary allowed a rare glimpse into the social life of Columbia, the South Carolina capital, and recorded the anti-black, anti-Republican violence then ongoing in the state during Reconstruction.
label: Description
content: Personal diary of Frances Anne Rollin, written during the year 1868. The content of the diary covers the publication of Rollin's book, her courtship and first year of marriage to William J. Whipper, member of the South Carolina state legislature, and life in Reconstruction-era Columbia, South Carolina. The diary is wrapped in black leather with a flap extension on the right that slips inside a strap on the body of the book. On top of the strap is the manufacture's mark in gold that is a circular shape with a starburst design on top. Underneath is the text, [DIARY / 1868]. The inside cover of the diary has many inscriptions in pencil. The text begins with the numbers, [62 / 135.] Underneath reads, [F. Rollin / 16 Blossom [illegible] / Boston / Mass]. On the right cover is a list of objects including the diary and their prices listed on the left with a total of 3.75. Another math equation below lists more objects and ends with 1.90.
label: Description
content: The inside title page is covered in decorative floral and leaf scroll work. The title reads, [ILLUMINATED / DIARY / for / 1868.]. Underneath is an illustrated image of the sea with a mast ship. The publisher below reads, [PUBLISHED BY / TAGGARD & THOMPSON, No. 29 CORNHILL, / BOSTON.] The diary begins with a calendar, differences in time in each state and city, postage information, and eclipses. There are gaps in entries between July 13-26, October 20-21, November 19-January 1, 1869. After the diary dates is a page of [MEMORANDA.] with a list of objects bought and their prices. Following are pages devoted to [CASH ACCOUNT] by month. The back cover has an inscription of two quotes from R. Waldo Emerson, but the quotes are mostly illegible as the graphite has faded. Below the quotes are two more math equations.
label: Transcription Center Status
content: Transcribed by digital volunteers
place: label: Place made
content: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
label: Place used
content: Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Domestic life
label: Topic
content: Families
label: Topic
content: Literature
label: Topic
content: Politics
label: Topic
content: Reconstruction, U.S. History, 1865-1877
label: Topic
content: Social life and customs
label: Topic
content: Suffrage
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Documents and Manuscripts
label: Exhibition
content: Forces for Change: Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women's Activism
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 050
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Carole Ione Lewis Family Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2018.101.1
objectType: label: Type
content: diaries
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper with leather and adhesive
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (closed): 4 15/16 × 3 1/16 × 11/16 in. (12.5 × 7.8 × 1.8 cm)