Frances Harper
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Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (24 September, 1825 - 22 February, 1911) born to free parents in Baltimore, Maryland, was an African-American abolitionist and poet.
Her mother died three years later and she was looked after by relatives. She was educated at a school run by her uncle, Rev. William Watkins until the age of thirteen when she found work as a seamstress.
Her first volume of verse, Forest Leaves, was published in 1845, the book was extremely popular and over the next few years went through 20 editions. In 1850, she started working in Columbus, Ohio as a schoolteacher. Three years later in 1853, she joined the American Anti-Slavery Society and became a travelling lecturer for the group. She was also a strong supporter of prohibition and woman's suffrage. She often read her poetry at these public meetings, including the extremely popular Bury Me in a Free Land.
In 1892, she published a novel about a rescued black slave and the Reconstructed South, called Iola Leroy, which was the first book published by an African-American. Later, she also wrote Minnie's Sacrifice, Sowing and Reaping and Trial and Triumph.
Harper was a strong supporter of women's suffrage and was a member of the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA).