Sprague, Rosetta Douglass, 1839-1906

Rosetta Douglass-Sprague (b. June 24, 1839, New Bedford, MA-d. Nov. 25, 1906, Washington, DC) was the eldest daughter of Anna Murray-Douglass and Frederick Douglass. When Rosetta was 5 the Douglasses moved to Lynn, Massachusetts. At age 6, she stayed with Abigail and Lydia Mott and learned to read, write, and sew. Rosetta assisted her father in making and packaging his newspaper. She married Nathan Sprague on Dec. 24, 1863 and together they had seven children. She worked as a teacher and eventually became primarily a homemaker and wife. Rosetta wrote the paper My Mother as I Recall Her in 1900 and had a keen sense of social justice issues; she was a founding member of the National Association for Colored Women.