Frederick K. Douglass

Frederick K. Douglass was born about 1857 in North Carolina.¹ Little is known about his early life, but sometime around 1877 he moved to D.C.² By 1899, he was working as the coachman for President William McKinley, taking over the role from the president’s first coachman, William Beckett, who left his position due to health concerns.³ As coachman, Douglass was responsible for driving the president and first lady and managing the White House stables. On February 14, 1899, Douglass got into a physical altercation with a hostler at the White House stables named James Hicks. According to newspaper accounts, the fight began when Douglass criticized Hicks for the way he put harnesses on the horses to prepare for a sleigh ride for President McKinley; incensed at the criticism, Hicks beat Douglass and was arrested. Early reports indicated that Douglass was seriously hurt but recovered.⁴ 

Likely because of this fight, Douglass left the White House in October 1899, after a replacement coachman, Spencer Coleman, was sufficiently trained for the job. Douglass took a job as porter at the Census Bureau.⁵ He passed away on May 28, 1902 and was buried at D.C.’s Columbian Harmony Cemetery. Burials there were later disinterred during Metro construction, and moved to National Harmony Memorial Park Cemetery in Maryland.⁶