Mary Frances Vashon facts for kids

Mary Frances Vashon (1818 – September 1854), also known as Mary Frances Colder, was an amazing African American journalist and a strong supporter of ending slavery in the 1800s. She also used the writing name Fanny Homewood. She is known as one of the very first African American women to work as a journalist.

Early Life and Family

Mary Frances Vashon was born in 1818 in Virginia. Her parents were Anne (Smith) and John Bathan Vashon. In 1822, her family moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There, her father opened a saloon and a stable. Her brother, George Boyer Vashon, was born two years later in 1824.

In 1829, her family moved again, this time to Pittsburgh. Her father became a very successful barber. He earned a lot of money and became a wealthy landowner. He even opened Pittsburgh's first public bathhouse. This bathhouse was a secret stop on Pittsburgh's Underground Railroad, a network that helped enslaved people find freedom.

Education and Learning

Mary's father was a very successful businessman in Pittsburgh at that time. He made sure Mary received an excellent education. Pittsburgh did not have public schools for black children back then. So, her father started a school called the Pittsburgh African Education. It was in the basement of an AME church.

Mary might have gone to this school with her brother George and Martin Delaney. Later, she went to a private school in Philadelphia. This school was called the Female Academy of Miss Sarah M. Douglass. After her studies, Mary placed ads in Martin Delaney's newspaper, The Mystery. She offered lessons in raised embroidery, a type of fancy sewing.

Career as a Journalist

Mary Frances Vashon was a strong abolitionist herself. This means she believed slavery should be ended. She used her knowledge and writing skills to become a journalist. She wrote for newspapers that were against slavery.

She wrote for "The Alienated American", a newspaper by William H. Day. She also wrote for "Frederick Douglass' Paper", which was run by Frederick Douglass. Mary used the pen name "Fanny Homewood" for her articles. "Fanny" was the name of her grandmother on her mother's side. Her work made her one of the first black women journalists in the United States.

Later Life and Legacy

Mary Francis married Benjamin F. Colder. They had four children together: one boy and three girls.

On December 29, 1853, her father passed away from a heart attack in a Pittsburgh train station. In September 1854, Mary, who was 36 years old, and her mother, Anne, also passed away. This happened during a cholera outbreak that spread through Pittsburgh. After their deaths, Mary's brother, George, took care of her four children.