Frances Rollin Whipper

Frances Anne Rollin Whipper (November 19, 1845 – October 17, 1901) was a political activist, teacher, and author. Whipper and her four sisters were socially and politically active within the South Carolina state government during the Reconstruction era. Published under the name Frank A. Rollin in 1868, The Life and Public Services of Martin R. Delany, was the first full-length biography written by an African American.

Early life, family and education

Francis Rollin Whipper was born on November 19, 1845, in Charleston, South Carolina to William and Margarette Rollin, free persons of color. Little is known about the background of Rollin's wife Margarette; she is presumed to be of French Caribbean descent. William Rollin (1815–1880) was a biracial descendant of the De Caradeuc family, which had left Saint Domingue in 1792 to escape the insurrection of enslaved people against the French colonial government. The De Caradeuc family settled near Charleston and became involved in the lumber trade. Rollin's parents are unidentified, but he had a fair complexion and could pass as a white person. He became a successful lumber merchant in Charleston with extensive trading connections. Rollin owned a number of properties in Charleston and kept three enslaved workers. In 1859, Frances went to live with family friends in Philadelphia and enrolled in the Institute for Colored Youth. Enriched by the political and intellectual opportunities she encountered in Philadelphia, Rollin began her career as a writer and activist for civil rights and women's suffrage.

Charlotte, Katherine, and Louisa were also sent to school in Philadelphia and Boston in advance of the Civil War. All of the Rollin sisters, with the exception of the very young Florence, remained in the north until the end of the war. Charlotte spoke in public and before the state House of Representative in favor of suffrage. She and Katherine organized a women's rights convention that was held in Columbia in 1870. The following year, Charlotte presided over the first meeting of the South Carolina Branch of the American Woman Suffrage Association in the Whipper's home. This book became the first full-length biography written by an African American.

Diary Frances Ann Rollin kept a detailed diary during 1868. The diary is now in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Rollin's diary "describes her writing experiences 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." Her diary became the earliest known diary by a southern black woman. Her 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."

Marriage and family At the end of July in 1868, Rollin returned from Boston to South Carolina to take a job in the law offices of William James Whipper. Whipper had moved to Columbia after the war and just won election to the state legislature shortly before employing Rollin. After a brief courtship, Rollin agreed to married Whipper, despite concerns from her family. The couple married on September 17, 1868. Rollin became deeply involved in her husband career. She edited the Beaufort Tribune, the newspaper directed at his constituents and wrote articles for other newspapers. Generally known as his most trusted advisor and confidante, the duo became known around town as "the Whippers."

While married, Frances Rollin, now Frances Whipper, began writing diaries which focused on the social life of Columbia, South Carolina and recorded the anti-black, anti-Republican violence that was on-going in the state.

After 12 years, the Whippers' marriage began to decline due to marital and political issues. In 1880, Rollin took their three children to Washington DC and became a clerk in the General Land Office, and later in the office of Frederick Douglass, who was then the recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia. Whipper joined them in 1882 and practiced law for two years before returning to take up politics again in South Carolina. Leigh Whipper enjoyed a long and successful career as a stage and film actor.

Later life In addition to working and assisting her children with their educations, Rollin continued to write and was involved in politics while living in Washington DC. In 1892 "she contracted an illness while campaigning for Republican Presidential Candidate James G. Blaine. Whipper reconciled with her husband and returned to South Carolina sometime after 1893. She died of tuberculosis on October 17, 1901 in Beaufort, South Carolina.