Henrietta Duterte is a sadly forgotten trailblazer and activist. She was born free in 1817, and was one of 13 children. As she grew older, her talent as a seamstress became known throughout her city, and she made capes, coats, and cloaks for the middle and upper classes. In 1852, she married Francis Duterte, a Haitian-born coffin maker. They had several children, but none survived infancy. Francis Duterte was a member of the Moral Reform Retreat, a local organization which supported the abolition of slavery and equal rights for women. When Francis died in 1858, Henrietta defied the gender restrictions of her era by assuming control over her late husband’s business. She not only became the first female undertaker in the city, but the first in the nation, and conducted business in her own name as a black woman. Like her husband, Henrietta worked to abolish slavery. She became an agent of the Underground Railroad, often hiding runaways in coffins or disguising them as part of funeral processions to ensure their safe passage through the city. She also supported the African American community through philanthropic projects. She helped financially support the AME Church of St. Thomas and raised funds to pay the pastor’s salary. Henrietta also funded Stephen Smith‘s Philadelphia Home for Aged and Infirmed Colored Persons, and in 1866 she helped create the Freedman’s Aid Society Fair to assist formerly enslaved people in Tennessee. Although she remained socially active throughout her life, Henrietta gradually transferred the management of the business to her nephew, Joseph T. Seth. By the time of her passing in 1903, the company had become one the city’s most successful African American businesses, taking in about $8,000/year ($287,000 today) by burying both blacks and whites. Henrietta was 83 years old. Her estate included the undertaking business, hearses, horses, carriages, burial lots in four cemeteries, and houses.
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