An Elite Upbringing
The Rollin family was part of Charleston’s elite free Black community. The sisters’ father, William Rollin, was of French and African descent, from a family that had fled the French colony of Saint-Domingue during the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804). Rollin ran a successful lumber business in Charleston. He employed Irish laborers, many of whom attended the same Catholic church as the Rollin family. Though he could not vote because he was Black, Rollin wielded political influence by controlling the votes of his white workers. He was also a slaveholder.
William Rollin and his wife Margaretta had five daughters: Frances (1845–1901), Charlotte (1847–1928), Katherine (1848–1876), Louisa (ca. 1855–1921), and Florence (1858–1934). The girls received a classical education and attended schools in Philadelphia and Boston. Their experiences in the North exposed them to the abolitionist and women’s rights movements and influenced their future political activism.
HPS Magazine 