1858. Imagine being a black woman suddenly widowed. Of the seven children you birthed, none survived. You are truly alone. If you’re Henrietta Duterte, you acknowledge the loss, then get busy.
Henrietta Smith Bowers Duterte grew up in Philadelphia and married Francis, a Haitian-born coffin maker, when she was 35. When he died suddenly, just six years later, she took over his coffin making business, expanding it into an undertaking business. She ran the business under her own name, thus becoming not only the first female undertaker in Philly, but the first female undertaker in the United States! Funeral homes at the time were segregated, not just by race, but also by ability to pay. Henrietta was having none of that—she worked with anyone. It made her business unusual and very successful. However, that was not the most unusual fact about the place…
Her funeral home wasn’t just a funeral home, it was a station on the Underground Railroad! Why? She was an agent!! To safely ferry people through the city, she placed them in coffins or disguised them in funeral processions. Clever. But wait, there’s more…
Being a successful business woman and abolitionist is quite an undertaking (see what I did there?), but she was also known for her philanthropic endeavors. She generously supported a variety of organizations and causes within the African-American community.
Henrietta defied social convention, and the law, to provide dignity and respect to the lives, and deaths, of those who’d seldom, if ever, experienced grace. Please use the links to find out more about this bad-ass undertaker.