Following the publication of her book, which received little public acclaim until it was rediscovered more than 100 years later as part of the new renaissance of black women writers, Jacobs spent the remaining years of her life as an activist, supporting herself by working as a seamstress and later running a boarding house in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After her brother's death in 1875, Jacobs and her daughter moved to Washington, D.C., where Louisa Matilda, following her mother's example, helped organize meetings of the National Association of Colored Women. Jacobs died on March 7, 1897, in Washington, D.C. She is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.
Connect with CliffsNotes
