Frederick Douglass was born as a slave, February 1818 (No exact birthdate since slave). When he was a infant he was placed under the care of his grandmother who was too old to work in the plantation. Frederick almost never saw his mother since she was a field hand, and had to work, his mother eventually died when he was about 10. He was eventually sent to the home of Hugh Auld where he worked as a houseboy. Hugh wife Sophia taught him the how to read, and write when he was around 12. When Hugh found out that Sophia was teaching him how to read, and write he made her stop the lesson at once. Since teaching a slave is bad for the slave owner because they can learn about freedom, and other things.