Born: 5 April 1842, United States
Died: 16 October 1919
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Virginia Isaacs
The following is republished with permission from the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail.
Virginia Isaacs Trotter (1842-1919) managed her family’s real estate in Hyde Park and supported her son Monroe, who established the Boston Guardian. She was a leading voice in early civil rights.
Virginia Isaacs (1842-1919) married James Monroe Trotter in 1868. The couple had three children: William Monroe, Maude and Bessie. William Monroe Trotter was a well-known journalist and agitator for African American rights.
Virginia was raised in Ohio and met James Trotter, a member of the all-Black 55th Regiment during the Civil War, when he went to Ohio as a school teacher. After marriage, the couple moved to Boston, first living in the South End and then in Hyde Park. James served for a time in a federal government position in Washington DC. He invested in real estate in Hyde Park and after he died in 1892, Virginia continued to manage the funds he left. She supported her son’s newspaper, The Guardian. Her daughter, Maude Trotter Steward, (1874-1955), edited the paper for many years after William Monroe Trotter died in 1934.
William Monroe Trotter’s wife, Geraldine Louise Pindell Trotter, (1872-1918), worked closely with him on The Guardian, serving as bookkeeper and business agent. Virginia, Geraldine and William are buried in Fairview Cemetery in Hyde Park.