In 1860, Frances Watkins married a widower named Fenton Harper.[4] The couple had a daughter together, named Mary Frances Harper, and three other children from Fenton Harper's previous marriage.[45] When Fenton Harper died four years later, Frances Harper kept custody of Mary and moved to the East Coast.[45] The two would continue to live there for the rest of their lives. While on the East Coast, Harper continued to give lectures to support herself.[2]
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper died of heart failure on February 22, 1911, at the age of 85.[19] Her funeral service was held at First Unitarian Church on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.[46] She was buried in Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania, next to her daughter, Mary.[19]
