She kept a diary during the Civil War and in it she records events of historical significance as well as everyday happenings that provide a picture into life during that time.

She was an early member and later secretary of the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society (RLASS), which helped fund Frederick Douglass' newspaper.

[2][4] Working within the Rochester public school system she became frustrated by the wage gap between male and female teachers, an injustice that may have sparked her interest and later engagement in the women's rights effort.

Wilbur also became involved with the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society (RLASS) early on, in which capacity she acted as a correspondence secretary.

While Wilbur took well to her new motherly role, the situation further deteriorated in January 1860 when Freda's father, having recently remarried, decided to claim custody of his daughter.

Luckily, Wilbur's devastation did finally lift - this emotional shift being caused in large part by her move to Alexandria, Virginia in October 1862.

[4] In 1862, the RLASS asked Wilbur if she were interested in working to help "contrabands": that is, the men, women, and children who escaped slavery by crossing into Union-occupied territory.

[4] Her obituary reported that she died of "influenza and results" and noted "for many years she engaged in active partisan labor for the cause of freedom.