He contracted one of the water-borne diseases that was so common at the time.
A CBS NFL Insider
After Mr. Freeman was released from jail in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, he was found dead in the lot of a slaughterhouse. Tom, the policeman who delivered the news of Mr. Freeman's death to Grandmother Baxter (Maya's grandmother), said that it "Seems like he [Mr. Freeman] was dropped there. Some say he was kicked to death."
Sambrooke Freeman died in 1782.
Cynthia Freeman died in 1988.
Nicholas Freeman died in 1989.
Elisha Freeman died in 1777.
Freeman Fitzgerald died in 1942.
A. Martin Freeman died in 1959.
Doug Freeman died in 1994.
Freeman Thorpe died in 1922.
Freeman Cary died in 1888.
Freeman Lord died in 1917.