One of America’s heroines You never hear about is Clara Brown.
She assisted in the settlement and development of freed slaves. Clara Brown was born in 1800 in Virginia as a slave. Clara together with her mother “belonged” to a horrible man by the name of Ambrose Smith, a farmer. (To think you can own a person makes you a horrible person by default.
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At 18, she married Richard, a fellow slave. Together they had four children.
Clara experienced a tragic period when Paulina (her daughter) died and separation from her family in 1835 after her master died and they were sold at an auction. Clara was set free at 53 after her second master, George Brown, died. She embarked to be reunited with her family during the Colorado Gold Rush. One daughter had died, and Brown was never able to locate her husband and son. However, she never gave up on finding her other surviving daughter; Eliza Jane.
Clara Brown set up a successful laundry business. The money she made helped her settle in Central City, Colorado where she bought property. She helped freed slaves restart their lives. In Kansas Brown helped them build a community farm. In 1884, Brown finally reunited with her daughter, Eliza. Before her death in 1885, Brown was made the first woman member of Colorado Pioneer Association for her charity. In 1989, Brown’s life was celebrated as she was recognized in Colorado Woman’s Hall of Fame.
Despite all the hardships Brown faced, she worked to improve the lives of freed slaves.
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