Clara Brown Narrative
Clara Brown was born into slavery in 1803, probably in Virginia, though some accounts say Tennessee. At the age of three she was sold with her mother, to an owner headed west.
She married at age 18, and bore four children. Clara was with her second owner for 20 years, but when he died she, her husband, and all the children were sold at auction to different owners. She went to the Brown family in Kentucky. After that owner died, his daughters helped her buy her freedom, and she took the Brown family name.
Now 55 years old, she went to St. Louis, to look for her family. Believing that some of them might have gone west in the Colorado gold rush of 1859, Clara earned passage on a wagon train of prospectors headed for Denver, by volunteering as cook for the party.
She helped start the first Sunday School in Denver before moving to Central City, where she opened a laundry for the miners, as well as working as a nurse. Her home was open to anyone in need. The miners affectionately referred to her as Aunt Clara.
Through hard work, careful saving, and wise investments in mines and real estate, Clara managed to save $10,000.00 by the time the Civil War ended. She returned to the South in search of her family, but her efforts were unsuccessful. However she found 34 other relatives and several freed slaves, whom she brought to Denver and helped get settled.
Clara sponsored numerous black wagon trains and was widely known for her kindness and interest in community affairs. She was sometimes called, "The Angel of the Rockies."
In 1882, Clara was finally reunited with a daughter, Liza Jane, and a granddaughter, Cindy. She died in 1885, and was buried with honors by the Colorado Pioneer Association. There is a memorial chair for her in the Central City Opera House and a stained glass window in her honor in the Capitol Rotunda.
This poem is based on an interview with Clara Brown by a reporter for the
|
