Clara Brown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 1, 1800 |
| Died | October 23, 1885 (aged 85) Denver, Colorado |
| Other names | Aunt Clara Brown |
| Occupation(s) | Cook, laundress, midwife, nursemaid, and real estate investor |
| Known for | Being the first Black settler in Colorado, philanthropist, and abolitionist |
Clara Brown (1800–1885) was a former enslaved woman from Virginia and Kentucky who became a community leader and philanthropist. She helped formerly enslaved people become settled during Colorado's Gold Rush. She was known as the 'Angel of the Rockies' and made her mark as "Colorado's first black settler and a prosperous entrepreneur".[1]
Brown, born in Virginia in 1800,[a] moved to Logan County, Kentucky, with her family. She married another enslaved person when she was 18 and they had four children. In 1835, Brown's family was broken apart when they were all sold to different slave owners. When Brown was 56, she received her freedom but was required by law to leave the state. She worked her way to Denver, Colorado, as a cook and laundress on a wagon train.
Brown settled in the mining town now called Central City, Colorado, where she worked as a laundress, cook, and midwife. With the money she made, she invested in properties and mines in nearby towns. Known as "Aunt Clara" for her emotional and financial support, Brown was a founding member of a Sunday school that was held in her home.
At the end of the Civil War, Brown could freely travel and liquidated all of her investments to travel to Kentucky to find her daughter. Although she was unsuccessful, she paid the way for 16 or more relatives and others who were former slaves to move to Colorado. Finally, in 1882 she reunited with her daughter Eliza Jane and Eliza Jane's daughter.
In 1885, the last year of her life, Clara Brown was voted into the Society of Colorado Pioneers for her role in Colorado's early history. Brown was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Colorado Business Hall of Fame in 2022.[3] The story of her life was told through the opera Gabriel's Daughter at the Central City Opera House in 2003.
- ^ a b Shirley, Gayle C. (2002). More than Petticoats. Twodot. p. 1 (n14). ISBN 0-7627-1269-4.
- ^ Varnell 1999, p. 1.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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