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Molly Brown House Museum
Perhaps not everyone watched the
movie extravaganza, Titanic, so you might not have heard of Molly
Brown, the unsinkable Molly Brown as she was known, but just relax
and listen to her story as it unfolds, and don't think that because
she was a wealthy woman that she was born with a silver or gold in
this case spoon in her mouth. No, Margaret Tobin Brown was born to
Irish immigrants, Johanna and John Tobin, in 1867, in Hannibal,
Missouri. They were hard workers, Irish Catholics like so many that
came to this country in the 19th century to find freedoms and
wealth, or to at least live in an environment that allowed those
wonderful ideas to flourish. Molly attended school until she was 13,
and then began working in a factory for pennies and long days under
harsh conditions that would exist until the 20th century when
workers fought with life and limb so we could enjoy the fruits of
their endeavors. Molly moved west with her brother Daniel to
Leadville, Colorado. After arriving, she went to work in a
department store, and became active in her church community; all the
while seeing the hardships and lifestyles of those that came to find
glory and gold and wind up down and out. She began to help at the
soup kitchens and other charity works, in the meantime meeting J.J.
Brown, a mining engineer, with decent prospects, but not a fortune.
They courted through the summer, and were married on September 1,
1886, she only 19 and he 31. Moving closer to J.J.'s work in
Stumpftown, since most miners and their families tried to be as
close to their work especially in winter when traveling became
frigid and difficult. Although all the working conditions were very
hard and terrible, the occasional success that happened kept all
working for that one moment of glory and riches. Then in 1893, it
all fell with the silver crash, and amidst this incredible poverty
and despair, J.J. was working as a mining superintendent, when he
came across a vein of gold in the Little Johnny Mine, whereupon the
owners gave the Browns substantial shares in their new enterprise,
the Ibex Mining Company; making the Browns instant millionaires. The
next year, 1894, they bought their Denver home on Pennsylvania
Avenue and watched the city explode with raw materials and smelting
furnaces all around the area. By moving to Denver, the Browns didn't
leave the chaos of poverty and homelessness, as slums grew up around
the city's outskirts; more specifically the children and soon
reformers, that grabbed Molly's attention. As her interests in
making life better for these folks, she thought about running for
office, although the fact that she was a woman didn't bother her or
others, it did offend her husband and many of his associates, so she
dropped out, but continued to learn more about the ways and means of
politics. The Browns new wealth allowed them to become more
philanthropic and able to travel the world. In 1902, she and J.J.
went on a world tour that carried them to Russian, Japan, India,
France and Ireland. The trip helped their tenuous relationship, but
in 1909, after 23 years of marriage, they signed a separation
agreement. They would never divorce, and J.J passed on in 1922. She
got a cash settlement and the house in Denver, with a monthly
allotment of $700 to allow her to keep traveling and helping others.
Then in 1912, with renewed independence, her daughter Helen and
friends, J.J and Madeleine Astor, they took a trip to Egypt, Rome
and then Paris; when news of her grandson's illness caused her to
return on the first ship available which turned out to be the new
Titanic. The technologically advanced ship was a modern wonder, that
cost $10 million to make and at 882.5 feet was boasted as the most
unsinkable ship afloat. Having been warned of possible ice in the
waters, the ship was hurrying to make a momentously fast trip and
just before midnight of April 14, she hit an iceberg. She was
relaxing in bed, reading, when the jolt threw her from the bed, with
little thoughts as to what happened. After the crash, she heard a
lot of commotion outside in the hallways and went to see what was
going on, and saw a man in terrible shape, telling her to get her
life saver. She helped other passengers board, and then she was
dropped four feet into a lowering lifeboat, number 6. The craft was
designed to hold 65, but when it left the shipside it held 21 women,
2 men and 12 year old boy. They all rowed for hours, and at 4:30 AM.
saw a light coming from the approaching ship Carpathia and were all
saved. Molly was tired, sore and cold, but still gathered her
strength to help those that could only speak a little English and
gathered blankets and supplies for the women and others that were
rescued. Many had lost everything they held dear, and were without
money or clothes for the new country. Molly rallied the other first
class members to donate funds for these poor people and before the
ship docked in New York, had raised $10,000 to help. Her experiences
are quite well known, but the aftermath and what she did in helping
the survivors lifted her into the national limelight for the first
time. Her story is a marvelous one of survival and self sacrifice
that gained her much during the remainder of her life.
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