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Margaret Brown
Margaret Brown (née Tobin; July 18, 1867 – October 26, 1932), posthumously known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown", was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was a survivor of the RMS Titanic, which sank in 1912, and she unsuccessfully urged the crew in Lifeboat No. 6 to return to the debris field to look for survivors.
During her lifetime, her friends called her "Maggie", but by her death, obituaries referred to her as the "Unsinkable Mrs. Brown". Gene Fowler referred to her as "Molly Brown" in his 1933 book Timberline. The following year, she was referred to as the "Unsinkable Mrs. Brown" and "Molly Brown" in newspapers.
Margaret Tobin was born on July 18, 1867, near the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri, on Denkler's Alley. The three-room cottage where she was born is now the Molly Brown Birthplace and Museum; it is on 600 Butler Street in Hannibal. Her parents were Irish Catholic immigrants John Tobin and Johanna (Collins) Tobin. Her siblings were Daniel Tobin, Michael Tobin, William Tobin, and Helen Tobin. Both of Margaret's parents had previously been married to other spouses who had died. Brown had two half-sisters: Catherine Bridget Tobin, by her father's first marriage, and Mary Ann Collins, by her mother's first marriage. Called Maggie by her family, she attended her maternal aunt Mary O'Leary's grammar school, which was across the street from her home. Nearby was also the Hannibal Gas Works where her father worked as a laborer. Their neighborhood was a tight-knit Irish Catholic community, where people traveled westward through the town for the gold fields.
At age 18, Margaret relocated to Leadville, Colorado, with her siblings Daniel Tobin, Mary Ann Collins Landrigan, and Mary Ann's husband John Landrigan. Margaret and her brother Daniel shared a two-room log cabin, and she found work sewing carpets and draperies at a dry goods store, Daniels, Fisher and Smith. Daniel was a miner.
In Leadville, she met and married James Joseph Brown (1854–1922), nicknamed "J.J.", an imaginative, self-educated man. He was not a rich man, and she married J.J. for love. After his death she said,
I wanted a rich man, but I loved Jim Brown. I thought about how I wanted comfort for my father and how I had determined to stay single until a man presented himself who could give to the tired older man the things I longed for him. Jim was as poor as we were and had no better chance. I struggled hard with myself in those days. I loved Jim, but he was poor. Finally, I decided that I'd be better off with a poor man whom I loved than with a wealthy one whose money had attracted me. So I married Jim Brown.
Margaret and J.J. married in Leadville Annunciation Church on September 1, 1886. They had two children: Lawrence Palmer Brown (1887–1949), known as Larry, and Catherine Ellen Brown (1889–1969), known as Helen. They also raised three of their nieces: Grace, Florence, and Helen Tobin.
In 1893, the Brown family acquired great wealth when J.J.'s mining engineering efforts proved instrumental in the exploration of a substantial ore seam at the Little Jonny Mine. His employer, Ibex Mining Company, awarded him 12,500 shares of stock and a seat on the board. In Leadville, Margaret helped by working in soup kitchens to assist miners' families.
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Margaret Brown
Margaret Brown (née Tobin; July 18, 1867 – October 26, 1932), posthumously known as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown", was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was a survivor of the RMS Titanic, which sank in 1912, and she unsuccessfully urged the crew in Lifeboat No. 6 to return to the debris field to look for survivors.
During her lifetime, her friends called her "Maggie", but by her death, obituaries referred to her as the "Unsinkable Mrs. Brown". Gene Fowler referred to her as "Molly Brown" in his 1933 book Timberline. The following year, she was referred to as the "Unsinkable Mrs. Brown" and "Molly Brown" in newspapers.
Margaret Tobin was born on July 18, 1867, near the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri, on Denkler's Alley. The three-room cottage where she was born is now the Molly Brown Birthplace and Museum; it is on 600 Butler Street in Hannibal. Her parents were Irish Catholic immigrants John Tobin and Johanna (Collins) Tobin. Her siblings were Daniel Tobin, Michael Tobin, William Tobin, and Helen Tobin. Both of Margaret's parents had previously been married to other spouses who had died. Brown had two half-sisters: Catherine Bridget Tobin, by her father's first marriage, and Mary Ann Collins, by her mother's first marriage. Called Maggie by her family, she attended her maternal aunt Mary O'Leary's grammar school, which was across the street from her home. Nearby was also the Hannibal Gas Works where her father worked as a laborer. Their neighborhood was a tight-knit Irish Catholic community, where people traveled westward through the town for the gold fields.
At age 18, Margaret relocated to Leadville, Colorado, with her siblings Daniel Tobin, Mary Ann Collins Landrigan, and Mary Ann's husband John Landrigan. Margaret and her brother Daniel shared a two-room log cabin, and she found work sewing carpets and draperies at a dry goods store, Daniels, Fisher and Smith. Daniel was a miner.
In Leadville, she met and married James Joseph Brown (1854–1922), nicknamed "J.J.", an imaginative, self-educated man. He was not a rich man, and she married J.J. for love. After his death she said,
I wanted a rich man, but I loved Jim Brown. I thought about how I wanted comfort for my father and how I had determined to stay single until a man presented himself who could give to the tired older man the things I longed for him. Jim was as poor as we were and had no better chance. I struggled hard with myself in those days. I loved Jim, but he was poor. Finally, I decided that I'd be better off with a poor man whom I loved than with a wealthy one whose money had attracted me. So I married Jim Brown.
Margaret and J.J. married in Leadville Annunciation Church on September 1, 1886. They had two children: Lawrence Palmer Brown (1887–1949), known as Larry, and Catherine Ellen Brown (1889–1969), known as Helen. They also raised three of their nieces: Grace, Florence, and Helen Tobin.
In 1893, the Brown family acquired great wealth when J.J.'s mining engineering efforts proved instrumental in the exploration of a substantial ore seam at the Little Jonny Mine. His employer, Ibex Mining Company, awarded him 12,500 shares of stock and a seat on the board. In Leadville, Margaret helped by working in soup kitchens to assist miners' families.
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