People who inspire: the "unsinkable" maggie brown

Margaret Brown was more than an American socialite and philanthropist; she was a woman with a big heart and love for people. Maggie had humble beginnings which may have given her the concern for the less fortunate that she made her famous for. Born Margaret Tobin on July 18, 1867, in Hannibal, Missouri, to Irish Catholic immigrant parents who lived in a two-bedroom house, she had three brothers, one sister, and two half-sisters. Her parents were widowed very young.

When Margaret was eighteen years old, she and her older brother Daniel moved to Leadville, Colorado, with their sister Mary Ann and her sister’s husband. In those days, mining in Colorado offered many opportunities for a good job in industry or in businesses that served miners and their families. Maggie lived with her brother in a small house and found a job in a department store. Margaret eventually met and married JJ Brown.

Maggie had the opportunity to marry wealthy men who made their fortune in mining and tried to woo her. Instead, she married a self-taught businessman. When she was asked about it, she said:

“She wanted a rich man, but she loved Jim Brown. I thought about how she wanted comfort for my father and how she had decided to remain single until a man came along who could give the tired old man the things he longed for. Jim was just as poor as we were and he didn’t have a better chance in life. I struggled a lot with myself in those days. I loved Jim, but he was poor. Finally, I decided that I would be better off with a poor man. whom I loved than with someone rich whose money had lured me. So I married Jim Brown.”

The couple married on September 1, 1886 in Leadville at the Church of the Annunciation. Over the next three years they had two children, Larry and Helen. In 1893 everything changed for the Brown Family. JJ was responsible for the discovery of gold at the Little Jonny silver mine, owned by Ibex Mining. The switch from silver to gold production made the company rich and reversed the 90 percent unemployment rate among Leadville miners. Ibex gave him 12,500 shares and a position on its Board of Directors.

Margaret donated her time and effort to work at a soup kitchen that served the needy families of underprivileged miners. She was outspoken when it came to women’s rights and very active in suffrage to give women the right to vote. Maggie assisted in fundraising efforts for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (completed 1911). She also worked with Judge Ben Lindsey to help homeless children and establish America’s first juvenile court, which formed the model for America’s modern juvenile court system.

Margaret’s social views were not supported by her husband, who held highly sexist beliefs about women’s roles in marriage and society. Unfortunately, these views were typical among most wealthy men and their high-society wives in those days. Although it never happened to her, the women were regularly and legally flogged by their husbands for almost any infraction. These may include serving dinner late, having a messy house, or not properly supervising children. Maggie also managed to annoy JJ and others by wearing oversized women’s hats to draw attention to her and her causes.

In less than a year, the Browns were wealthy, and in 1894 they bought a Victorian mansion in Denver. In 1897 they built a summer home near Bear Creek in southwest Denver. Margaret helped establish the Denver Women’s Club with other wealthy wives. The club’s mission was to improve the lives of women through education and philanthropy. Maggie embraced her new role by becoming involved in the arts and becoming fluent in French, German, Italian and Russian.

Margaret Brown became a wealthy socialite, but she despised snobs. Maggie gave successful parties attended by many of Denver’s best known personalities. However, even after starting an association celebrating French culture (which was a favorite of wealthy women in those days), she was unable to get into Denver’s most elite women’s group, Sacred 36. Members of that group they attended exclusive parties and dinners hosted by Louise Sneed Hill. Brown called her “Denver’s snobbish woman.”

Maggie’s early feminist views constantly annoyed her husband and some of the most influential members of the Denver Society. In 1909 Margaret and JJ signed a separation agreement. As religious Catholics, they were never divorced, instead living apart for the rest of their lives. The two still communicated in a friendly manner and cared for each other. Margaret received a cash payment, kept possession of her homes, and received a monthly allowance of $700 to continue her travel and social work.

Margaret Brown spent 1912 traveling in the Middle East and Europe. While she was in France, she received a message from Denver that her eldest grandchild was seriously ill. She booked first-class passage on the RMS Titanic, which was the next passenger ship to leave for New York. Her daughter Helen was supposed to accompany her, but she decided to stay in Paris to continue her studies. Brown was transported to the Titanic aboard the dinghy SS Nomadic in Cherbourg, France, on the afternoon of April 10, 1912.

On April 15, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg at around 11:40 p.m. Less than three hours later, she slipped below the surface. During the rush to save as many as possible, Maggie helped other passengers onto her lifeboat, refusing to board her own. Finally, she was persuaded to leave the ship in lifeboat no. Daredevil Brown was later branded an “unsinkable” by a newspaper reporting on her stubborn refusal to abandon ship until she had helped as many as possible to board lifeboats, as well as her other actions to save lives and help survivors.

As the Titanic sank, Maggie urged Quartermaster Robert Hichens to turn the half-empty lifeboat around and search for survivors. Hichens feared that the lifeboat would be blown over by the Titanic’s suction or swamped by people trying to get into it, so he refused his request. Passengers on his lifeboat later told the press that Brown threatened to throw the crewman overboard. After the Titanic survivors were picked up by the RMS Carpathia, Brown organized a committee of first-class passengers to assist second- and third-class passengers. They provided the essentials and even arranged advice.

Margaret Brown ran for a Senate seat from Colorado in 1914. She abruptly ended her campaign to return to France to work with the American Committee for Devastated France during World War I. Later, she used her newfound fame as “The Unsinkable Mrs. Brown.” “Speaking out for women’s and children’s literacy, and better working conditions for miners. Maggie also continued to push for women’s rights and raise money for worthwhile causes like the Red Cross.

During the 1920s, Maggie fulfilled a lifelong ambition and became an actress. The desire that the public had to meet her because of all the publicity she received from her caused people to come out in large numbers. Her fame as a Titanic survivor and her brash outspokenness made her an instant hit in the theater world. She outlived her husband, but on October 26, 1932, Margaret Brown died in her sleep at the Barbizon Hotel in New York City. The autopsy revealed that she died from a brain tumor. She was buried with JJ Brown at Holy Rood Cemetery in Westbury, Long Island, New York.

Margaret Brown’s fame as a heroic survivor of the Titanic helped her promote historic preservation and commemoration of the bravery and chivalry displayed by the men aboard the Titanic. During World War I, she worked with the American Committee for Devastated France and helped wounded French and American soldiers. She was awarded the French Legion of Honor for her actions, activism and philanthropy.

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