Mary Ann Day Brown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Ann Day Brown
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Mary Ann Brown (née Day), wife of John Brown, married in 1833, with Annie (left) and Sarah (right) in 1851.
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| Born |
Mary Ann Day
April 15, 1816 |
| Died | February 29, 1884 (aged 67) |
| Resting place | Madronia Cemetery, Saratoga, California |
| Occupation | Abolitionist, Underground Railroad conductor, California pioneer |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 13, including Watson Brown |
Mary Ann Day Brown (born April 15, 1816 – died February 29, 1884) was a brave woman who supported her husband, John Brown, in his fight against slavery. John Brown was a famous abolitionist, meaning he worked to end slavery. He led a daring raid on Harpers Ferry to try and free enslaved people in the Southern United States.
Mary married John when she was just 17 years old. She became a stepmother to his five children and then had 13 more children of her own. She was a strong supporter of her husband's work. While he was away fighting for freedom, Mary managed their large family and home. She and John also helped enslaved African Americans escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad. Mary lived in different places, including Ohio and a special settlement for abolitionists in North Elba, New York. After her husband's death, she moved to California and became a pioneer.
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Mary's Early Life
Mary Ann Day was born on April 15, 1816, in Granville, New York. Her parents were Mary and Charles Day. Her father was a farmer and a blacksmith. When Mary was a young girl, her family moved to Meadville, Pennsylvania.
When she was 16, Mary sometimes visited the home of John Brown in New Richmond, Pennsylvania. She would help with tasks like working on the spinning wheel, which was used to make thread. Her sister was already working there as a housekeeper. People described Mary as tall and strong, with beautiful black hair. John Brown thought she was a very hard worker and practical. He was a shy man, so he wrote a letter to her asking her to marry him.
Family Life and Many Children
Mary Ann Day married John Brown on June 14 or July 11, 1833. She was 17 years old. John was a widower, meaning his first wife had passed away.
John's First Children
When Mary married John, she became a stepmother to his five children. They ranged in age from two to twelve years old.
- John Brown, Jr. was born in Hudson, Ohio, in 1821. He went to school at the Grand River Institute. He later became a teacher. John Jr. was the only one of John Brown's children to fight in the American Civil War. He died in 1895.
- Jason Brown was born in Hudson, Ohio, in 1823. He was a kind person who believed in peace. He married Ellen Sherbondy in 1847. He died in 1912.
- Owen Brown was born in Hudson, Ohio, in 1824. He fought in battles in Kansas. He also went with his father to Harpers Ferry. Owen helped four others escape when the raid failed. He died in Pasadena, California, in 1889.
- Ruth Brown was born in New Richmond, Pennsylvania, in 1829. She also attended the Grand River Institute. She married Henry Thompson in 1850. She died in 1904.
- Frederick Brown was born in New Richmond, Pennsylvania, in 1830. He was sadly killed in Osawatomie, Kansas, in 1856.
Mary's Own Children
Mary and John had 13 children together. Sadly, six of them did not live to be adults. Three more passed away before John's death.
- Sarah Brown was born in New Richmond, Pennsylvania, in 1834. She died at age nine in Richfield, Ohio.
- Watson Brown was born in Franklin, Ohio, in 1835. He married Isabella Thompson. Watson took part in the Harpers Ferry raid and died from his injuries in 1859.
- Salmon Brown was born in Hudson, Ohio, in 1836. He married Abbie C. Hinckley. Salmon also fought in Kansas. He died in Portland, Oregon, in 1919.
- Charles Brown was born in Hudson, Ohio, in 1837. He died in Richmond, Ohio, in 1843.
- Oliver Brown was born in Franklin, Ohio, in 1839. He married Martha Brewster. Oliver participated in the Harpers Ferry raid and died from his wounds in 1859.
- Peter Brown was born in Hudson, Ohio, in 1840. He died at age two in 1843.
- Austin Brown was born in Richfield, Ohio, in 1842. He died at age one in 1843.
- Annie Brown was born in Richfield, Ohio, in 1843. She helped by being a lookout at Kennedy Farm before the Harpers Ferry raid. She married Samuel Adams. Annie died in 1926.
- Amelia Brown was born in 1845 and died in an accident in 1846.
- Sarah Brown (the second) was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1846. She never married and died in 1916.
- Ellen Brown (the first) was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1848. She died in 1849.
- An unnamed infant son was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1852 and died 21 days later.
- Ellen Brown (the second) was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1854. She married James Fablinger in 1876. She died in 1916.
Life in Ohio
For the first few years of their marriage, the Browns lived in New Richmond, Pennsylvania. In 1835, they moved to Franklin Mills, Ohio (now Kent, Ohio), and later to Richfield, Ohio, in 1842. They also lived in John's hometown of Hudson, Ohio.
In the 1830s, groups against slavery started forming. William Lloyd Garrison began the newspaper The Liberator and the American Anti-Slavery Society. Mary and John read this newspaper and agreed with its strong views against slavery. Not many people supported the anti-slavery movement back then. Mary believed it was very important to end slavery. She saw all people, including African Americans, as equals.
While her husband and sons were away fighting against slavery, Mary stayed home. She worked hard to support the family, manage the household, and raise their many children. John saw Mary as a true partner. He called her a "fast and faithful affectionate friend." He knew that because of his fight against slavery, Mary had to live a life of "poverty, trials, discredit, and sore afflictions." This sometimes made her sick and caused much sadness.
The Brown children were taught to be honest, resist bad choices, improve themselves, and be helpful. Sadly, four of Mary's children died in 1843, and two more died by 1849. A special stone was placed in the cemetery in Richfield, Ohio. It is believed John wrote the words on it, which speak of peace and hope after death.
Later, Mary and the children moved to Akron, Ohio. They lived in a house owned by Simon Perkins, who had a wool business with John.
The North Elba Community
Gerrit Smith started a special community for African Americans in North Elba, New York. It was in the wild Adirondacks. John Brown moved his family there to teach the men how to farm. Mary had been sick after losing her children. In 1849, a visitor named Richard Henry Dana Jr. described her as an invalid, meaning she was often unwell. Her stepdaughter, Ruth, was helping to care for the children. Mary traveled to Northampton, Massachusetts, for a "water cure" treatment, which greatly improved her health.
Frederick Douglass, a famous abolitionist, visited the Browns. He noticed that both the boys and girls in the family served food to everyone. The boys would clear the table and wash dishes. This was unusual for the time!
John Brown and Gerrit Smith hoped this community would be a good place for African Americans to live. But it was hard to farm in the cold climate, and the community did not grow very large. The Browns helped Black people escape slavery through the Underground Railroad. This became even more dangerous after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed. John Brown even used his wool warehouse in Springfield, Massachusetts, as a safe place on the Underground Railroad. The Brown family planned to defend North Elba with weapons if slave catchers came.
In the mid-1850s, John and most of their sons went to Kansas. They fought against groups who wanted slavery in Kansas. Mary stayed in North Elba with her daughters and her son Watson. In 1857, a friend named Franklin Sanborn said Mary and her daughters, Ruth and Annie, were "hardworking, self-denying, devoted women." He said they understood how important John's fight was and were willing to help. Even though the Browns faced money problems, they still saved money to help African Americans in North Elba.
John returned east in 1856. He started looking for support for an anti-slavery raid in Virginia. Mary continued to manage their difficult life in North Elba while he traveled. Mary did not go to the Kennedy Farm as her husband asked. She also tried to stop her stepdaughter Annie and Oliver's wife Martha from going there.
The Harpers Ferry Raid
John Brown planned and carried out the raid on Harpers Ferry on October 16, 1859. His sons Oliver and Watson were with him. Annie and her sister-in-law Martha (Oliver's wife) cooked and prepared for the men at the Kennedy house. These men were later called John Brown's raiders. The young women returned to North Elba just before the raid began.
On the night of the raid, Mary waited at home in North Elba for news about her husband and sons. Her four daughters — Ruth, Annie, Sarah, and Ellen — were with her, along with her daughters-in-law Martha and Bell. Ruth's husband, Henry, was injured and did not join the raid.
John Brown was captured, and two of their sons were killed. He was accused of very serious crimes. When Mary visited him in jail in Charles Town, Virginia, her picture was drawn, and her life story was printed in newspapers. She became famous across the country because of the Harpers Ferry raid. Mary met important abolitionists, and money was raised to help her family.
Abolitionist leaders, like Wendell Phillips, often told Mary how they thought she should act and speak. They wanted her to show that she fully supported John Brown. They even wrote letters for her to publish in newspapers.
John was found guilty and was executed on December 2, 1859. Some people wanted to use his body for medical study. But Mary begged Henry A. Wise, the governor of Virginia, to return his body to her and their children. John had wanted to be buried at the family farm. Governor Wise agreed. Some abolitionists wanted John to be buried in a grand cemetery with a big monument. They hoped this would help raise money for the anti-slavery movement.
Moving to California
After the American Civil War, Mary and her daughters joined groups that encouraged people not to drink alcohol. Mary, her son Salmon, and his wife Abbie decided to travel to California. Abbie's uncle said California was a "land of gold opportunity." Mary and the couple sold their farms and headed west with her daughters Sarah and Annie. They hoped for a new beginning and to escape the fame of John Brown.
They spent a winter in Iowa. People who supported the Confederacy (the Southern states) found them. It was believed they poisoned two of their sheep and planned to kill Salmon. In 1864, a newspaper reported a rumor that the Brown family had been killed. But instead, the Browns traveled by wagon to a Union army post in Soda Springs, Idaho. They arrived just three hours before their pursuers. Soldiers traveled with the family for about 200 miles to Nevada. They continued their journey along the California Trail and arrived at Red Bluff, California. The people there welcomed them, giving them food and supplies. Salmon quickly found work. However, Mary was bothered by people who supported slavery in Red Bluff, so she decided to leave. She moved to Rohnerville, California, and then to Saratoga.
In 1882, Mary traveled back east. She was honored at public events in Chicago and Kansas. She visited many places important to her and her husband's life. While staying at her son John Jr.'s house in Ohio, the body of her son Watson, which had been lost, was unexpectedly brought to her. She took it with her to North Elba and buried him next to his father.
Mary's Death
Mary Ann Day Brown passed away on February 29, 1884. She was buried in the Madronia Cemetery in Saratoga, California. She had wished to be buried next to her husband if it was not too expensive or difficult.
Mary's Legacy
Historian Stephen B. Oates called Mary a "loyal, self-sacrificing wife." He said she was taught that a woman's job was to have children, care for her home, and obey her husband. Because of this, she fully supported John's wishes and endured many hardships.
Her letters show how much she loved her husband and believed in ending slavery. Author John Newton wrote in 1902 that she faced "hardship, poverty, prolonged separation from her husband, yea, even the loss of her noble sons to further the sacred cause of freedom." Mary once said about her husband, "It is only those that are capable of appreciating his motives that can see any beauty in them."
Oswald Garrison Villard wrote in 1910 that Mary had "rugged physical health and even greater ruggedness of nature." He said she was truly made of the same strong spirit as her husband.
Images for kids
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Mary Ann Brown (née Day), wife of John Brown, married in 1833, with Annie (left) and Sarah (right) in 1851.
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John Brown's burial, Brown family farm, North Elba, New York, December 8, 1859.
