(From FB)
Biddy Bridget Mason (1815-1891) was born into slavery and given as a
wedding gift to a Mormon couple in Mississippi named Robert and Rebecca
Smith. In 1847 at age 32, Biddy Mason was forced to walk from
Mississippi to Utah tending cattle behind her master’s 300-wagon caravan.
After four years in Salt Lake City, Smith took the group to a new Mormon
settlement in San Bernardino, California in search of gold. Biddy Mason
soon discovered that the California State Constitution made slavery
illegal, and that her master planned to move them all to Texas to avoid
freeing them. With the help of some free blacks she had befriended, she
and the other slaves attempted to run away to Los Angeles, but they were
intercepted by Smith and brought back. However, when he tried to leave
the state with his family and slaves, a local posse prevented his
flight. Biddy had Robert Smith brought into court on a writ of habeas
corpus. She, her daughters, and the ten other slaves were held in jail
for their own safety until the judge heard the case and granted their
freedom.
Now free, Mason and her three daughters moved to Los Angeles where they
worked and saved enough money to buy a house at 331 Spring Street in
downtown Los Angeles. Biddy was employed as a nurse, midwife, and
domestic servant. She was one of the first black women to own land in
the city of Los Angeles. She had the gumption to use part of her land as
a temporary resting place for horses and carriages, and people visiting
town paid money in exchange for the space. This can be considered the
first "parking lot" in Los Angeles!
Knowing what it meant to be oppressed and friendless, Biddy Mason
immediately began a philanthropic career by opening her home to the
poor, hungry, and homeless. Through hard work, saving, and investing
carefully, she was able to purchase large amounts of real estate
including a commercial building, which provided her with enough income
to help build schools, hospitals, and churches. Her financial fortunes
continued to increase until she accumulated a fortune of almost
$300,000. In today's money, that would be $6M. Her most noted
accomplishment is the founding of the First AME Church in California.
H/t Chico Women's Club
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