Frances Jane Scroggins Brown | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | April 16, 1914 | (aged 95)
Spouse | Thomas Arthur Brown (married 1840/1841) |
Children | 6, including Hallie Quinn Brown |
Frances Jane Scroggins Brown (15 April 1819 - 16 April 1914) [1] was an African American Underground Railroad station operator. [2] Brown's daughter, Hallie Quinn Brown, co-founded the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). [3]
Frances Scroggins was born into slavery in Winchester County, Virginia, [4] [2] She was freed by one of her grandfathers - a white Revolutionary War officer and plantation owner. [5] Scroggins worked as an indentured servant until her employer moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. [2]
From around 1839, she boarded in the home of James Wilkerson, a freedman who ran a safehouse in the city. [2] During this time, she witnessed enslavers attempting to capture those fleeing slavery, helping to secure their freedom. [2] In one instance, an enslaver attempted to "claim" Scroggins, furious that she had helped an enslaved woman to escape through the Cincinnati network. [2] Known for singing mournful songs by the roadside, Scroggins was called "Crazy Jane". [2]
In about 1840 or1841, she married Thomas Arthur Brown of Frederick County, Maryland, who purchased his freedom in 1843. [4] [2] Thomas Brown worked as a steward on the Mississippi River, and was said to have been the first black express agent in the nation. [6]
The couple settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at a residence called Monongahela House. [2] [7] The Brown house in Pittsburgh became a frequent stop for enslaved people fleeing to Canada on the Underground Railroad. [4] There, aided by a network including freedman physician Martin Robinson Delany and the Reverend Lewis Woodson, they offered food, shelter, and directions onward to safety. [2]
In 1864, because of Frances' poor health, the family moved to Chatham, Ontario, Canada, returning to the US in 1870. [4] The family then settled in Wilberforce, Ohio, where they built Homewood Cottage. [4] [8]
One of the Browns' six children, [9] Hallie Quinn Brown, went on to become a prominent educator and elocutionist, who helped to pioneer African American women's clubs. [10] In biographies of their daughter, the couple are described as having been "learned and passionate about education". [11] Thomas Brown was known as the "walking encyclopedia", while Frances was said to have been very involved with Wilberforce University, where she acted as an unofficial counselor to students. [11] [12]
In Women of Ohio, it was written that:
Mr. and Mrs. Brown exerted a definite influence for good upon the community and “Ma” Brown, as she was affectionately called, lived serenely and did her alms quietly to the ripe age of ninety-five years. [13]
In Front Line of Freedom, Keith P. Griffler numbered Frances Scroggins Brown as "among America’s forgotten children of the revolution", part of "the front line of the struggle against American slavery." [7]
In 2023, Frances Scroggins Brown was included in The Day-Breakers, by poet Michael Fraser, which imagines the lives of Black soldiers who fought for the Union during the American Civil War. [14] [15]
Frances Jane Scroggins Brown | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | April 16, 1914 | (aged 95)
Spouse | Thomas Arthur Brown (married 1840/1841) |
Children | 6, including Hallie Quinn Brown |
Frances Jane Scroggins Brown (15 April 1819 - 16 April 1914) [1] was an African American Underground Railroad station operator. [2] Brown's daughter, Hallie Quinn Brown, co-founded the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). [3]
Frances Scroggins was born into slavery in Winchester County, Virginia, [4] [2] She was freed by one of her grandfathers - a white Revolutionary War officer and plantation owner. [5] Scroggins worked as an indentured servant until her employer moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. [2]
From around 1839, she boarded in the home of James Wilkerson, a freedman who ran a safehouse in the city. [2] During this time, she witnessed enslavers attempting to capture those fleeing slavery, helping to secure their freedom. [2] In one instance, an enslaver attempted to "claim" Scroggins, furious that she had helped an enslaved woman to escape through the Cincinnati network. [2] Known for singing mournful songs by the roadside, Scroggins was called "Crazy Jane". [2]
In about 1840 or1841, she married Thomas Arthur Brown of Frederick County, Maryland, who purchased his freedom in 1843. [4] [2] Thomas Brown worked as a steward on the Mississippi River, and was said to have been the first black express agent in the nation. [6]
The couple settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at a residence called Monongahela House. [2] [7] The Brown house in Pittsburgh became a frequent stop for enslaved people fleeing to Canada on the Underground Railroad. [4] There, aided by a network including freedman physician Martin Robinson Delany and the Reverend Lewis Woodson, they offered food, shelter, and directions onward to safety. [2]
In 1864, because of Frances' poor health, the family moved to Chatham, Ontario, Canada, returning to the US in 1870. [4] The family then settled in Wilberforce, Ohio, where they built Homewood Cottage. [4] [8]
One of the Browns' six children, [9] Hallie Quinn Brown, went on to become a prominent educator and elocutionist, who helped to pioneer African American women's clubs. [10] In biographies of their daughter, the couple are described as having been "learned and passionate about education". [11] Thomas Brown was known as the "walking encyclopedia", while Frances was said to have been very involved with Wilberforce University, where she acted as an unofficial counselor to students. [11] [12]
In Women of Ohio, it was written that:
Mr. and Mrs. Brown exerted a definite influence for good upon the community and “Ma” Brown, as she was affectionately called, lived serenely and did her alms quietly to the ripe age of ninety-five years. [13]
In Front Line of Freedom, Keith P. Griffler numbered Frances Scroggins Brown as "among America’s forgotten children of the revolution", part of "the front line of the struggle against American slavery." [7]
In 2023, Frances Scroggins Brown was included in The Day-Breakers, by poet Michael Fraser, which imagines the lives of Black soldiers who fought for the Union during the American Civil War. [14] [15]