"Margaret “Molly” Brown: Unsinkable"
This season of Holy Donors features socialite, Titanic survivor, and philanthropist, Margaret “Molly” Brown. Let us be clear from the start, Molly Brown is not so much a nickname as a fictional name, one that worked better in song lyrics in the musical comedy about Margaret Brown’s life. Margaret Brown is the real world subject of this season’s Holy Donors podcast, and we invite you to join us to learn more about Margaret, her life, and her philanthropic endeavors.
Margaret was born in July 1867 in Hannibal, Missouri as Margaret Tobin. She grew up in a large family of poor Irish immigrants in a post-Civil War political climate. The poverty and political struggles of Margaret’s childhood likely greatly influenced her future philanthropy.
The bulk of this initial episode shares stories of Margaret’s young adult years in Leadville, Colorado. Leadville was a popular, prosperous silver mining town when Margaret arrived with dreams of finding and marrying a wealthy man. It was in Leadville that Margaret met her future (not wealthy!) husband, J.J. Brown. Margaret and J.J. had a few happy years as newlyweds in Leadville, but in the early 1890s the price of silver fell dramatically, the silver mines in Leadville closed, and most residents became unemployed.
At this point, Margaret and J.J. are on the verge of losing everything, but a rare and unexpected opportunity comes for J.J. Tune in next week to find out if and how Margaret and J.J. find success after the price of silver crashes.
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Recommended reading:
"Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth" by Kristen Iversen
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Holy Donors: Bringing you inspiring stories of radical generosity that have changed the world.
