Margaret (Tobin) Brown (1868 - 1932)

Born 18 Jul 1868 in Hannibal, Marion, Missouri, United States

Wife of James Joseph Brown — married 1 Sep 1886 in Leadville, Lake, Colorado, United States

Descendants

Died 26 Oct 1932 at age 64 in New York City, New York, United States

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Maggie (Tobin) Brown was a passenger on the RMS Titanic. Join: Titanic Project Discuss: titanic

Maggie (Tobin) Brown has Irish ancestors.

Biography

Maggie (Tobin) Brown is Notable.

Philanthropist known as the Unsinkable Molly Brown for having survived as a passenger of the sinking of the Titanic

Birthplace Margaret Tobin, Hannibal, MO

Margaret Tobin was born July 19, 1868, in a three-bedroom cottage near the Mississippi River in Hannibal, Missouri. The area is now known as Denkler's Alley. Her parents were Irish immigrants, John and Johanna Tobin. Born also to this union were Margaret's siblings: Daniel, Michael, William, and Helen. She had two half-sisters: Catherine, from her father's first marriage, and Mary Ann, by her mother's first marriage.^[1][2][3][4]

At age 18, Margaret relocated to Leadville, Colorado, with her siblings Daniel, Mary Ann, and Mary Ann's husband John Landrigan. Margaret shared a two-bedroom log cabin with her brother Daniel and worked in a department store.^[1]

In Leadville, Margaret met and married James Joseph "J.J." Brown. He was an enterprising, self-educated, rich man; but Margaret claimed she married for love. They were married on September 1, 1886 in Leadville, Colorado, and had two children, Lawrence and Catherine.^[1][5][6]

In 1893, the Brown family acquired great wealth when J.J's mining engineering proved instrumental in the production of a substantial ore seam for his employers, Ibex Mining Company. He was awarded with 12,500 shares of stock and a seat on the board. Margaret helped by working in soup kitchens to assist the miner's families.^[1]

Molly Brown House Denver, CO

In 1909, Margaret and J.J. privately signed a separation agreement. This agreement gave Margaret a cash settlement and she maintained possession of the house on Pennsylvania Street, in Denver, and the summer house. She also received a $700 monthly allowance (equivalent to $18,436 today) to continue her travels and social work.^[1]

Margaret assisted in fundraising for Denver's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which was completed in 1911. She also worked with Judge Ben Lindsey to help destitute children and establish the United States' first juvenile court, which helped form the basis of the modern U.S. juvenile courts system.^[1]

Margaret ran for Senate in 1914 but ended her campaign to return to France to work with the American Committee for Devastated France during WWI.^[1]

At the time of J.J. Brown's death on September 5, 1922, Margaret and her two children had five years of disputes over the estate. In the end, Maggie was to receive $20,000 in cash and securities and the interest on a $100,000 trust fund in her name. $118,000 was to be divided between her two children, who each received a $59,000 trust fund. Margaret and her children were reconciled at the time of Margaret's death. Margaret Brown died October 26, 1932^[7] in the Barbizon Hotel, New York City, New York.^[1]

Before her death, she was an actress.^[1]

Margaret was buried in Westbury, New York in the Cemetery of the Holy Rood, in the Benziger partition, Sec 15, Row St Quentin, Plot 2.

Mistaken Identity

Margaret is often assumed to have had something to do with the establishment of the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, but she was not related by blood or marriage to the hotel's builder, Henry C. Brown. She was, however, a frequent guest at the hotel during the years of her separation from husband J. J. Brown.^[8]

Titanic

Margaret was conveyed to the passenger liner RMS Titanic as a first class passenger aboard the tender SS Nomadic at Cherbourg, France. Some of the other first class passengers disliked her because she was "new money".^[1]

The Titanic sank early on April 15, 1912, at around 2:20 AM, after striking an iceberg at around 11:40 PM on April 14. Brown helped others board the lifeboats but was finally persuaded to leave the ship in Lifeboat No. 6. Brown was later called "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" by authors because she helped in the ship's evacuation, taking an oar herself in her lifeboat and urging that the lifeboat go back and save more people.^[1]

People who have portrayed the "Unsinkable Molly Brown"

• Thelma Ritter (1953 in Titanic)
• Cloris Leachman (1957 in Telephone Time)
• Tucker McGuire (1958 in A Night to Remember)
• Tammy Grimes (1960 in The Unsinkable Molly Brown)
• Debbie Reynolds (1964 in The Unsinkable Molly Brown)
• Cloris Leachman (1979 in S.O.S. Titanic)
• Fionnula Flanagan (1983) in Voyagers!)
• Marilu Henner (1996 in Titanic)
• Kathy Bates (1997 in James Cameron's Titanic)
• Judy Prestininzi (2003 in Ghosts of the Abyss)
• Linda Kash (2012 in Titanic)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11} Margaret Brown
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M46P-SJ2 : 18 March 2020), Maggy Tobin in entry for John Tobin, 1870.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6XP-SBX : 7 September 2017), Maggie Tobin in household of John Tobin, Hannibal, Marion, Missouri, United States; citing enumeration district ED 8, sheet 189C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,702.
4. ↑ "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV5B-HYYQ : 16 March 2018), Margaret T Brown, 1920; citing Passport Application, District Of Columbia, United States, source certificate #13199, Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925, 1151, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKW1-SKK : accessed 13 April 2020), Margaret T Brown in the household of James J Brown, Denver Ward 10, Denver, Colorado, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 125, sheet 1A, family 9, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 116; FHL microfilm 1,374,129.
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQM9-7L7 : accessed 13 April 2020), Margaret Brown in the household of James J Brown, Precinct 5 Denver city Ward 10, Arapahoe, Colorado, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 82, sheet 3A, family 56, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,119.
7. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #1707
8. ↑ Faulkner, Debra. Ladies of the Brown: A Women's History of Denver's Most Elegant Hotel. Arcadia Publishing, 2010. Accessed at Google Books.

• Encyclopedia Titanica

See Also:

• Wikipedia: Molly Brown
• Wikidata: Item Q229631, en:Wikipedia

1. Molly Brown House Museum
2. Visit the Home of Molly Brown - Denver Post