Pioneers all praise her life of good deeds. — lawyer John W. Kemp (image via Wikimedia Commons) In 1847, after 29 years living in slavery, Bridget Mason walked from Mississippi to California. Her owner, Robert Marion Smith, made a crucial mistake in migrating his entire household out West — in 1851, when California entered the Union as a free state, Bridget and his other slaves were finally allowed to leave slavery. Smith fought their emancipation, but in 1856, Bridget turned to another former slave for help.
A Woman to Know: Biddy Mason
A Woman to Know: Biddy Mason
A Woman to Know: Biddy Mason
Pioneers all praise her life of good deeds. — lawyer John W. Kemp (image via Wikimedia Commons) In 1847, after 29 years living in slavery, Bridget Mason walked from Mississippi to California. Her owner, Robert Marion Smith, made a crucial mistake in migrating his entire household out West — in 1851, when California entered the Union as a free state, Bridget and his other slaves were finally allowed to leave slavery. Smith fought their emancipation, but in 1856, Bridget turned to another former slave for help.