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Posts tagged as “Bridget “Biddy” Mason”

HISTORY: Bridget “Biddy” Mason: From “Property” to Property Owner (LISTEN)

HISTORY: Bridget “Biddy” Mason: From “Property” to Property Owner (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on May 5, 2022

[Image: Composite portrait of Bridget “Biddy” Mason and the First African Methodist Episcopalian Church at the intersection of 8th and Towne in Los Angeles, California, circa 1940. Photos courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library and California State University Dominguez Hills.]

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today, GBN highlights and celebrates 19th century entrepreneur and community builder Bridget “Biddy” Mason, who won her freedom in court and in her time became the wealthiest Black woman in Los Angeles.

To read about her, read on. To hear about her, press PLAY:

[You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website. Full transcript below]:

Hey, this is Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Thursday, May 5th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Ever hear the one about the enslaved mother of three who sued for her freedom, won… and became the richest Black woman in Los Angeles? It’s no joke.

Bridget “Biddy” Mason was born into slavery in 1818 in Mississippi and is reported to have been taken from her mother as a young child. She learned about herbs and midwifery from older enslaved women and when her owner Robert Smith converted to Mormonism, he decided to move to Utah and join the community there.

Mason and her three children were part of that trek – literally – she had to walk the 2,000 miles behind the wagon caravan, tending to the livestock, her owners and her children along the way. After a few years in Utah, Smith relocated to a Mormon enclave in San Bernadino, California.

Unsung Black Women in History: Biddy Mason, from Slavery to One of Los Angeles’ Wealthiest Black Entrepreneurs

By goodblacknews on February 11, 2014

From Clutch Magazine:

Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Madame CJ Walker—the list of women typically mentioned during Black History Month is incredibly short. But this year, CLUTCH will celebrate the achievements of black women you may not have ever heard about.

First up: Bridget “Biddy” Mason

Bridget “Biddy” Mason was born on August 15, 1818 in Georgia. Mason was born into slavery and before her death in 1891 she become one of Los Angeles’ wealthiest Black residents and philanthropists.

After working on a plantation in Mississippi owned by Robert Marion Smith, Mason migrated to Utah with the Smiths, who had converted to Mormonism. During the grueling two-thousand-mile journey, Mason herded cattle, prepared meals, and worked as a nurse and midwife. In 1851, Smith moved his brood, including his enslaved servants, to San Bernardino, California.