Harriet Tubman

(born Araminta Ross; 1820 or 1821 – March 10, 1913)

Born as a slave and suffering throughout most of her life,  Harriet Tubman became known as “The Moses of her people”.

Despite a head injury that left her with long term disabilities, Harriet escaped and then returned to free her family and eventually dozens of other slaves and was highly sought, with large rewards being offered for her capture.

When the United States passed the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850, she began bringing slaves across the border to Canada and helped them find jobs. During the Civil War she worked for the Union Army as a cook and then an armed spy.

She returned home after the war to care for her parents and eventually bought a home and built one for the aged and indigent on the property next to her.  Here she worked and herself was cared for in the period before her death in 1913. She also worked as an activist for women’s suffrage until she was too ill to do so.

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