Clarissa (Clara) Harlowe Barton

25 December 1821 — 12 April 1912

1 Born at Oxford, Worcester County, Massachusetts; daughter of Sarah (Sally) Stone and Stephen Barton. 2 Taught in and superintended local schools, circa 1836–1854. 3 Moved to Washington DC, 1854; one of the first women to serve as a clerk in the U.S. Patent Office, 1854–1856. 4 Nursed wounded soldiers on the front lines of the American Civil War and led post-war search efforts for missing soldiers, 1861–1869. 5 Joined International Red Cross relief efforts in Europe during and after the Franco-Prussian War, 1870–1873. 6 Founded the American Red Cross, 1881; directed Red Cross efforts until 1904. 7 Active in contemporary reform efforts, including promoting education, woman suffrage, and civil rights. 8 Died at Glen Echo, Montgomery County, Maryland; buried at Oxford. 9 (See Document 4.27)

Footnotes

  1. [1] Find a Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com, accessed Apr. 2014), memorial no. 63, Clarissa Harlowe Barton; North Cemetery, Oxford, MA. Dictionary of American Biography, ed. Allen Johnson (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1928–1936), 1:18.

  2. [2] Percy H. Epler, The Life of Clara Barton (New York: Macmillan, 1915), 1–8. “Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988,” database, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com, accessed Apr. 2014); citing Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Vital and Town Records, Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook), Provo, UT.

  3. [3] Johnson, Dictionary of American Biography, 18–19.

  4. [4] Epler, Life of Clara Barton, 25–26. Johnson, Dictionary of American Biography, 19.

  5. [5] Johnson, Dictionary of American Biography, 19.

  6. [6] Ibid., 19–20.

  7. [7] Ibid., 20–21.

  8. [8] See Epler, Life of Clara Barton, 21–23, 341–343, 375–376.

  9. [9] Find a Grave, memorial no. 63. Dictionary of American Biography, 21. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed Jan. 4, 2016), Clarissa Harlow Barton LHV5-KBG .