A Trip to: Denver, CO

The Molly Brown House and the Titanic

When we arrived at Molly's home located at 1340 Pennsylvania Avenue in Denver, it was fascinating to compare the film images with her real home. As we listened to her life story told by a docent, and later read primary source documents in the form of published letters and newspaper accounts of Mrs. Brown's life, we realized that the Hollywood version was relatively accurate in its account.

Molly Brown (who was rarely called Molly in real life, but rather Maggie) was born Margaret Tobin in 1867 to poor Irish Catholic parents. At 15 she decided to leave home in Hannibal, Missouri, to seek her fortune. She went to Leadville in Colorado to live with an aunt. She got a job as a seamstress right away; a result of the great boom Leadville was experiencing due to mining operations. She met James J. Brown, a mining pioneer, and by her 16th birthday was married to him.

Molly was ambitious. When J.J. improvised a method for excavating gold in the Little Jonny mine, they tapped what seemed like unlimited resources and became extremely wealthy. At Molly's insistence they moved to Denver. Molly was intent on being accepted by the social elite of Denver known as the "Sacred 36." She learned quickly that great wealth alone would not provide a ticket to high society. She was snubbed repeatedly by the upper class society matrons. Determined to gain acceptance Molly began a personal crusade to educate herself about art and culture. She learned to speak 5 different languages, while traveling throughout the world. She met European aristocrats, who found her can-do spirit and quest for knowledge refreshing. Molly studied at universities in Europe and was particularly fond of theatre, becoming an accomplished actress. She loved to entertain her new-found friends.

J.J. did not share Molly's enthusiasm for travel or culture, so she often traveled alone. Such was the case in April of 1912 when Molly booked passage from Cherbourg, France to New York aboard the ill-fated Titanic. When the Titanic struck an iceberg in the early morning hours of April 14th, Molly was one of the first on deck to board the lifeboats. She had the presence of mind to dress warmly and even brought $500 cash with her. She would later recall that many women passengers were initially reluctant to board lifeboats, wanting to stay with their husbands. Subsequently her lifeboat was not filled to capacity. When her lifeboat was lowered into the water there were two ship's crewmen aboard who were to be rowers. Molly, ever calm and resourceful, recognized that they needed to get as far away from the Titanic as possible to avoid getting caught in the suction of the ship as it sank. She insisted on rowing too, and convinced other women on board to row as well. Seeing that children were cold, she removed her fur coat to cover three of them, and eventually gave her velvet gown and jacket to other passengers who were freezing. Dressed only in her corset and bloomers she kept rowing and moving to avoid freezing. To keep passengers calm she sang, told stories, and entertained - and didn't hesitate to give orders when they were needed. Upon spotting a ship's passenger, who had jumped from the Titantic, floundering in the water -- she insisted on pulling him aboard. Eventually she managed to help maneuver her lifeboat to the rescue ship, Carpathia. Aboard Carpathia, Molly immediately set about helping with rescue efforts, distributing blankets and comforting the grief-stricken. She took pity on the many women and children who were left destitute because their husbands had perished, and took up a collection to assist them, throwing her own $500 into the collection pot. Molly Brown survived the Titanic disaster and became a national heroine for selflessly assisting with rescue and relief efforts.

Although her heroic efforts and subsequent fame gave Molly the passage into high society that she had so desperately wanted, she did not find great happiness in her life. In spite of the fact that she and her husband had two children, Molly and J.J. Brown did not have a happy marriage and eventually separated. She died of a stroke in New York City in 1932.

Molly Brown House
Location: 1340 Pennsylvania Street, Denver, Colorado
Phone: (303) 832-4092
Web: http://www.mollybrown.org/

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