Despite its poor quality, this 1908 newspaper image captures something of the devotion that Sarah Brown (1846-1916) showed in her ministry of teaching English to Japanese immigrants in the "Saratoga foothills" in California.
Sarah was John and Mary Brown's second to youngest surviving daughter. She never married nor had a family, but a reporter from the San Francisco Examiner who visited her noted the affection of her Japanese students and mentees, who called her "mother." Sarah, whose roots were in the antiracism evangelicalism of her parents, began teaching Japanese immigrants after a single Japanese man, whom she had employed, asked her to start providing Christian instruction. Soon, Sarah's home was filled with what the white journalist called "swarthy little Japanese." He reported that Sarah taught them English speech and writing, and gave them instruction in biblical training too. She had an old "wheezy" organ that she played for them, including--or so the reporter said--"The Battle Hymn of the Republic," although WE KNOW Sarah was REALLY teaching them how to sing, "John Brown's Body."
Sarah's homeschool ESL evangelism became so helpful and appreciated that attendance swelled, and she sought affiliation with the American Missionary Association for support. The reporter, who met her that summer day in 1908, found her attired in a white kimono, and her living room filled with Japanese art--no doubt mixed in with pictures of Old John Brown and family.
As the saying goes, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
4 comments:
Thanks for finding and sharing this photo! I wish I could see some of Sarah’s artwork, beyond the sketch of her father.
And thank you for your continued dedication to unearthing the facts and context of John Brown’s life and his struggle for justice, that we can better understand our past and present.
I just want to say, thank you very much for this blog! I've been doing research on John Brown and your work has been very helpful in refuting the usual historical cliches of the man. I reference your writing a lot when I'm introducing someone to the history. Keep fighting the good fight!
I do appreciate your salutary words and encouragement. Who knows, perhaps Sarah's artwork is out there somewhere. You never know. Seeking understanding of the past is indeed vital to understanding our present circumstances. All best wishes.--LD
I do appreciate your kind and encouraging feedback. I'm glad to learn of your work on JB and that my work has been helpful. Yes, we have a lot of correcting to do because we inherited a narrative that is highly misrepresentative of the man and his story. Glad to know I'm not fighting the good fight alone. Thank you for writing.
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