Clara Barton by Ben Doorn

Clara Barton was born on Christmas Day in the year 1821. Her father was a descendant of Edward Barton, who came to Salem, Massachusetts from England in 1640. Mr. Barton was a typical New England farmer. He married Sarah Stone at seventeen. He was thirteen years older than his wife. They had two boys and two girls. Then, ten years later, they had Clara. Clara was the only child who had no playmates because all of her sisters and brothers had moved out of the house.

Clara grew up to be a school teacher at the age of fifteen, and she taught for eighteen years. Clara later became a superintendent. She did this for ten years. She then wanted more schooling, so she went to Clinton, New York for a course in the Liberal Institute. When she completed the course, she accepted an offer to teach at Bordentown, New Jersey. She was so concerned about the large number of kids running the streets, that she offered to work for three months for free if the town would make the school free to all children.

In 1854, Barton became a clerk at the patent office in Washington, D.C., but resigned to work as a volunteer distributing supplies to wounded soldiers. After the war she supervised a search for missing soldiers. in 1863 she carried on her particular form of work in the operations about Charleston, S.C. In 1881 she formed the American Red Cross and served as the first Red Cross president. In 1904 Clara resigned. She died on April 12, 1912.