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Contribution #76 of 365
Bridget “Biddy” Mason
Los Angeles Landowner, Entrepreneur and Church Founder
1866–1872
The contribution
How this work helped shape America
After winning her freedom, Bridget “Biddy” Mason worked as a nurse and midwife and invested her earnings in Los Angeles real estate, beginning with a property purchase in 1866. She became a prominent landowner and philanthropist and helped establish Los Angeles's First African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1872.