Sarah Bickford

An haifi **Sarah Gammon Brown Bickford** (Disamba 25, 1856 - Yuli 19, 1931) a cikin bauta a Tennessee ko North Carolina. A shekarun 1870 ta tafi zuwa filayen zinare na Montana, tana sayar da aikin reno don sufuri. Daga ƙarshe ta zama mai mallakar Kamfanin Ruwa na Virginia City, ta zama mace ta farko kuma tilo a Montana - kuma wataƙila mace 'yar Afirka 'yar Amurka ɗaya tilo a ƙasar - da ta mallaki wani gidan wuta.   A shekarar 2012, Jihar Montana ta karrama ta ta hanyar shigar da ita cikin Gallery of Outstanding Montanans. 

## Yaro
Banda haihuwarta cikin bauta, asalin Sarah Bickford ba shi da tabbas. Duk da cewa wasu majiyoyi sun nuna cewa an haife ta a North Carolina, wasu masana tarihi sun gano cewa haihuwar Bickford ta fito ne daga Jonesborough, Tennessee, ga wata uwa mallakar John Blair III . Blair ya sami arziki a shekarar 1849 California Gold Rush kuma ya kasance mai himma a siyasa, yana aiki a matsayin sanata na jiha da kuma dan majalisar dokokin Amurka. A shekarar 1860, yana da otal a Knoxville, inda Sarah (wanda aka fi sani da Sallie) ke aiki. Blair ya mutu a shekarar 1863; mallakar kadarorinsa wataƙila shine dalilin da ya sa Sarah ta rabu da iyalinta. Bickford ya gaya wa mutane cewa an sayar da iyayenta a lokacin Yaƙin Basasa kuma ba ta sake ganinsu ba. 

Bayan Yaƙin Basasa, Sarah ta tafi ta zauna tare da goggonta, Nancy Gammon, a Knoxville, kuma mijin Gammon, Isaac, wanda ya zama ɗan fari na farko ɗan Afirka-Amurka a Knoxville.  Sarah ta ɗauki sunan mahaifinsu, ta zama Sarah Gammon.

## Rayuwa a Birnin Virginia

A shekarar 1871, Sarah Gammon ta nufi yankin Montana, inda ta yi wa John Luttrell Murphy aiki a matsayin mai kula da shi. Bayan ta isa garin Virginia City (babban birnin yankin a wancan lokacin), ta yi aiki na ɗan lokaci a matsayin mai kula da ɗakin kwana a Otal ɗin Madison kafin ta auri mai hakar ma'adinai John Brown a shekarar 1872. Ma'auratan suna da 'ya'ya uku (maza biyu maza da mace ɗaya), amma auren bai yi daɗi ba. Dukansu mazan sun mutu sakamakon diphtheria kuma a shekarar 1880, Sarah ta kai ƙarar saki saboda cin zarafi da kuma watsi da ita. Ta sami cikakken kulawar 'yarta Eva mai shekaru bakwai.

Bayan ta yi aiki na ɗan lokaci ga baƙuwar ƙasar Faransa-Kanada Adaline Laurin, Sarah Gammon Brown ta buɗe kasuwancinta, Gidan burodi da Gidan Abinci na New City, tana tallata kayayyaki akai-akai a cikin jaridar yankin, *Madison* .  A cewar tallan, "Mrs. Sallie Brown, mai gaskiya," tana ba da "abinci a kowace rana ko mako," "abincin rana da abincin dare a kowane lokaci," "burodi sabo, kek, kek da kayan zaki a koyaushe suna nan a hannu." 

Eva Brown, 'yar Sarah, ta mutu tana da shekaru 11 a shekarar 1882. Shekara guda bayan haka Sarah Brown ta auri farar ma'aikacin hakar ma'adinai kuma manomi Stephen Eben Bickford. Wannan auren ya faru ne kafin jihar Montana ta zartar da doka da ta hana auren jinsi daban-daban a shekarar 1909. Sauran fitattun ma'aurata daga wannan zamanin sun haɗa da waɗanda suka kafa garin haƙar kwal na Belt, Montana, John da Mattie Castner. 

Stephen Bickford ya mutu a shekarar 1890, inda ya bar Sarah da 'ya'ya huɗu ('yan mata uku da namiji ɗaya) da kuma kashi biyu bisa uku na mallakar kamfanin Virginia City Waterworks. Sarah ta taka rawa sosai a cikin wannan sana'a; ta ɗauki ajin kasuwanci ta hanyar wasiƙa kuma a shekarar 1890, ta sayi sauran kashi ɗaya bisa uku na ginin, ta zama mai mallakarta ita kaɗai.  Ta kuma sayi wani gini (wanda aka sani da Gidan Hangman's saboda a lokacin gininsa, 'yan Vigilantes sun rataye mutane biyar da suka yi hukunci a matsayin 'yan fashi daga rufin) don ofishinta.  Bickford manaja ce mai aiki tuƙuru. Ta ziyarci kowane abokin ciniki kuma ita ce mai karɓar kuɗi.  Ta kasance memba mai daraja a cikin al'umma har zuwa rasuwarta a ranar 19 ga Yuli, 1931. 

## Manazarta