Clara Barton was an important and respected part of American history, and here's how she managed to etch herself into our history books. Clarissa "Clara" Harlowe Barton was born on December 25, 1821 in Massachusetts to a farming family and was the youngest of five children. His first experience caring for others was when he was 12 years old, when for two years he cared for his invalid brother who had fallen from the roof of the family stable. When Barton returned to school, he worked as hard to get an education as he did to care for his brother. Clara was home-schooled until she was 15, and when she was 17 she was hired as a teacher for young children. After a few years of teaching in his hometown public school system, Barton moved to Bordentown, New Jersey. He taught private school and soon founded and became superintendent of Bordentown's first public school. He built the school to give an education to hundreds of children too poor to afford private school. Soon thereafter the school board replaced Clara as superintendent with a man when it was "determined that the school should be conducted by a man, not a woman" (Lewis, "Clara Barton Biography"). He stopped teaching and moved to Washington DC. Clara managed to work her way into the U.S. Patent Office with her qualified credentials and was the first woman to do so. His job was to copy important documents. While working there, he learned how the government worked and how things were done. When the Civil War began in 1861, soldiers were shipped to Washington for treatment. Barton immediately began a relief program and volunteered to improve conditions. Her house became a warehouse full of blankets, food, medical supplies, candles, and she began producing ba...halves of paper...and years. She spent the rest of her life advocating for women's rights and volunteerism and began writing a series of biographies, which she never finished. He died on April 12, 1912 at his home in Glen Echo, Maryland. Clara Barton was part of American history from the day she drove her supply wagon onto the battlefield, and continued to be so even after she founded the Red Cross. Over a period of nearly 75 years, Clara Barton made her mark on American history, from serving a nation at war to creating much of America's health services. Works Cited “Clara Barton.” Civil War Trust. nd Web. March 22, 2014"Clara Barton". McDougal Littell, 2007. Print.Faust, Patricia. "Clara Harlowe Barton". nd Web. March 22, 2014"The founder Clara Barton". Red Cross. nd Web. March 22, 2014Lewis, Jone Johnson. "Biography of Clara Barton". From. nd Web. March 22. 2014