Margaret, Friend of Orphans

Margaret Haughery gave everything she ever had to the orphans and the poor. Despite being unable either to read or write, she possessed an incredible business acumen, which allowed her to donate-including what she bequeathed in her will-more than $500,000 throughout her life. What is perhaps even more astounding is that Margaret lost everyone she ever loved, yet she was still able to give so much love. As a child in the Maryland area, this Irish immigrant lost her parents and her baby sister when they died in a fever epidemic. She was separated from her brother in the aftermath, and he very well may have perished in the epidemic as well. Then, when she was a young wife and mother in New Orleans, her husband died of consumption. Soon afterward, her newborn daughter died in her sleep. Determined to not succumb to self-pity and depression, Margaret, strengthened by her Roman Catholic faith, dedicated the rest of her life to helping the orphans and the poor. Helping to support an orphanage, she first started a dairy to provide milk for the children. Then she went on to earn a small fortune from running a local bakery. This financial success allowed her to donate enormous monetary sums to charity. Still, her fiscal generosity was eclipsed by her spiritual gifts. This docunovel has dialogue added to enliven the text.