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On December 23, 1867, Sarah Breedlove, more commonly known as Madame C.J. Walker, was born to two former slave sharecroppers, Owen and Minerva Anderson, on the Burney plantation in Delta, Louisiana. Sarah was the fifth of six children, including sister Louvenia, and brothers, Owen, Jr., Alexander, James and Solomon. Sarah learned about hard work early on, as she assisted in her family’s survival by picking cotton alongside her parents and older siblings. But at the age of 7, tragedy struck the Breedlove family when Sarah lost both parents to yellow fever. Minerva died first in 1874. Owen Sr. remarried, but would soon succumb as well in December 1875, just before Sarah turned eight. After four years of struggling to endure in Louisiana, Sarah and Louvenia moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, to work in the cotton fields and as washerwomen. While in Vicksburg, Louvenia met and married a man by the name of Jesse Powell. When Powell became abusive toward Sarah, she escaped by marrying Moses McWilliams at the age of 14. On June 6, 1885, Sarah gave birth to her only daughter, Lelia, who later changed her name to A’Lelia Walker. Tragedy struck Sarah’s family yet again with the death of her husband, three years after their d