Charity Davis Caesar Broady
1802 – 1899
Abolitionist, suffragist, nurse, Underground Railroad conductor, and charter member of the United Daughters of Zion.
Charity's Children
Family Biographies
Behind every photograph is a story. We are happy to share the lives of our individual family members, with more biographies added every month.
Jewelia G. Higgins
Great-granddaughter of Charity
Clubwoman and chronicler whose handwritten account of Mother Charity's life survives in the family archive.
Charlest Higgins Johnson
The Legacy of The Castle
Her story and the landmark known as The Castle are featured on the Charity's Children blog.
The Davis Family
1803 – present
John Isaac Davis carried his family across the Ohio River into the first free state, beginning twelve generations in the Miami Valley.
The Broady Descendants
Twelve generations
Educators, ministers, musicians, and civic leaders who shaped Dayton across two centuries.
The Eaker Street Home
1870s
Charity's home at 60/62 Eaker Street stood near the Eaker Street AME Church in Dayton, Ohio.
The Higgins Family
Jewelia Galloway Higgins
1873 – 1955
Jewelia Ann Galloway Higgins was a pioneering civic leader, suffragist, humanitarian, and one of the earliest African American Red Cross nurses in the Dayton, Ohio, area. Born on December 29, 1873, she inherited a multigenerational legacy of freedom, faith, and community leadership rooted in her great-grandmother, Charity Davis Caesar Broady, one of Dayton's earliest Black settlers and an Underground Railroad conductor.
A lifelong advocate for education, voting rights, and social justice, Jewelia held leadership roles in numerous organizations, including the Women's Christian Association No. 2 (Colored YWCA), the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, the Montgomery County Equal Suffrage Association, the Colored Citizens Protective League, and the Holloway Home for Colored Orphans and Unwed Mothers. During World War I, she served alongside her husband, Rev. Charles Daniel Higgins, through the YMCA War Work Council, at Camp Stuart, Virginia.
Jewelia married Rev. Charles Daniel Higgins in 1893, and together they raised six children while becoming one of Dayton's most influential families in faith, education, and civic life. Their work intersected with many of the city's defining historical figures and movements, including Paul Laurence Dunbar, women's suffrage, the YMCA, and the early civil rights movement.
In 2026, her extraordinary contributions were recognized with the dedication of the Higgins Garden at Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum and a National Votes for Women Trail Historic Marker, honoring her lifelong commitment to equality, service, and community leadership. Her legacy continues through the work of Charity's Children Project, Inc. and The Legacy of Charity's Children Archive, ensuring that her story — and those of the generations who came before and after her — will continue to educate and inspire.
Rev. Charles Daniel Higgins
1869 – 1952
Rev. Charles Daniel Higgins was an educator, minister, community leader, and lifelong advocate for African American advancement through faith, education, and public service. Born on June 15, 1869, in Crawfordsville, Indiana, he moved to Dayton as a young boy, where he spent more than seventy years helping shape the city's religious, cultural, and civic life.
A graduate of Bonebrake Theological Seminary and the YMCA Training School in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Rev. Higgins dedicated his life to ministry and community leadership. During World War I, he and his wife, Jewelia Galloway Higgins, served through the YMCA War Work Council at Camp Stuart, Virginia.
Rev. Higgins was the boyhood friend of renowned poet Paul Laurence Dunbar and later served as executor of Dunbar's estate. The Higgins family also cared for Dunbar's mother, Matilda Jane Dunbar, preserving a friendship and trust that became an enduring part of Dayton's history.
As Executive Secretary of Dayton's Fifth Street YMCA, Rev. Higgins led efforts to expand educational and recreational opportunities for African American youth and families. A gifted public reader, lecturer, and entertainer, he and his daughters, known as The Higgins Sisters, traveled throughout the United States and Canada presenting literary and musical programs that celebrated African American culture and achievement.
Remembered as a man of unwavering faith, scholarship, and service, Rev. Higgins devoted his life to ministry, community leadership, and preserving the legacy of one of America's greatest poets. Together, he and Jewelia formed one of Dayton's most influential civic and spiritual partnerships, inspiring generations through their shared commitment to faith, education, justice, and service.