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Freda Josephine McDonald, born on June 3, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri, faced early hardships with a mother working as a washerwoman and a father who left them. Despite a challenging childhood spent cleaning houses and babysitting, she forged ahead, starting her career as a waitress at just 13. Throughout her life, Freda navigated marriage and divorce independently, never relying on men for financial support. She married four times, adopted 12 children, and ultimately became a symbol of resilience, defying societal norms of her time.
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Freda Josephine McDonald’s Biography(Freda Baker By: Laquienta Brooks
Beginning Freda Josephine McDonald was born in St.Louis, Missouri, on June 3, 1906. Carrie McDonald, Freda mother a washerwoman and her father vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson. Eddie abandoned them shortly after, Carrie married a kind perpetually unemployed man named, Arthur Martin. Their family eventually grew to include one son and two more daughters. Josephine grew up cleaning houses and babysitting for wealthy white families who reminded her "be sure not to kiss the baby." She didn’t really have much of a childhood.
Next . . . . She got a job waitressing at The Old Chauffeur's Club when she was 13 years old. While waiting tables she met and had a brief marriage to Willie Wells. While it was unusual for a woman during her era, Josephine never depended on a man for financial support. Therefore, she never hesitated to leave when a relationship soured. She was married and divorced three more times, to American Willie Baker in 1921 (whose last name she chose to keep), Frenchman Jean Lion in 1937 (from whom she attained French citizenship) and French orchestra leader Jo Bouillon in 1947 (who helped to raise her 12 adopted children).
