Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born on December 25, 1812, in North Oxford, Massachusetts. Her parents were Stephen and Sarah Barton. Stephen was a farmer, horse breeder, and a respected member of the community. Sarah took care of things around the house and taught her children the importance of cleanness.

She was born into a middle class family and she was the youngest of five children. Her two brothers and two sisters were mostly responsible for her education. Her sister, Dorothy, taught her spelling, her brother, Stephen taught her arithmetic, her sister, Sally, taught her geography, and her brother, David, coached her in athletics. By the time she started school, at the age of four, she could already spell three-syllable words. She found school easy and started to study philosophy, chemistry, and Latin. At the age of fifteen she started to teach.

As child Clara played nurse. She would take care...