19th century America was a very male-dominated society, and it was very difficult for women to have independent lives; however, this did not stop some women breaking the mold. Here, Angie Grandstaff looks at the lives of 5 amazing women who had businesses in 19th century America.
Mary Laveau.
Women and work. It has been a long and winding road, but women are making progress. They are getting closer to equal pay and opportunities. If we look back to the 19th century, it was a quite different situation for women. It was a time when women were essentially property and African American women were legally property until 1863. Any money or property that women inherited or possessed was technically her husband’s or father’s. She could not vote and had very few rights.
Education was extremely limited and very few colleges or universities existed that would accept women. There were a small number of women who broke through despite challenges like Elizabeth Blackwell who was the first woman to receive a medical degree in 1849. Lucy Sessions was the first African American woman to graduate college in 1850. These educational opportunities were afforded to wealthy women, usually white, so Lucy Sessions was a rare exception during that time.
Lower class white women, single women and women of color always had to work. It made no difference if it was the 19th century, 18th, or 17th. They made their way as servants, paid companions or prostitutes. Women earned money by sewing, knitting and laundry services. Now there were some instances when a husband or father died, the wife or daughter stepped up to run a business, saloon or farm. This was also rare.
The Industrial Revolution led to the creation of factories, which could mass-produce products. Some of these factories would employ women when they could not find enough men to work. There was a great benefit to employers who employed women. Female employees earned significantly less than men, which meant more money for the owners. Women were paid half or one third of the salaries paid to men. The conditions in factories were dangerous and the hours were long. Women would work twelve to fourteen hours a day in factories with little light and ventilation.
The goal for most women during the 19th century was surviving. Thriving was not an option and for most women not even something they would even dream of. The focus was how to survive each day, to provide food and shelter for themselves and their children. But there were some women who dared to dream for more. There were women who were able to look beyond surviving the day. They wanted to thrive, to move up. This was not an easy task in a male dominated society. But some women had the strength, courage and vision to look beyond what was and reach for more. Here are 5 women who moved up and became successful businesswomen and entrepreneurs in the 19th century.
Belle Brezing
Belle was born in 1860 and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. She was an illegitimate child to a woman who had abusive partners and husbands. Her mother worked as a prostitute occasionally to help feed her children. At the age of 12, Belle began a relationship with a man who was 36 years old. The age of consent was 12 at that time. She married another man at age 15 and had a child but the husband disappeared shortly after. Belle was 15, a mother and facing eviction. She did what many women did at the time to feed herself and child - she became a prostitute. She was determined to do more than survive. She worked for two years, saving money to open her own house. Her first brothel was a success. Belle was well known in Lexington and had earned quite a reputation. She used this to her advantage. A charge of keeping a bawdy house was brought against her while she owned her first brothel but the governor at the time pardoned her, and the charge was dismissed. She opened a second brothel in the early 1880s. As Belle’s reputation grew so did her connections and bank account. William M. Singerly, a Philadelphia businessman and newspaper publisher, gave her a loan to open a third brothel. This would be Belle’s finest. She went all out to make it a grand establishment. This brothel was the most popular and most expensive in the area. Her clientele were successful men from the upper circles of society. Belle made her way using her brain, skills and connections to create a successful business that allowed her to thrive.
Marie Laveau
Marie Laveau was born in New Orleans in either the late 1700s or early 1800s. Her actual birth year is disputed. Marie was a wise woman who knew how to take advantage of her talents and use them to help her thrive wherever she was. Laveau married and had several children; many died during different yellow fever outbreaks in New Orleans. Her husband disappeared and was later declared dead. Marie had to support herself and her children, so she pursued work as a hairdresser. She was successful with African American and white clients. Her African American clients gave her a lot of gossip about the white upper-class families they worked for. New Orleans during the 19th century was a place where Voodoo was a popular and practiced religion. All levels of New Orleans society believed in Voodoo and would consult Voodoo conjurers or priestesses about all areas of their lives. Marie worked with a well-known Voodoo conjurer and began to build her own reputation. The information she gained while working as a hairdresser came in handy when clients sought her out for spiritual consultations. People would come to her for advice on their personal and professional affairs. She was able to prosper financially as a hairdresser and through her work as a Voodoo priestess. She became known as the Voodoo Queen and would regularly hold Voodoo rituals and ceremonies. Marie’s abilities led to her widespread fame and her magical powers were feared by the locals. Her reputation continues to this day with thousands visiting her gravesite in New Orleans.
Mary Ellen Pleasant
The early life of Mary Ellen Pleasant is unknown. There are accounts that she was a slave but by the 1820s she was in New England working in a shop. It is rumored that Mary Ellen helped slaves escape bondage on the Underground Railroad while in New England. She was a woman who stepped up and stood out even during her early years. Her first husband was a successful carpenter and contractor. He left Mary Ellen a considerable inheritance when he died that allowed her to move out west. She headed to San Francisco when the Gold Rush was starting with her second husband. She used her inheritance to buy properties and invest. She owned boarding houses and laundry services. She would even work as a housekeeper in wealthy homes. All of this was done with one goal - to help her move up. Mary Ellen was savvy. She used her businesses, her work in people’s homes, to gain information about investment opportunities and ultimately influence. Mary Ellen continued her work as an abolitionist, and she used her wealth and influence to help the lives of African Americans in San Francisco and around the country. Her fame spread and she was known as Mammy Pleasant. She didn’t like this nickname, but she knew how to use her fame and role to increase her wealth and influence.
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley
Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was born a slave around 1821 in Virginia. We know so much about Elizabeth for a couple of reasons - she was a dressmaker to the White House, serving the Lincoln family and she wrote a biography. The fact that she did this during her life shows what a brave woman she was. This biography gives us insight into the lives of enslaved women and the White House during the Lincoln administration. Elizabeth’s mother was a slave to the Burwell family and her father was Colonel Burwell, who owned and raped her mother. Elizabeth helped her mother with her domestic duties as she grew up in the Burwell household. She was sent to live with other members of the Burwell family. Her life during those years was filled with difficulties and abuse. She gave birth to her only child, a son, George, during this time. His father was a white storeowner who raped Elizabeth repeatedly. In 1842, Elizabeth and her son were sent back to Colonel Burwell’s wife Mary. Mary was living with her daughter and son-in-law Hugh Garland. Financial difficulties led the Garland family along with Elizabeth and her mother to move to St. Louis. Elizabeth offered to use her sewing skills to make money for the financially strapped Garlands to keep her mother from being hired out. Elizabeth’s work as a seamstress helped her gain money and connections. She was able to buy her and her son’s freedom in 1855 through loans of friends and money she obtained as a seamstress. By this time, Elizabeth was a successful dressmaker. She moved to Washington, D.C. in 1860 and built up her dressmaking business by serving the wealthy women of the area. This led to an opportunity to make a dress for the First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. She became the First Lady’s dressmaker and confidante. Elizabeth’s biography was published after the death of President Lincoln. It led to considerable backlash and the end of her relationship with the First Lady. But it did not stop Elizabeth from thriving.
Mary Ann Magnin
Mary Ann Magnin was born Mary Ann Cohen in Holland in 1850. Her family moved to London, and she married Isaac Magnin there in 1865. Mary Ann and her husband moved to San Francisco in 1875 looking for a better life. She needed to help support her growing family, so she used her talent for sewing as many women did during the 19th century. But Mary Ann had a vision for something grand. She opened a store where she sold her creations. She specialized in baby clothes, women’s lingerie and clothing. She named her store I. Magnin after husband Isaac. It would have gone against the societal conventions of the time to name her business after herself. But her husband took little interest in his wife’s business. Her eight children helped with the business though. The girls were put to work sewing and the boys worked in the store. Mary Ann had a good head for business and knew that she would make the most profit by catering to the wealthy women of the area. She sold bridal gowns and high fashion clothing from Paris. Her store was set up to impress her wealthy clientele. Mary Ann was dedicated to her growing business. Eventually, I. Magnin had locations up and down the West Coast. Mary Ann would turn the business over to her sons at the turn of the century but was still involved.
Conclusion
All these women had many things in common. They knew how to take their skills and talents to move up in a male dominated society. This took brains, bravery and belief. At a time when most women were just looking to survive the day, these women had the fortitude to aim higher. Belle, Marie, Mary Ellen, Elizabeth, and Mary Ann all gained financially and became famous in their time. They stood as examples to the women around them of what could be.
What do you think of these amazing women? Let us know below.
Angie Grandstaff is a librarian and writer from Kentucky. She loves to write about history, books and self-development. You can find more information about Angie on her website https://agrandhope.com/
Sources
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“Women in the Industrial Workforce.” Ohio History Central, https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Women_in_the_Industrial_Workforce
“Belle Brezing. A Short Biography of Lexington’s Most Famous Woman”. University of Kentucky, Special Libraries Research Center, https://libraries.uky.edu/libpage.php?lweb_id=341&llib_id=13
Lewis, Shantrelle P. “Marie Laveau”. Britannica, June 11, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Laveau
“Marie Laveau”. History of American Women. https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2012/07/marie-laveau.html
“Mary Ellen Pleasant”. National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/people/mary-ellen-pleasant.htm
Hudson, Lynn M. (2003). The Making of “Mammy Pleasant”: a Black Entrepreneur in 19th Century San Francisco. University of Illinois Press.
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