Louise Wooster
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Louise Wooster | |
|---|---|
| Born | Louise Catharine Wooster June 12, 1842 |
| Died | May 16, 1913 (aged 70) |
| Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery, Birmingham, Alabama 33°31′32″N 86°49′0″W / 33.52556°N 86.81667°W |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Lou Wooster |
| Occupation | Brothel madam |
| Known for | Lou Wooster Public Health Award named in her honour |
Louise Catharine Wooster (June 12, 1842 – May 16, 1913),[1] better known as Lou Wooster, was a famous madam in Birmingham, Alabama.[2] Her colorful character and her care for the sick and dying during the cholera epidemic of 1873 endeared her to the Birmingham community.[2] The shocking true story of the Birmingham Madam The "Lou Wooster Public Health Award" is named in her honor.[2][3][4]
Overview
[edit]Louise Wooster was born on June 12, 1842, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama[2][5] to William Wooster and Mary Chism Wooster.[1][3] Her father died in 1851 and Mary Wooster remarried.[1][2] A few years later, Lou's stepfather abandoned the family and took their money with him.[1][2] Mary Wooster died a few years later virtually destitute.[1][2]
By her middle teens, Lou was an orphan with nothing to rely on but the mercy of relatives.[1] During this time, she was abused, attempted suicide,[1] and her older sister became a prostitute.[1][2][5] She later wrote that she "fell, step by step, until at last I was beyond redemption".[1]
In 1873, Lou was a well-paid lady of the evening when a deadly cholera epidemic swept through Birmingham. Several thousand people fled the city, but Lou stayed to nurse the sick,[3][4] feed the hungry, and prepare the dead for funerals.[1][2] After the epidemic, few of Lou's clients remained in Birmingham and she moved to Montgomery, Alabama, to open a brothel.[1][2]
By 1880, she had returned to Birmingham operating multiple brothels[1][5] near City Hall where she could attract the wealthiest patrons.[2] Lou made a fortune, donated heavily to charities[1][2] and frequently came to the aid of fallen women.
Lou was a master at storytelling and self-promotion. She wrote a book chronicling her life titled Autobiography of a Magdalene.[2]
Death
[edit]Lou died in 1913 and was buried in Birmingham's Oak Hill Cemetery.[1][2][3]
Honors and recognition
[edit]The Lou Wooster Public Health Award is presented annually by the University of Alabama School of Public Health to recognize individuals, groups, or organizations who are unconventional public health heroes.[1] The award is named in honor of Lou Wooster,[2][3][4] the 19th-century Birmingham madam who risked her own death by staying in the city to care for the sick and dying during the 1873 cholera epidemic.[1] Lou Wooster organized the women in her brothel "determined to stay and help nurse the poor sick and suffering ones who needed me."[1] Her courage went a long way toward assuring there was a Birmingham for the leadership to come back to.[1] When she died in May 1913, hundreds of empty black carriages drove by the funeral home to pay respects to a local hero.[1][2][4] Recipients are driven by a horse-drawn carriage from the School of Public Health to Oak Hill Cemetery where Lou Wooster is buried.[4]
The first award was presented in 2007 Representative Patricia Todd, MPA,[4][6] who is also known as the first openly gay State Representative in Alabama. In 2010 the award was presented to American Electric Power[6] for their efforts to work with environmental groups and other stakeholders to reduce pollution from power production. Master Chef Frant Stitt[4][6] was recognized in 2011 for his work in improving nutrition by working on urban farms and creating new menus for University Hospital. In 2012 the VF Corporation[4][6] was recognized for its decision to rebuild the Hackleburg, Alabama Wrangler Distribution Center destroyed by the April 27, 2011 tornado. Rebuilding this facility will have profound impacts on the long-term health of the community.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Causey, Donna R. "Madame Wooster cared for the sick in Birmingham & had a romance with John Wilkes Booth is honored at UAB". Alabama Pioneers. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Crider, Beverly (16 March 2013). "Birmingham Pioneer "Madam" helped save the city". AL. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "The shocking true story of the Birmingham Madam". AL.com. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Birmingham Revealed: The Life of Louise Wooster". Vulcan Park & Museum. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b c "Louise Wooster: Humanitarian, Madam, and John Wilkes Booth's Lover?". Alabama Heritage. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Lou Wooster Public Health Hero Award". UAB School of Public Health. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
Further reading
[edit]- Wooster, L. C. W. (1911) Autobiography of a Magadalen. Birmingham: Birmingham Printing Company.
- Baggett, James (2005) A Woman of the Town: Louise Wooster, Birmingham's Magdalen. Birmingham. Birmingham Public Library Press.
- Baggett, James (Fall 2005) "Louise Wooster: Birmingham's Magdalen." Alabama Heritage.