Before moving to Tuscaloosa to attend college, I knew very little about Alabama history. I knew Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in Montgomery and that multiple Civil War battles occurred here. That’s pretty much it. Once I started fact-checking articles for the spring edition of Alabama Heritage, I realized how much is involved in Alabama history.
A recent article I was working with about the Birmingham History Center mentioned an artifact of Louise Wooster, who helped care for the sick during the cholera epidemic. I later learned that artifact is a book full of newspaper clippings that mention John Wilkes Booth. And Wooster just so happened to be a madam of a house of prostitution in Birmingham. Suddenly, I was hooked. I “Googled” her like crazy, trying to find a story behind her intriguing life; and eventually I found it—at least I think I did. Though many people claim to have known her, it turns out that nobody could really provide a clear portrait of Wooster.
Historians know that Wooster was born in Tuscaloosa in 1842 and was the second of four girls. After her parents’ deaths, her older sister became a prostitute, and Louise cared for her two younger sisters while living with a man with whom she had an intimate relationship. Several years later, she joined a brothel and eventually made her way to Birmingham where she bought a home and established her own “high-class” brothel. Another intriguing detail about her life is that during this time she also told many newspaper reporters that John Wilkes Booth was still alive, and that she had been his lover at the time of Lincoln’s assassination. She kept every article about Booth and strongly believed he had escaped death. Her book of clippings is currently held in the Birmingham History Center, along with a sofa she once had in her home.
It’s amazing how one little piece of history can unveil a large piece of history. Though Alabama Heritage has published an article about her and there are wonderful resources concerning her life, there seems to be so much more to discover about Louise Wooster…and doesn’t it make you wonder, just the slightest bit, if she was right about John Wilkes Booth?
References
Encyclopedia of Alabama: Louise Wooster. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.
James L. Baggett. "Louise Wooster: Birmingham's Magdalen." Alabama Heritage 78 (Fall 2005): 24-29.
James L. Baggett, ed. A Woman of the Town: Louise Wooster, Birmingham's Magdalen. Birmingham: Birmingham Public Library Press, 2005. Copies available from the Birmingham Public Library.
Ellin Sterne [Jimmerson]. "Prostitution in Birmingham, Alabama 1890-1925." M.A. thesis, Samford University, 1977.
Historians know that Wooster was born in Tuscaloosa in 1842 and was the second of four girls. After her parents’ deaths, her older sister became a prostitute, and Louise cared for her two younger sisters while living with a man with whom she had an intimate relationship. Several years later, she joined a brothel and eventually made her way to Birmingham where she bought a home and established her own “high-class” brothel. Another intriguing detail about her life is that during this time she also told many newspaper reporters that John Wilkes Booth was still alive, and that she had been his lover at the time of Lincoln’s assassination. She kept every article about Booth and strongly believed he had escaped death. Her book of clippings is currently held in the Birmingham History Center, along with a sofa she once had in her home.
It’s amazing how one little piece of history can unveil a large piece of history. Though Alabama Heritage has published an article about her and there are wonderful resources concerning her life, there seems to be so much more to discover about Louise Wooster…and doesn’t it make you wonder, just the slightest bit, if she was right about John Wilkes Booth?
References
Encyclopedia of Alabama: Louise Wooster. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.
James L. Baggett. "Louise Wooster: Birmingham's Magdalen." Alabama Heritage 78 (Fall 2005): 24-29.
James L. Baggett, ed. A Woman of the Town: Louise Wooster, Birmingham's Magdalen. Birmingham: Birmingham Public Library Press, 2005. Copies available from the Birmingham Public Library.
Ellin Sterne [Jimmerson]. "Prostitution in Birmingham, Alabama 1890-1925." M.A. thesis, Samford University, 1977.
Sarah RumfeltSan Francisco, California
Sarah Rumfelt is a sophomore from San Francisco, California, majoring in journalism and world business at the University of Alabama. She currently serves as chief operating officer of Kappa Alpha Theta. This year, she was selected to write for Mosaic magazine, the Honors College magazine in which she produces a variety of content for both an online and print publication. Upon graduation, Sarah hopes to use her journalism career to become an advocate for others and encourage community involvement.
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