133: Dark History: The Unknown Mother of the Civil Rights Movement 39:50

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This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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When I say Underground Railroad, I think most of us

think of Harriet Tubman. And you're right, you know, she's an icon. But there's another woman who was a huge force in helping enslaved people escape to freedom during the 1800s. And not a lot of us know her name. And to be honest with you, the Underground Railroad is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this woman's legacy and impact. The subject of today's episode was the first

black female self-made millionaire in a time when slavery was still very much happening. And she decided to use her power, wealth, and influence to change the course of America forever. That woman was Mary Ellen Pleasant. And this is her story. ♪

Hi friends, I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast, Dark History. Here we believe history doesn't have to be boring, it might be tragic, sometimes it's happy, but either way, it's our dark history. Before we get into it, don't forget to like and subscribe because I'm here for you every week with some hot, juicy history gas.

And let me know down below what you think. Leave a comment, you know, I love hearing from you. So now let's get into today's story.

Okay, Mary Ellen Pleasant. She was born on August 19th, 1814. And honestly, great name, right? Really just rolls off the tongue. She was born in Philadelphia and her early life is honestly a bit of a mystery. Mary Ellen wrote a few books about her life, but they all have different stories about like when she was little. She did this because she wanted to quote, please her audience.

When she was just a toddler, for reasons we don't know, her mother had disappeared. Mary Ellen's dad knew he couldn't raise her on his own and he wanted her to have a good life. So at the age of six, she was sent to live with the Husseys, a Quaker family in Massachusetts. On one hand, this gave her a safe place to live, learn some life skills, and also get a good education. And Mary Ellen said that they treated her well and they, I guess, were very kind to her.

But on the other hand, Mary Ellen was still their servant. Sadly, she never got a formal education. And apparently Mary Ellen's father sent money for her schooling, but the Husseys kept it for themselves. Yeah, rude. Not getting an education is something that bothered Mary Ellen her whole life. She just wanted to go to school like everyone else. But she was about to get something much more valuable.

Mary Ellen worked at the Hussey General Store, which was in a very busy part of Nantucket. Still, she was usually the only one like holding down the fort. So she really like learned how to run a business. She also learned that she had a gift when it came to her people skills. She said, quote, I was a girl full of smartness. I have always noticed that when I have something to say, people listen.

So Nantucket at the time was known for whaling. Not like wah, but like whales in the sea. Yeah. But I guess like whaling is when men go out to the sea, they kill whales and they bring back their giant carcasses and turn their blubber into things like oil for lamps.

So this meant that the men of Nantucket were gone for like most of the year and the women were left to run the town. And even though it was a Quaker town and they didn't believe in slavery, they still believed in segregation.

On the other side of town in New Guinea, there were entire towns of Black women running things. And this was huge because up until this point, Mary Ellen hadn't witnessed Black women in these positions of power. I mean, these women were running the shops, keeping the books, and making the rules. And they were flourishing.

Mary instantly knew she wanted to be just as successful someday. Eventually, the family Mary Ellen worked for taught her how to read and write, and she decided she wanted to move on to another city and make a name for herself. So Mary Ellen moved to Philadelphia, and when she got there, she found love. Aww. In 1833, at 19 years old, Mary Ellen married a man named James Henry Smith.

James had a very successful contracting business, and he and Mary Ellen became very involved in the fight against slavery. They used their money to assist fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia, and their job was to help people make it to safety so they weren't recaptured or killed. I think a lot of us learned about the Underground Railroad in school, but its entire purpose was to help enslaved people escape.

but it's so much more dangerous and complicated than that. You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I love.

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This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

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It was called the Underground Railroad because trains were a popular type of transportation at the time, but there was no actual train. The railroad

was a path that was over a thousand miles long and it had thousands of safe houses along the way. If at any point someone was caught along the Underground Railroad, word went back to the, quote, conductors so they could reroute you. The conductors were leaders who were in charge of helping people get from one safe house to the next.

And Mary Ellen knew that she had the gift to deal with people and manage things well, so she volunteered to be one of those conductors. Experts say that over 100,000 fugitive slaves escaped along the Underground Railroad, and it was just like a lot of moving parts, and it was constant stress and anxiety.

And not to mention fear of like death at every turn. I mean, people's lives were literally on the line if this was not done right. Plus, if free black people like Mary Ellen were caught assisting slaves, they would lose their free status and be sold into slavery themselves. But Mary Ellen didn't let that stop her. She knew that these people needed her.

When you were escaping, you didn't have time to pack a carry-on or like bring some snacks. You left as soon as you could with whatever you had. These people needed to have a place to sleep, things to eat, a place to take a bath. I mean, just basic stuff.

but everything needed to be done in secret. So the way that you would communicate on the Underground Railroad was by word of mouth. These messages were code words that people in the railroad industry used. For example, fugitive slaves were called cargo or baggage, and safe houses were called stations.

They would even mimic owl hoots to communicate with each other. And it was like a very, it was a very complex operation that required a lot of work. Mary Ellen and James worked with the Underground Railroad for years, and it was basically their whole world. Then sadly, James dies and historians aren't really sure how he died.

But not long after, word gets out in town that Mary Ellen is part of the Underground Railroad. And I guess at this point, people start harassing her like crazy. Now, at the same time, she inherits a good amount of money from James. I mean, it's sad that he was gone, but, you know, she got some money to help her get by.

Mary Ellen uses that money to continue to help fund Underground Railroad expenses. And in 1847, she ends up getting married to another man named John Pleasant. John is not in Mary Ellen's story a lot, I guess because he was a cook who worked mostly on ships. So like he was at sea a lot of the time. Now the hype around her being a part of the Underground Railroad, it was not settling down.

And I guess Mary Ellen was under a lot of pressure. There were laws popping up left and right that were written just to prosecute people who had any involvement in the Underground Railroad. And there were rumors swirling around that Mary Ellen was going to be arrested soon.

On top of all of this, being a black person in society anywhere, but especially the East Coast, made it impossible to build something for yourself, even if you did have a lot of money. But then, in 1849, something happens that changes America and Mary Ellen's life forever.

Word reaches town that there's a gold rush in California. And there were rumors that people are going from dead broke to millionaires in like a matter of hours. All they had to do was find nuggets of gold in those California mountains and waters. Black people were allowed to search for gold and try their luck just like everyone else.

But Mary wasn't about to go searching for gold in the water. Hell no. What was most promising to Mary Ellen was that Black people were more accepted in society over in Gold Rush country, AKA San Francisco. And San Francisco was growing and there were lots of work opportunities. So Mary Ellen decides like,

This is, this is the move. So Mary Ellen hops on a ship with some of her fellow underground railroad workers and sets sail for California around 1852. And this journey ends up taking four months. And the whole time Mary is probably thinking like, what have I done? You know, like she left everything she knew behind. I mean,

I mean, sure her husband was with her, but she knew that he would have to leave to work on a ship somewhere soon. But as soon as the ship docks, a big old like smile spreads across Mary Ellen's face. That's because Gold Rush Country was a mess.

a mess, she knew how to work to her advantage. Now, something to know about Mary Ellen was that she was biracial and she was able to pass for white in San Francisco. So when she filled out her paperwork, she checked the box that said white, just so she'd have an easier time getting work because Mary Ellen had plans. At the time, only one in 10 people coming to Gold Rush Country

Mary Ellen had a lot of skills, but the thing she was known for was her incredible cooking. And of all of the skills she had, this was the most valuable one. Men back then didn't know how to do anything, especially cooking. The men panning for gold were, I guess, just eating gross food. I'm not sure. Basically, they were just eating food to survive and not really, you know, good meals. Mary Ellen knew that these men were homesick for some good homes.

home cooking, you know? Even though she had a little bit of money from her first husband, Mary Ellen, she still chose to work instead of, you know, just sitting around and spending the money her first husband had left her. So she ended up getting a job cooking in one of the private hotels for wealthy miners. Not like miners, like young, but like miners. Cold.

Yeah. Or like minors. What's a minor? But you get it. Minors. Okay. And pretty much right away, people fall in love with her cooking. People would stay at the hotel she worked at just to eat her food. I was curious about the food she was making because the only thing I could remember people eating back then was like a...

I don't know, beef jerky and saltwater taffy. And let's just say it was interesting. Now these dishes were considered the height of luxury at the time. She made a molded cucumber dish, which was marinated cucumbers set in jello. For main dishes, she'd make boiled pig's feet or veal knuckles. The drink would be a punch bowl filled with five types of the best wine available.

All mixed together. So kind of like your high school prom punch bowl. For dessert, she'd cook something like her famous molasses sponge cake with lemon filling. Yum. Mary Ellen became San Francisco's version of a celebrity chef. She went on to cook for lots of private hotels and wealthy families in the area. And at one point, Mary Ellen was so famous, she even had a little fan club.

When she would return from traveling, men would wait at the docks so they could beg her to cook for them the second she stepped off the ship. There's even this story out there about how Mary Ellen created quite the scene at the height of her fame. Allegedly, Mary Ellen returned home by ship, and as soon as the men saw her, they started shouting at each other and like fighting over her.

Then a bidding war started and Mary Ellen, she's like, let it happen. She's like, whatever. She went to work for the highest bidder who paid her thousands of dollars a week in today's money. And she only had one role for these men.

She'll do the cooking, but that's it. No cleaning. I'm not going to do the dishes. No. And everyone happily agreed to this. Now, at this point in today's money, Mary Ellen has almost $600,000 to her name, you know, but she doesn't stop working. And it's not just because she wanted to keep making money for her cooking.

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I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion, washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman

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RIP. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

Like I said earlier, men would track her down and have meetings wherever she was working just so they could eat her famous food. Even though she was richer than most people in town, Mary Ellen kept being a cook so she could eavesdrop on important business meetings during dinner. Now she did this because this information was valuable.

She could find out like where to invest her money. I mean, that's where the real tea was. Even though she was beloved for her cooking, to these big businessmen, Mary Ellen was just a good cook, you know? They didn't know she was smart and like eavesdropping on their top secret investing tips. She knew just having money isn't really wealth. Real wealth is continuing to grow your empire.

With the information she learned from listening in, Mary Ellen invested her money in several banks. Smart. The point was that she'd be earning interest in different places. Yeah, you know, she was making her money work for her. And actually, fun fact, Mary Ellen is considered one of the co-founders of these two famous banks.

Wells Fargo, and Bank of California. She invested in both of those banks when they were just getting started. Now, ain't that some shit? Mary Ellen used this money to take over the town with her businesses. She opened restaurants, she invested in real estate, and different small shops in the area. She even opened laundries and boarding houses, aka hotels. But she wasn't just creating like

your standard holiday inn. She was creating luxury experiences. Her hotels were decorated beautifully and they had the best of everything. I mean, the best food, the best services, and the best clientele. Allegedly, only the highest of high in society would stay at these hotels. And on top of that, there was like a very long exclusive wait list. That's because it wasn't just a good time.

Like once you stayed at one of these hotels, you were considered VIP. Your name was on the list of the creme de la creme of society. And throughout this whole time, people still think that Mary Ellen is just like a talented cook.

But no one really knows that she was the brains behind the operation. And at first, that's exactly how she wanted it. That's because while Mary Ellen was creating her empire, she was also elevating and protecting the black people around her. And she didn't want to get caught like she almost did on the East Coast. Many southerners were making the journey to California to go look for gold.

and they were bringing with them slave catchers. That's because there was a California law that stated any black person who was caught without the right working papers on them could be sold into slavery. And those slave catchers from the South were just waiting for the black people around them to slip up.

But Mary Ellen was always there to protect them and give them work, a place to stay, I mean, anything they needed. At every single one of her businesses, Mary Ellen made sure to hire Black staff. And she wouldn't just hire them for behind the scene work either.

She made sure that they were front and center, like when you walked into her establishments. So Mary Ellen wanted the image of black people in society to change. She wanted it to be known that they were just as capable of having high positions and running businesses as anyone else. By the mid 1850s, Mary Ellen was one of the richest people in town.

But, you know, no one knew it because she wasn't flashy at all. She wasn't all about social status and spending her money in like lavish ways. Instead, Mary Ellen actually used her money to continue to fund the Underground Railroad.

On top of managing all of her businesses, her investments, and having a full-time job as a cook, Mary Ellen remained an active part of the Underground Railroad. Even though she had to leave the East Coast to avoid getting arrested, she never forgot about her community there. Besides being a safe place for those who escaped, Mary Ellen was key in arranging many fugitive slave escapes. She made sure those who escaped had transportation, a place to sleep,

food, and even gave jobs to some people who were able to make it to California. Now, there was always a possibility that these workers would be found by their former enslavers. They'd get tips from those slave catchers in the area. And if they were discovered,

Usually there would be an attempt to extradite them out of California and make them go back to where they were enslaved before, which was of course like a nightmare scenario. Imagine making it out only to have authorities come after you. But Mary Ellen made sure that they had their day in court.

Literally. She made sure they were represented by solid attorneys. But that wasn't good enough for her. She was determined to change the law. Now at this time, black people were not allowed to testify in court. They weren't even allowed to defend themselves. So she funded a ton of cases against the state of California, all of them pro-black.

pressured the court to change this law. In 1862, thanks to her funding all these cases, the legal team was able to change the law. I mean, it was a huge win at the time.

I mean, now black people were able to defend themselves in court. I mean, this woman was unstoppable. Because of this, and really all of her work, she became known as the mother of civil rights in California. But she couldn't like really celebrate publicly. I mean, she knew that people back east were just waiting to arrest her. So to cover her ass in San Francisco, she goes by the name Miss Ellen Smith.

And people just assume she's a wealthy white landlord and a famous cook. Now to the people who really knew her,

She was Miss Pleasant. And Miss Pleasant helped anybody of any ethnicity who was in danger during those days, especially women and children. She would either house these people herself or send them to one of her many wealthy friends in San Francisco to get back on their feet. Mary Ellen was also making friends with locals who were secretly fighting slavery laws. And one of those friends was John Brown.

John was a devout evangelical Christian, and he believed he was on earth for one purpose and one purpose only, to help and save.

Slavery. John was loved by many people involved in the fight for civil rights, and he spent his whole life leading peaceful talks and demonstrations with the government. Now, John was a white man, so he had hoped that the government would at least give him the time of day. He was part of a pacifist group that didn't believe in violence. But after decades of work, he believed working with this group was useless. I mean, they never got anywhere.

And they just complained and planned and it never really meant anything. He was over it. He said about his fellow pacifists, quote, "These men are all talk. What we need is action." So John put together a plan of action. He was going to Harpers Ferry, Virginia to raid a factory where weapons were made. There were tons of enslaved people forced to work under grueling conditions in the area.

So John and his army were going in armed and were going to snatch the weapons from the factory to free slaves in the South. John was so confident this would work that he even wrote up a new slave free constitution for the United States. He and Mary Ellen planned this raid and hoped it would inspire thousands of enslaved people across the South to fight back and escape their owners.

Now, Mary Ellen funded this rebellion, which cost almost a million dollars in today's money, and it was a huge operation. In October of 1859, John and his army raided Harper's Ferry Armory, and at first it was successful. He and his men did manage to get into the armory and snatch the weapons, but

Right away, his plan started to fall apart. John only brought a small group of 22 people with him to start this rebellion. He expected the enslaved people working in the armory to join him and fight back, but they didn't. Now that's because as soon as the authorities heard what was happening, they sent the US Marines and I guess they just started shooting.

Ten people were killed right off the bat, and the enslaved men knew if they dared to fight back, they'd be killed too. So when John saw this, he and the surviving men took off on foot. Sadly, only five of them got away. The rest of the men leading the rebellion, including John, were captured. John was charged with treason by the Virginia government and was found guilty.

and was hanged on December 2nd, 1859. This was a huge blow to Mary Ellen and the entire civil rights movement. And everyone was just freaking out thinking Mary Ellen would be arrested for being connected to John, you know? Now the authorities who executed John did find a note on him from Mary Ellen. It essentially said,

John had her support and she would fund their fight no matter what. Apparently the guy who read this note needed glasses because instead of reading Mary Ellen's initials M.E.P., he read W.E.P.,

I mean, thank God, right? So papers all across town sent out a warning. A man named W.E.P. had funded John's slave rebellion and was wanted for treason. Thankfully, because they're dumb, they never caught Mary Ellen. Even though Harper's Ferry didn't start the slave rebellion in the South like John had hoped, it turned out to be something so much bigger. The raid was one of the main reasons the frickin' Civil War happened.

The rebellion happened just before President Lincoln signed the order to abolish slavery. Southern slaveholding states like Virginia, where the Harper's Ferry raid happened, didn't know how to have an economy without free slave labor. And this is what caused the Civil War. You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the time, but maybe now it's getting a little old.

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All Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices

and premium fabrics and finishes. I recently got this 100% European linen short sleeve shirt. Ooh, I love linen and you know, it was so comfortable, so cute. I can finally retire my old ratty tank top.

R.I.P. Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince's high quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash dark history for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash dark history to get free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com slash dark history.

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

Now, after the Civil War, things in Mary Ellen's story take a turn. Mary Ellen is now able to proudly and publicly identify as a Black woman because the South lost the war and she knows she's not at risk of being arrested like before. Mary Ellen also starts publicly associating with all the wealthy people in town.

I mean, she's richer than most of them at this point. And her amazing reputation in the local business community starts to bring lots of interesting characters into her life. Mary Ellen meets a banker named Thomas Bell. Thomas met Mary Ellen and discovered what an incredible business woman she was. And he was dying to get into business with her. But now that Mary Ellen was identifying as a black woman, her money and investments were not going to be easy.

I mean, being black and rich at the time meant that everyone was going after her fortune. Mary Ellen put Thomas's name on all of the transactions that she did so her fortune would be secured. And they went into business doing all kinds of things like real estate, mining, banking, you name it. They worked together so well that Mary Ellen ended up with a fortune that is worth over $750 million in today's money.

I know, damn, what? Now here's where it gets weird. In 1877 at age 63, Mary Ellen took her well-earned fortune and built an insanely large 30 room mansion. Good for her, right? And people were so thrown off by its existence that they called it the house of mystery.

Rumors were swirling around about the suspicious activities that might be happening within the house. Some people thought the house was actually a brothel and that Mary Ellen was a madame. But there was like never any solid evidence about this. And Mary Ellen's husband, John Pleasant, you remember him? Well, I guess he did.

Yeah. So everyone thinks that Mary Ellen like must be building a brothel because who else would live in that house with her, right? Well, pretty much right after the house is done being built, Mary Ellen does something strange. She invites her business partner, Thomas Bell, his wife, and their six children to live in the house. Mary Ellen and Thomas's wife, they actually go way back.

Because it was actually Mary Ellen who introduced the couple in the first place. Thomas was unmarried for like most of his life and it was starting to raise some eyebrows around town. So Mary Ellen thought like they would be a really good match. But once they got married, it was very clear that they weren't

not good for each other. Thomas and his wife essentially lived separate lives, but under the same roof. Mary Ellen usually had to be the mediator between the two of them. Because Thomas trusted Mary Ellen with literally everything in his life, people think that, you know, maybe they were having an affair. But again, no evidence of this. Mary Ellen was just a generous person, so maybe that's why she was so involved in the Bells' life.

I mean, we don't know. The reasons are very unclear. But what we do know is that this was a mistake. In society, people were starting to turn on her. Mary Ellen was a proud woman.

rich, successful black woman. But what was most offensive to them was that she used her money to publicly fight for civil rights. She wasn't like the talented white celebrity chef anymore. Now people were- You know that one good tank top that you wear like all year round? I mean, it fits you just right. So you wear it all the-

time, but maybe now it's getting a little old. Shifting my wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Luckily, Quince offers timeless and high quality items that I love so I can make sure my wardrobe stays fresh and I don't blow my budget. They've got cashmere sweaters from $50, pants for every occasion,

washable silk tops. And my favorite part, all Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By partnering directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us. And Quince only works with factories that use safe, ethical, and responsible manufacturing practices

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Could you imagine, right? Insane. Mary Ellen didn't have a complex about this because while everyone was running their mouths, she was just cashing their checks, you know? But things do get complicated when she decides to help out one of her friends and it gets wild, you guys. So Mary Ellen had this friend named Sarah Hill.

And Sarah, I guess she was going through it. Sarah had secretly married a Senator like a few months earlier. And right after they got married, the Senator cheated on Sarah a bunch of times and then divorced her ass. So Sarah, I guess, went to Mary Ellen crying and just feeling like her life was over.

Mary Ellen encouraged Sarah to sue him for alimony. She even financed Sarah's expensive and very public divorce. I say very public because people were obsessed with this court case at the time. In court, the senator wouldn't even like negotiate money with Sarah. And he claimed that she was never his wife. She was just a sex worker that he paid $500 a month for.

The courtroom, Gasparella. Oh yes, they did. They were like, oh my God. Now the Senator's story was shocking and like just kept changing. He was up for reelection. So he did not need this scandal, right? And he was like freaking out. Then he realized he was putting all the blame on the wrong person. Sarah was known for being a wild card. So anything she said, people were like,

whatever, you know, chicre. The senator turned his attention to the most hated person in the courtroom out of nowhere, Mary Ellen Pleasant. The court system in the area already knew Mary Ellen because of her involvement in the civil rights cases and they did not like her.

The senator claimed that Mary Ellen and Sarah weren't actually friends. He said that Mary Ellen was Sarah's madame and Sarah was just another one of her sex workers. The senator also said that the only reason Sarah was suing him was because Mary Ellen put her under a voodoo spell.

And they thought Sarah was crazy. He claimed that Mary Ellen was a voodoo priestess and had been doing this to wealthy people her entire life. Again, they thought Sarah was the crazy one. Then the senator used her relationship with Thomas Bell as an example. So it got worse because rumors started to fly around.

And the rumor was that Sarah brought Mary Ellen some of her dirty socks and underwear so she could like make some voodoo charms out of it. And then he goes on to say that Mary Ellen then also steals and sells babies on the black market.

wild claims. People in town who are friends with Mary Ellen were known to call her mama. So this was like a very specific and offensive dig. The senator was just making stuff up to get the jury to stop looking at his marriage and like end this scandalous trial. But like, if you wanted to end this scandalous trial, then maybe don't make up some wild accusations, right? Okay.

Okay, just a thought. Now, there are rumors that Mary Ellen responded to these ridiculous accusations by leaning into the whole voodoo persona. Like she allegedly threatened to kill someone with voodoo if they crossed her. And it was wild. I mean, this court case was the only thing the media reported on for months. The good news was that the jury ended up ruling in Sarah's favor and the senator had to pay up. The

The bad news? No one even cared about those two anymore. The case became about Mary Ellen being an evil, baby-stealing witch doctor, and Mary Ellen's reputation was ruined. The media had been looking for a way to ruin Mary Ellen's good name for a while, so they started to refer to her as Mammy Pleasant instead of Mama Pleasant. Mammy is a horribly offensive term used to describe mothers

enslaved women who were happy, quote unquote happy, to raise their enslavers' children. And this was obviously the opposite of Mary Ellen and she hated being called it. Then in 1885, not long after the trial, the Senator dropped dead out of nowhere. So of course everyone was like, oh my God, it's Mary Ellen's voodoo.

Oh no! Even though all of that was happening, Mary Ellen continued her social justice work, but she stayed out of the public spotlight. I mean, she was in her 70s by this point and just sick of everyone trying to ruin her. But then the media found another way to drag Mary Ellen through the mud.

In 1892, Mary Ellen's longtime business partner, Thomas Bell, died. But it's not just that. He died in the mansion that they shared after falling off the balcony. Oh yeah. No one was home but Mary Ellen. So what do you think people are going to do? Yeah.

Even though the coroner ruled Thomas' death a tragic accident, the papers went with the voodoo queen narrative yet again. The papers claimed that Mary Ellen, who was 78 at this point, had pushed Thomas Bell over the balcony. All because she wanted $100,000 from him. That's what they were claiming.

And remember Thomas's wife? Yeah, even though she and Mary Ellen used to be friends, she didn't blink before deciding to turn on Mary Ellen. She told the press that Mary Ellen had been controlling her husband Thomas for decades and that all the money

All the businesses and the mansion belonged to her and not Mary Ellen. So this dumb bitch took Mary Ellen to court. Even though Thomas's wife suffered from mental illness and everyone knew she had issues, the courts were not about to hand another win to Mary Ellen. Hell no.

She, I guess, had just ruffled too many feathers with her civil rights work. And plus, Mary Ellen didn't really have a defense because she had managed the Bells' personal and business finances for over 20 years. And her name was like all over the paperwork.

After hearing from Thomas' wife, the judge must have believed she made a good argument because he ended up siding with her. The judge ruled that Mary Ellen had been stealing from the Bells. And in the blink of an eye, after spending her entire life building this massive empire, she loses it all.

Mary Ellen is kicked out of her home and spends the rest of her life with very little money. She depended on the kindness of strangers to get by. Mary Ellen never regretted making herself a target because of her civil rights work. In one of her memoirs, she wrote, quote,

Ooh, I'd rather be a corpse than a coward. Dang, that's good. On January 11th, 1904, at 90 years old, Mary Ellen Pleasant died. Her obituary in the San Francisco Examiner read, Mammy Pleasant will work weird spells no more. That's literally what it said. After everything that she did, all she accomplished, that's what they ended it with.

Yeah, you can't, wow. Wow. Now, even though her story has a sad ending, the work she did herself and funded went on to create the backbone of the civil rights movement. Mary Ellen could have taken all that money she made and just, you know,

did nothing with it, went on vacations, clothes, jewelry, whatever. But instead she led by example and put her money where her mouth was. And she became the mother of the civil rights movement and the first self-made black millionaire in California. And most importantly, she changed America in a huge way. And I'm sure we can all agree that's pretty badass.

Speaking of, you know, all American badasses, I personally have had a little obsession lately. An obsession with cowboys. I mean, remember I watched that movie Tombstone? I love that movie. It's so good. Oh my God. And it made me realize like, I don't know anything about cowboy culture. I just thought it was like a movie era or something.

Whoops. You know? So when I don't know something, I naturally am attracted to it. And I did a deep dive. And while I'm doing so, I was like realizing that a lot of the stories kind of sound the same because it's all men who are like whiskey and guns and like, like robbing banks. Right. But when I came across some stories about the women during this time, I was like, what?

What? Yeah. Like there were these, some of these stories need to be told or whatever. So I'm going to share with you. So join me next week when we talk about the true story behind three iconic women of the Wild West. Calamity Jane, Annie Oakley, and Belle Starr. Maybe you watched Calamity Jane the movie because me too. Well, friends, thank you so much for hanging out with me today. I hope you learned something new because I sure did.

You can join me over on my YouTube where you can watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And while you're there, you can also catch my murder, mystery, and makeup. And don't forget to like and subscribe and leave a comment because I love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story. So, like I said, leave a freaking comment. Now, let's read a couple of comments you guys have left me. Abby Cobb5433 had a fun fact for me. Ooh, I love a fun fact. Fun fact:

I'm actually a descendant of Anne Boleyn. Wah. Cool. That's pretty cool. What do we do with this information? Does that mean you're famous or you're royal? What does that mean? I love that for you, Abby. Good for you. Your name kind of makes me want a Cobb salad. I love a Cobb. Don't you? Oh my God. Abby, Cobb, come on.

So good. Crazy Cat Jen left me a comment. Girl, you're from MoVal? Hey, fellow 92553 here. Hey, Crazy Cat Jen. Not from MoVal, but I lived close to MoVal and I would go to the MoVal Mall all the time because that was the closest mall at the time. Remember MoVal Mall? It's still like, it's still there. And sometimes I go and I'm like, why did I come here? But yeah. Hey, Crazy Cat Jen. MoVal, have an Alberto's burrito for me.

Serafina24 had an episode suggestion for us. Bailey, I would love to see a video on the dark history of dog breeding. Anyone else? Yes, I think that's a good idea. I remember reading something about the Golden Doodle creator regretting he ever invented the breed. It's kind of creepy, isn't it?

I know. We should do that. That's a great idea. Thank you for the recommendation. I love you for watching and I love you for engaging. So keep commenting because maybe you'll be featured in our next episode. And hey, if you don't know, Dark History is an Audioboom original. A special thank you to our expert, Trisha Martineau Wagner. And I'm your host, Bailey Sarian. I hope you have a good rest of your day. You make good choices. And I'll be talking to you next week. Goodbye. Bye.

♪♪

I'm Stanzi Potenza. And I'm Brad Padre. Launching June 13th is our new podcast, Late to the Party. In this post-ironic chat show, we'll show you a window into our world of crazy post-ironic thoughts. An unlikely friendship founded on a shared love for riffs, ranting, and getting absolutely wrecked.

Consider this an invitation to our inside jokes. You're late to the party, but no one cool ever shows up on time. Follow Late to the Party on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to this kind of stuff.