Louise Wooster
Encyclopedia
Louise Catharine Wooster (1842–1913), better known as Lou Wooster, was a famous madam
in Birmingham, Alabama
. Her colorful character and her care for the sick and dying during the cholera
epidemic of 1873 endeared her to the Birmingham community. The "Lou Wooster Public Health Award" is named in her honor.
to William Wooster and Mary Chism Wooster. Her father died in 1851 and Mary Wooster remarried. A few years later, Lou's stepfather abandoned the family and took their money with him. Mary Wooster died a few years later virtually destitute.
By her middle teens, Lou was an orphan with nothing to rely on but the mercy of relatives. During this time, she was abused, attempted suicide, and her older sister became a prostitute. She later wrote that she "fell, step by step, until at last I was beyond redemption".
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, feed the hungry, and prepare the dead for funerals. After the epidemic, few of Lou's clients remained in Birmingham and she moved to Montgomery, Alabama
to open a brothel.
By 1880, she had returned to Birmingham operating multiple brothels near City Hall where she could attract the wealthiest patrons. Lou made a fortune, donated heavily to charities 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.
Lou died in 1913 and was buried in Birmingham's Oak Hill Cemetery
.
, MPA, who is also known as the first openly gay State Representative in Alabama at the School of Public Health Honors Convocation.
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. Her colorful character and her care for the sick and dying during the cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic of 1873 endeared her to the Birmingham community. The "Lou Wooster Public Health Award" is named in her honor.
Overview
Louise Wooster was born in 1842 in Tuscaloosa, AlabamaTuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
to William Wooster and Mary Chism Wooster. Her father died in 1851 and Mary Wooster remarried. A few years later, Lou's stepfather abandoned the family and took their money with him. Mary Wooster died a few years later virtually destitute.
By her middle teens, Lou was an orphan with nothing to rely on but the mercy of relatives. During this time, she was abused, attempted suicide, and her older sister became a prostitute. She later wrote that she "fell, step by step, until at last I was beyond redemption".
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, feed the hungry, and prepare the dead for funerals. After the epidemic, few of Lou's clients remained in Birmingham and she moved to Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
to open a brothel.
By 1880, she had returned to Birmingham operating multiple brothels near City Hall where she could attract the wealthiest patrons. Lou made a fortune, donated heavily to charities 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.
Lou died in 1913 and was buried in Birmingham's Oak Hill Cemetery
Oak Hill Cemetery (Birmingham, Alabama)
Oak Hill Cemetery, located just north of downtown, is Birmingham, Alabama's oldest cemetery. Originally on the estate of James M. Ware, it was already a burial ground by April 1869 when it served as the resting place for the infant daughter of future mayor Robert H. Henley...
.
The Lou Wooster Public Health Award, University of Alabama in Birmingham
This award was presented May 3, 2007 to Patricia ToddPatricia Todd
Patricia Todd is an American politician from Alabama. A Democrat, she is a member of the Alabama House of Representatives representing District 54 in downtown Birmingham...
, MPA, who is also known as the first openly gay State Representative in Alabama at the School of Public Health Honors Convocation.