Ada and Minna Everleigh, born Ada and Minna Simms, were two sisters who operated the

Everleigh Club The Everleigh Club was a high-class brothel which operated in Chicago, Illinois, from February 1900 until October 1911. It was owned and operated by Ada and Minna Everleigh. Opening Ada Everleigh, the elder, was born in Greene County, Virginia o ...

, a high-priced

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

in the

Levee District The Levee District was the red-light district of Chicago from the 1880s until 1912, when police raids shut it down. The district, like many frontier town red-light districts, got its name from its proximity to wharves in the city. The Levee dis ...

of Chicago during the first decade of the twentieth century. Ada, the elder sister, was born in Greene County, Virginia on February 15, 1864,. and died in Charlottesville, Virginia on January 5, 1960. Minna was born in Greene County on July 13, 1866 and died in New York City on September 16, 1948.

Biography

Alternative biography

The sisters claimed an alternative biography, which has long been accepted as factual. Better research has provided more accuracy.. According to their story, Minna and Ada Simms were born outside of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

in 1876 to a wealthy lawyer who had fled to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

when

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

invaded Virginia in 1781. The two sisters had been to finishing school and had proper social debuts. When Minna was 17, she says she married a man whose last name was Lester who turned out to be abusive. Ada claimed to have been married to Lester's brother, who also turned out to be abusive. After both marriages failed, they became actresses. Claiming their father died in the early 1890s, they said they came into a legacy of $35,000.

Early life

According to Abbott, whose research included an interview with the sisters' great niece, Minna and Ada were born in Greene County, Virginia to George Warren "Montgomery" and Virginia "Jennie" Madison Simms, the second and third of four daughters. Their mother died when they were young, as did their sisters. There were three brothers, who all survived to adulthood. Although the family was wealthy at the time of their birth, they lost much of their wealth during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and the family lost their plantation when they couldn't pay their taxes. Both sisters were married but subsequently divorced.

Later life

Stranded by a theater company in Omaha, Nebraska, the sisters changed their last name to Everleigh, adapted from their grandmother's habit of signing letters with "Everly Yours" and opened their first brothel in Omaha in 1895. When the

Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Omaha, Nebraska, from June 1 to November 1, 1898. Its goal was to showcase the development of the entire West from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast. The Indi ...

was held in Omaha in 1898, they opened a second brothel in the vicinity of the event in

Kountze Park Kountze Park is an urban public park located at 1920 Pinkney Street in the Kountze Place neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. The Park is historically significant as the site of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898. ...

and quickly doubled their investment. They then decided to close their brothels and sought a more affluent city. In 1899, they settled in Chicago, and on February 1, 1900, opened a high-class brothel named the

, which did good business until closed down in 1911. In November 1905, a rival madam maliciously accused the sisters of the murder of Marshall Field Jr., son of department store founder

Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field's, Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of qua ...

. When the brothel was closed by the city authorities in 1911 Ada was 47 and Minna 45. They then retired with over $1 million to the West Side of Chicago, but were driven out by disapproving neighbors. After traveling around Europe, they changed their name to Lester and settled in New York City. Minna Everleigh died in 1948. After Minna's death, Ada Everleigh sold most of her personal belongings and moved to Virginia. Ada Everleigh died in 1960 at the age of 93.

Scarlet Sisters Everleigh

In 2014, a play based on the sisters' life, titled ''Scarlet Sisters Everleigh'', was produced in Chicago.

Notes

References

*. * *. *. *. *. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Everleigh, Ada And Minna 19th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American businesswomen American brothel owners and madams Sister duos People from Greene County, Virginia