Tennessee Celeste Claflin
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Tennessee Celeste Claflin, Viscountess of Montserrat (October 26, 1844 – January 18, 1923), also known as Tennie C., was an American
suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...
best known as the first woman, along with her sister Victoria Woodhull, to open a
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
brokerage firm, which occurred in 1870.


Early life and education

Tennessee Claflin's exact birth date is unclear, but she is generally reported to have been born between 1843 and 1846. Biographer Myrna MacPherson cites Claflin's date of birth as October 26, 1845, while journalist
Barbara Goldsmith Barbara Goldsmith (May 18, 1931 – June 26, 2016) was an American author, journalist, and philanthropist. She received critical and popular acclaim for her best-selling books, essays, articles, and her philanthropic work. She was awarded four ...
cites a birth year of 1846. It is clear however, that Tennessee Claflin was the last of ten children born to Roxanna Hummel Claflin and Reuben Buckman Claflin in Homer, Ohio. A sister, Utica Claflin Brooker, was born between 1841 and 1843. A poem was written about the three sisters: Victoria, Utica, and Tennessee Three sisters fair, of worth and weight, A queen, a city, and a State— At least from such each takes her name— And all were largely known to fame. Two of them took an early start To practice in the healing art, The other traveled far and near, And visited each hemisphere. All were geniuses most rare, Of for genteel and features fair. By as great space they were separate As Buckeye from the Golden State. Reuben Buckman Claflin, known as "Buck," was a snake oil salesman who posed as a doctor. He had some legal training and sometimes presented himself as a lawyer. His work experiences included ferrying timber down the
Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
and working in a saloon. He came from an impoverished branch of the
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
-based Scots-American Claflin family, semi-distant cousins to Governor
William Claflin William Claflin (March 6, 1818 – January 5, 1905) was an American politician, industrialist, and philanthropist from Massachusetts. He served as the 27th governor of Massachusetts from 1869 to 1872 and as a member of the United States Congre ...
. In December 1825, Buck Claflin married Roxanna Hummel, sometimes called "Roxy". The couple met in
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania Selinsgrove is the largest borough in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population is estimated to be 5,761 for the 2020 Census. Selinsgrove is geographically located in the middle of the Susquehanna River Valley in Central Pe ...
when Buck was a guest at the house where Roxanna worked as a maid. Roxanna has been identified at various times as the niece of a prosperous saloon owner and as the illegitimate daughter of a maid. She spoke with a German accent. She may have been a spiritualist. The Claflin children grew up in poverty. Neighbors remembered them as wild, dirty, and hungry. Buck was an abusive father who regularly beat his children without provocation. Inspired by the success of the
Fox Sisters The Fox sisters were three sisters from Rochester, New York who played an important role in the creation of Spiritualism: Leah (April 8, 1813 – November 1, 1890), Margaretta (also called Maggie), (October 7, 1833 – March 8, 1893) and Catheri ...
, Buck began advertising Tennessee and Victoria as mediums around 1852. The girls soon became the family's main breadwinners. In 1853, elder sister Victoria married and moved away.


Spiritualism and healing

By 1860, Tennessee was advertised as a precocious fortune teller with the ability to cure diseases "from cold sores to cancer." Consultations cost $1 and Tennessee worked 13-hour days in small towns across the Midwest. Buck sold "Miss Tennessee's Magnetio Elixir" (a worthless concoction) for $2. In 1863, Buck rented an entire hotel in
Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and ...
. He called himself "The King of Cancer" and advertised Tennessee's healing abilities. As part of their practice, the Claflins used lye which burned their patient's skin. In June 1864, the police raided the Claflins' hotel clinic and the family fled. Authorities charged the family with nine crimes including disorderly conduct and medical fraud (quackery). Tennessee faced the most serious charge as she was blamed for the death of a patient named Rebecca Howe. The family never went to court for their fake cancer cure. In the Fall of 1868, Buck visited business magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt who Buck had heard was interested in massage and magnetic healing. Buck pitched Victoria as a spiritualist and Tennessee as a healer. Tennessee and Cornelius began to spend a lot of time together and an affair was strongly rumored.


Wall Street and publishing

In late 1869, Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin rented two rooms at the posh Hoffman House at 44 Broad Street in New York City. In January 1870, they sent out calling cards announcing their new brokerage firm, Woodhull, Claflin, & Company. They charged $25 in advance for a consultation. The sisters were financially backed by
Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
. The elegantly furnished office of Woodhull, Claflin, & Company opened on February 14, 1870. This made Woodhull and Clafin the first women to open a
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
brokerage firm. The sisters were so besieged by curious visitors that 100 police officers had to keep order. In an article entitled "Wall-Street Aroused," ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' questioned the sisters' potential for success, not because they were women, but because of their association with spiritualism and other unorthodox causes. '' Harper’s Weekly'' dubbed them "Bewitching Brokers" in a cartoon while another article in the magazine questioned whether there were enough female investors to make the firm a success. Woodhull and Claflin had hit upon an untapped source of investment capital. Society wives and widows, teachers, small-business owners, actresses, and high-priced prostitutes and their madams sought out Woodhull, Claflin, & Company and the firm was an immediate financial triumph. The sisters soon rented an expensive apartment on 38th Street in the exclusive Murray Hill district of Manhattan. With the profits from their brokerage, the sisters started their own radical newspaper, '' Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly''. Woodhull and Claflin used their newspaper to advocate for
Free Love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the State (polity), state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues we ...
, a movement which in the nineteenth century pushed to separate sex from marriage. The Free Love movement was considered very fringe at this time and their advocacy of the movement shocked many. As biographer Myra McPherson explained, “In arguing that a woman had a right to freedom regarding her own body, to choose her mate, to decide when she wanted sex, and actually to enjoy it, the sisters were so far ahead of the era that they were openly called prostitutes in print.” ''Woodhull & Claflin’s Weekly'' was also the first paper in America to print ''
The Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'' (), originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (), is a political pamphlet written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, commissioned by the Communist League and originally published in London in 1848. The ...
.'' The brokerage firm of Woodhull, Claflin, & Company went under in the general economic depression that followed the
Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...
.


Politics

In 1871, the sisters tried to vote in a municipal election and were rebuffed. On August 11, 1871, Tennessee Claflin announced her candidacy for New York's Eighth Congressional District. At that time, the Eighth Congressional District was largely German-American. Claflin announced her candidacy at Irving Plaza surrounded by German and American flags. She delivered her speech in German. Woodhull was nominated for
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
by the newly formed Equal Rights Party on May 10, 1872.
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...
was nominated as vice-president but he ignored the nomination and instead actively campaigned for Ulysses S. Grant. During the summer of 1872, Claflin made a bid for the colonelcy of the Ninth Regiment of the New York National Guard. The post had been vacant since the death of robber baron Jim Fisk in January 1872. Claflin's candidacy was widely mocked by the press. The men of the Ninth Regiment ignored Claflin's offer, but Commander Thomas J. Griffin invited Claflin to run for the colonelcy of the newly organized Eighty-Fifth Regiment for black soldiers. Aware of her past advocacy and her professional success, the members of the Eighty-Fifth elected Claflin colonel.


Henry Ward Beecher adultery trial and related scandals

On November 2, 1872, ''Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly'' published a report that triggered the famous adultery trial of
Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
. Beecher was the son of the famous Calvinist theologian
Lyman Beecher Lyman Beecher (October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863) was an American Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, Presbyterian minister and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. Father of 13 children, many of them became writer ...
and the brother of
Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...
. He was probably the best-known Protestant minister in the United States at that time, earning an immense salary of $100,000 a year as a minister at Plymouth Church in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. A leader in the anti-slavery movement, Beecher gained fame as an orator. One hundred thousand copies of ''Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly'' were published on November 2, 1872 with "The Beecher-Tilton Scandal Case" on the cover. The article took the format of an interview between Victoria Woodhull and an unnamed reporter. Woodhull gave all the salacious details of an affair between
Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
and Elizabeth Richards Tilton, wife of Theodore Tilton. Woodhull gave her sources as
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton ( Cady; November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 ...
, Isabella Beecher Hooker, and
Paulina Wright Davis Paulina Wright Davis ( Kellogg; August 7, 1813 – August 24, 1876) was an American abolitionist, suffragist, and educator. She was one of the founders of the New England Woman Suffrage Association. Early life Davis was born in Bloomfield, New ...
. Letters from the three women were published as corroboration. In the same issues, Tennessee threatened further revelations about other important men by printing a letter from an anonymous madam who claimed to have recorded the names and addresses of her clients. Although some accused Tennessee of writing this letter herself, journalist Barbara Goldsmith believes the letter came from madam Annie Wood, a friend of both Woodhull and Claflin. Before the end of the week the November 2 issue had been reprinted and was selling for $40. Woodhull and Claflin spent the next few months in and out of jail on a variety of trumped-up obscenity charges brought by the rising vice crusader
Anthony Comstock Anthony Comstock (; March7, 1844 – September21, 1915) was an American anti-vice activist, United States Postal Inspector, and secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV), who was dedicated to upholding Christian mo ...
. In 1874, Theodore Tilton brought suit against
Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
for "criminal intimacy" with Tilton's wife. The case ran from January to July 1875 and ended in a hung jury.


London and later life

In the wake of the Beecher trial, the sisters left New York for London in 1877. Evidence suggests that the sisters' move was funded by the heirs of the recently deceased
Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
, who wanted them out of the way during a fight over the family inheritance. Vanderbilt had been widowed in 1868 and had remarried in 1869. The second marriage had surprised Claflin, who expected to marry him herself. But by the middle of 1871, Vanderbilt's family had pushed her out of his life. On October 15, 1885, at
St Mary Abbots St Mary Abbots is a Church (building), church located on Kensington High Street and the corner of Kensington Church Street in London W8. The present church structure was built in 1872 to the designs of Sir George Gilbert Scott, who combined ne ...
,
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
, London, Claflin married Francis Cook, who was chairman of Cook, Son & Co., drapers, and also Viscount of Monserrate in
Sintra Sintra (, ), officially the Town of Sintra (), is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of . Sintra is one of the ...
on the
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. Within months of their marriage,
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
created a Cook Baronetcy. As the wife of a British baronet, Claflin was thereafter correctly styled "Lady Cook", and in Portugal was also Viscountess of Monserrate. The couple lived at Doughty House in Richmond Hill,
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, now part of Greater London, and at Monserrate Palace. Shortly after Cook's death in 1901, Claflin founded a short-lived bank in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
called Lady Cook & Co. Although she never abandoned her radical viewpoints, Claflin lived the remainder of her life out of the public eye. She died in England on January 18, 1923.


See also

* Claflin family * Doughty House *
International Workingmen's Association in America The International Workingmen's Association (IWA) in the United States of America took the form of a loose network of about 35 frequently discordant local "sections," each professing allegiance to the London-based IWA, commonly known as the "First ...


Footnotes


Further reading

* biography of Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Celeste Claflin * {{DEFAULTSORT:Claflin, Tennessee 1844 births 1923 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American businesswomen 19th-century American newspaper editors 19th-century American newspaper founders 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 19th-century American women writers 19th-century American writers American company founders American expatriates in England American feminists American stockbrokers American women company founders American women newspaper editors American women non-fiction writers American women's rights activists Tennessee Celeste Claflin Free love advocates Members of the International Workingmen's Association People from Licking County, Ohio People from Richmond, London Sex-positive feminists Suffragists from New York City Women in New York (state) politics Women stockbrokers