Narrator: 
Welcome back to Isaac Hopper’s Diary: Declassified.  

 

In this episode, we will be covering prostitution in New York City and how it affected women during the 19th century. One particular story we will be following is about a woman named Cecilia Elizabeth Doremus, who was a prostitute in her early life and was documented in Hopper's diary from January 1847 to June 1847. Before I can dive into Cecilia’s story it is important to have background knowledge about the 19^th century. It is also important to understand how prostitution within New York City operated. It gives much needed context about what life was like for Cecilia and other prostitutes. 

 

So, let's go back in time… 

  

Narrator: 

           New York City in the 19th century was vastly growing. BBC History writes that quote “In the mid-19th century, a huge influx of European immigrants saw an explosion in the city’s population, which had quadrupled from 125,000 people in 1820 to just under one million by 1870, making it one of the most densely populated cities on earth”. End quote.  

 

New York was thriving... at least for some. The streets were now becoming filled with garbage, smog suffocated the air from sweatshops. Many neighborhoods became slums. Life in the big city definitely was not perfect and being a woman during the 19th century added even more difficulty. Merely to survive in these conditions many poor women had to resort to prostitution, and many were even forced into it. 

 

Women selling their bodies is nothing new, yet in most places in the world, and in many cases in history, it was, and still is, illegal. New York law enforcement had a relationship, and agreement, with that of the prostitution industry during the 19th century, which I’ll explain in just a bit. Yet, this relationship left many of the women in the industry incarcerated, just like Ms. Cecelia Doremus found herself.   

 

           At the age of six, Cecelia tragically lost both her parents. In his diary, Hopper does not say how or why, but she was shipped off to live with her aunt in New York City. Hopper wrote in his diary that  

 

A view of Five Points from Mulberry Bend. 1875, G.W. Pach. Public Domain.

 

 

 

Hopper Voice: “After the death of her parents she went to live with an aunt who treated her very severely.” 

 

Narrator: 

We can imagine that Cecelia was abused. It was not until 1875 that child protection services came into existence. If she was being “treated severely” as Hopper said, Cecelia would not have been protected from this severe treatment. And then, when Cecelia was only 13 years old, her aunt forced her into a marriage with a man who was a ship carpenter. Just 10 months after their marriage together Cecelia’s husband shipped off leaving her behind, completely alone in New York City, at the age of 14.  

 

When he returned from his voyage, he moved Cecelia into a home. This home was owned by a woman named Mrs. Strong. However, this wasn’t any type of home, and Mrs. Strong was not just an ordinary woman; it turns out to Cecelia’s surprise, to be a house of prostitution, a brothel. And Mrs. Strong a madam of the house. 

During the 19th century, brothels were the place where transactions for sex and money happened. The brothels in New York could range from run-down boarding houses to extravagant manors. Prostitution was profitable and through the years, different districts of prostitution within Manhattan emerged. These districts are referred to as red-light districts and came into existence because landlords started renting to brothels in designated areas. As these red-light districts expanded, brothels became entertainment meccas, and other entertainment businesses, like shopping, theaters, and restaurants started establishing themselves among nicer brothels.  

Sex had become a tourist attraction in 18th-century New York City.

You could compare it to an 18th-century version of Amsterdam’s red-light district, just not legal! Immigrants, businessmen, sailors, and wealthy men were the dominant patrons and frequented brothels. Every walk of life seemed to enjoy what brothels had to offer.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

There also seemed to be in the 19th century the thought that men had a strong sex drive and if this said sex drive was not effectively released it could be dangerous to women. People thought that if men did not get their sexual needs met this would lead to the rape of many women. They could protect women, women of the middle and higher class to be exact, by allowing men to visit brothels. People believed that by eliciting the services of prostitute’s men would be less violent and less likely to rape a woman.  

 

Patriarchy ruled the day in 19th-century America. So, It’s surprising that Brothels during this time were actually run and managed by women. This dynamic would change in the 20^th century but in the 1800s, women ran the brothels. These women, or owners, were businesswomen and were called Madams. So, in Cecelia’s case, her madam was Mrs. Strong.  

 

Mrs. Strong ended up having a huge influence on Cecelia’s story. These madams were businesswomen because they not only operated a successful brothel but would cut deals with law enforcement to allow their business to operate. They would pay local corrupt policemen for protection against being arrested for running a brothel. Where the red-light districts were in New York, policemen would basically turn a blind eye to the scene.   

 

Brothels operated on the basis of selling a woman’s body. I think it's important to understand the background where most of these women are coming from. like I mentioned earlier sometimes selling your body was the only choice woman had for survival. Whether it would be to support their own family because it was the only job with significant income available to women at the time, or like in Cecilia's case, they were a victim of their circumstances, either forced or only option. 

 

 

A Vest Pocket Guide to Brothels in 19th-Century New York for Gentlemen on the Go via the New York Times

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brothels recruited or welcomed a certain type of woman, or rather girl. Marilynn Wood Hill author of Their Sisters Keeper gives a general profile of a New York City prostitute, writing “she was young, foreign-born, unmarried, had borne a child, came from a poor working-class family, or and had experienced economic and/or other problems at home before entering prostitution.” Some of these characteristics describe Cecelia’s situation. A very likely reason why Cecelia’s husband brought her and forced her to live in a brothel was that she was so young. She married him at fourteen, she was just a child. A reason why brothels and prostitution were frequented by men was because of their younger women. Some brothels would sell, basically marketing, the virginity of these children to men. An absolutely disgusting idea to think about. But this was Cecelia’s reality.    

You might think that Cecelia’s life couldn’t get any harder... But it did 

Her husband was having an affair with Mrs. Strong behind her back while she was forced to have sex for money.  

Her husband had purchased a beautiful gold watch, (Overlay ticking sound) however, it was not for her, it was for Mrs. Strong, her Madam. In her meeting with Hopper, she tells him;  

 

Cecelia Voice: “I thought he owed to it to me. I demanded it and was refused. I then embraced the first opportunity and took the watch and pawned it for ten dollars.” 

 

Narrator: 

We can infer that Cecelia thought that the watch was originally for her, but then found out about the affair. In a rage, she demanded the watch be given to her, but her husband refused to give it up. So, she stole it and pawned it. She goes on to tell Hopper:

 

Cecelia Voice: “I came home and found my husband sitting by the side of Mrs. Strong – I was in a rage I threw the money and the pawn ticket in the fire.”  

Narrator: 

This was Cecelia’s fatal mistake.  

Cecelia was arrested for stealing the watch and was charged with Grand Larceny. Grand larceny in the 19th century was defined as property that was stolen from an individual, the value of the object does not matter as long as it was directly stolen property. A person who committed such a crime could face a prison sentence of up to five years. Cecelia was sentenced to Sing Sing prison for two years. However, interestingly, she used an alias and goes by the name Mary Mottine. In this era, women sent to prison were considered unredemiable. Ruth Rosen author of The Lost Sister Hood writes in her book quote “Having broken the cardinal of feminine conduct, she became capable of any crime” End quote. This cardinal feminine conduct refers to virginity and morality. And though men were using these women, prostitution was not a reflection of their character, but the woman’s. Because these prostitutes were deemed sinful, they were considered to be an unnatural woman, society because of this unnatural label than thought they were capable of heinous crimes. We see this idea translate to the treatment of women within the prison. Within these women's prisons, they were held in large cells, described as congested, and had intolerable noise. A Penitentiary Chaplin of a prison is quoted saying “to be a male convict in prison, would be tolerable; but to be a female convict for any protracted-term, would be worse than death”. Conditions were far harsher yet very few women were convicted for serious crimes. If you’re interested in knowing more about  women in prison listen to our other episode "Women and Prison: A Comparative Look at the Early Nineteenth Century and Now"  

 

 

The criminal justice system in the 19th century created punishments for women who failed to conform to the sexual double standard. Most women who committed public order crimes were incarcerated for – deviations from sexual propriety – they were committed for abortion, bigamy, incest, and sodomy some were even convicted for quote keeping bad company and being public nuisances. Author Nicole Hahn Rafter of Partial Justice Women, Prisons, and Social Control says that “these public nuisance charges are ambiguous and that most of the cases have tones of sexual prom is cuity”. It is impossible to know how many women were actually committed for their quote sexual promiscuity. It could very well be possible that because Cecelia was a prostitute she was already written off as a criminal and her trial was not a fair one.   

 

           Being a prostitute and being labeled by society as unredeemable created a toxic never-ending cycle. This is a cycle that many prostitutes found themselves in and happened after they were released from prison. When returning back to society from a sentence in prison, women were often left with no other options than either to return to the street or to a brothel. There were specific gender expectations women needed to live up to and if they did not fit the mold of society they were labeled as unsexed. This is most likely the reason that Cecelia would have sought help from Hopper at the office of the Prison Association. She most likely did not want to live the rest of her life with this label. Resources for women like Cecelia were not abundant but one other place that prostitutes and ex-female convicts could seek help from, or rather a place to reform their sins was a place called the Magdalene Society. The Magdalene was an asylum and was considered the first American association for reforming prostitutes. Their slogan was that they were “reforming the fallen”. Hopper referred a number of women to the Magdalene Asylum during his tenure as an agent of the Prison Association to help their evil courses and put them on a better life path. If you are interested in learning more about this Asylum and the women that were sent there you should listen to Bridgit’s episode "Hopper's Daughter: The Amelia Ann Wilson Story" for a more in-depth history and story.  

 

Cecilia did not end up going to the Magdalene Asylum; instead, she went to the Prison Association office and sought help from Hopper. After Cecelia got out of prison, she seems to have wanted to turn her life around. She moved in with her brother-in-law, a man that went by the name, Robert Savois. Whilst living with him Hopper paid them a visit to their home. He wrote his diary that they were  

 

Hopper Voice: “Cecelia Elizabeth Doremus lives with her brother-in-law Robert Savois at No. 392 Monroe St. I called upon them and believe them to be respectable people.” 

 

Narrator:  

Cecelia confessed to Hopper that she wanted to become a hat finisher and that she was an expert in the trade. She would have learned this skill during her time at Sing Sing, which put the women incarcerated there to work doing labor considered appropriate for women, like hat trimming and manufactuing clothes and bedding.  Hopper willingly agreed to help her get employment. Cecilia might have had an advantage in getting a job over some other ex-prostitutes or convicts because she went to prison under a fake name, therefore it would be harder for the employer to know if she was ever sent to prison or not, or what her past life would have been. Like others who had served time in prison, if her past got out, it would ruin her chances of having a happy life. It took a few months for Cecilia to land a job but on May 20th, 1847 she visited Hopper to tell him that she had a profession in hat finishing and that sadly her sister died.  She informed him that she was taking care of her sister's two young children, and that, despite the death of her family member she was doing well.  

 

All seems to be going well for Cecilia until her past seems to come back to haunt her. The “never-ending cycle” plagues poor Cecelia.  

Hopper wrote in his Diary:  

 

Hopper: “She says that she was getting along very comfortably until a man with whom she had associated before her imprisonment discovered her place of abode. Since then he has been following her from place to place, threatening to expose her unless she will again keep his company.” 

 

Narrator:  

Cecelia was being stalked by a former client from her prostitution days. To escape him she moves to New Jersey, having to leave behind her sister's children, who were now orphans in New York, just like she had been left behind.  

 

Cecelia travelled back into the city to visit them but for fear of her stalker and of her past life being exposed she returned to New Jersey.  

 

After her last check-in with Hopper in June of 1847, we hear nothing more of her in the diary.   

 

Much of her story remains untold and unsolved.  

 

Could she have married and settled down turning her insidious life around, and putting her past life behind her, or did her dark secret catch up to her and ruin her life? 

We will never know. 

Cecilia's short time as a prostitute completely altered the course of her life. To be a prostitute in the 19th century New York was a ticket to a dangerous, unreliable, life.  

That’s the end of Cecilia's story and for this episode. I hope you enjoyed this journey and hope you found it not only entertaining but informative. If you are hungry for more of Isaac Hoppers clients tune into other episodes of Isaac Hopper’s Diary: Declassified.  

Until next time…. 

Thank you for listening. 

And Goodbye… 

 

(fade in outro music) 

Today’s episode was written and produced….  And thanks to Eric Williams-Bergen and Nicole Roche [Ro-Shay], the podcasting team at St. Lawrence University. Be sure to check out the episode notes on the diary website, Isaac [dash] Hopper [dot org]. There you’ll find a source list for this episode.  

The theme music for this podcast is Night Snow, by Asher Fulero, found on Youtube audio library 

Three books heavily aided my research. City of Women Sex and Class in New York 1789 – 1860 by Christine Stansell 

The Lost Sisterhood Prostitution in America. 1900-1918 by Ruth Rosen 

And lastly, 

Partial Justice – Women, Prisons, and Social Control by Nicole Hahn Rafter 

(out music fades out) 

 

 

Main Sources:

 

Information about the perception and expectations of woman and prostitutes during the 19^th century was found in The Lost Sisterhood Prostitution in America, 1900-1918. By Ruth Rosen

Rosen, Ruth. The Lost Sisterhood: Prostitution in America, 1900-1918. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. 

Information about life as a prisoner as a woman and the different types of charges and crimes they faced was found in Partial Justice, Women, Prisons, and Social Control. By Nicole Hahn Rafter

Rafter, Nicole Hahn. Partial Justice: Women, Prisons and Social Control. Routledge, 2017. 

Information about the life and role of the everyday woman and their societal expectations in the 19^th century was found in City of Women, Sex and Class in New York 1780. By Christine Stansell

Stansell, Christine. City of Women, Sex and Class in New York 178. University of Illinois Press, 1983. 

 

Additional Sources:

 

Bastiaens, Ida "Is Selling Sex Good Business? : Prostitution in Nineteenth Century New York City," Undergraduate Economic Review: (2007) Vol. 3 : Iss. 1, Article 8.

Gilfoyle, Timothy J. City of Eros: New York City, Prostitution, and the Commercialization of the Sex, 1790-1920. W.W. Norton, 1992.

Isaac T. Hopper Project. Accessed October 31, 2022. https://isaac-hopper.org/.

Marques, Stuart. “A History of Prostitution in New York City from the American Revolution to the Bad Old Days of the 1970s and 1980s.” NYC Department of Records & Information Services, October 9, 2019. https://www.archives.nyc/blog/2019/8/29/a-history-of-prostitution-in-ne….    

Smith-Rosenberg, Carroll. “The Hysterical Woman: Sex Roles And Role Conflict In 19th-Century America.” Social Research 39, no. 4 (1972): 652–78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40970115.

 

Rosenberg, Charles E. “Sexuality, Class and Role in 19th-Century America.” American Quarterly 25, no. 2 (1973): 131–53. https://doi.org/10.2307/2711594.

 

Yamin, Rebecca. “Wealthy, Free, and Female: Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century New York.” Historical Archaeology 39, no. 1 (2005): 4–18. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25617233.