Belle Cora | |
---|---|
Born | 1827
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
Died | 1862 | (aged 34–35)
Other names | Arabella Ryan |
Occupation | Madam |
Belle Cora (1827? [1] [2]–February 18/19, 1862), also known as Arabella Ryan, [3] was a madam of the Barbary Coast of San Francisco during the mid-nineteenth century. She rose to public attention in 1855 when her lover, Charles Cora, killed U.S. Marshal William H. Richardson after they had a conflict at the theater. She died in 1862.
Two portrayals of Belle Cora's childhood exist. [1] The first lists her as the daughter of a minister in Baltimore who became pregnant as a teen. [1] Upon discovering this, Cora's father threw her out of the house, prompting Cora to move to New Orleans. There, her baby died and she met Charles Cora. [1] The alternate version, more prominently upheld, depicts Belle to be the daughter of Irish Catholic parents in Baltimore. [1] In this version, Cora and her sister worked at a dress shop next to a brothel.[ citation needed] Intrigued by the house, they became involved with the sex trade.[ citation needed] At some point, Cora ventured to Charleston, South Carolina. During her time there, she became the mistress of a man who was later killed. [1] His death prompted Cora to move to New Orleans where in 1849 she met Charles Cora. [1] [4]
In December 1849, the couple moved to Sacramento, California and, while there, Belle helped fund Charles's high-stakes gambling. [1] After some time, the couple moved to Marysville, California, and Belle opened her first brothel, called the New World. [5] [6] gambling parlor and offered games like poker, roulette, faro, and dice.[ citation needed] At 23, they moved yet again and she opened a brothel in Sonora, California. [1]
In 1852, Belle set up a parlor house on Washington street, in San Francisco, opposite the house of fellow madam, Ah Toy.[ citation needed] Reverend William Taylor recounts the parlor house as being furnished with redwood, velvet, silk, demask, beautiful paintings and playing pianoforte, harp and melodeon. [7] Belle hosted dinner parties with aldermen, judges, the mayor, and even members of the legislature. [1] Even after an expensive legal battle and the lynching of her husband, Belle continued to run her brothel. [8]
Belle Cora held a competing party (which had more guests) the same night as the wife of U.S. Marshal William H. Richardson, which is said to have begun a rivalry between the women. [9] The feud was further provoked one evening at the American Theatre. [10] Richardson's wife complained to the manager that the Coras were seated in the same balcony as she was, as she felt that area should be reserved for more respectable guests. [1] [11] [12] [13] [10] However, the manager refused to remove the couple, saying that they were regular customers of the first balcony. [10] William left swearing vengeance upon Charles. [10]
On November 17, 1855, between 6 and 7 o'clock,[ citation needed] Charles Cora shot Marshal Richardson in the breast in front of Fox and O'Connor's store on Clay street between Leidesdorff and Montgomery Street. [14] He died instantaneously from the wound. [15] [16] [14] Charles Cora was arrested, handed over to the city marshal, and later placed in the county jail. [14]
Protests and lynch mobs erupted after the murder, so Mayor James Van Ness placed Charles under a higher security accommodation for his own safety. [17] Local citizens raised fund for a monument for Richardson in the Lone Mountain Cemetery and $15,000 for his children. [14] [18]
Belle funded several attorneys to represent Charles Cora including Edward Dickinson Baker and James A. McDougall. [19] Belle paid Edward Dickinson Baker $15,000 of his $30,000 retainer in gold and sent meals to Charles Cora while he was in jail. [8] In addition, she even went so far as trying to bribe the star witness Maria Knight to change her testimony. [20] Alleging that Richardson had threatened Charles with a knife, the lawyers framed the case as one of self-defense. [15] On 1856 January 17, Charles's trial ended with hung jury. [21]
On May 15, 1856, the 2nd Committee of Vigilance was formed, and by May 17, the committee had gained 2500 members. The collected guns and began to conduct "army" drills.[ citation needed] The following day, 3,000 armed members of the committee took Charles and James P. Casey. [22] On 1856 May 18, in Sacramento, Governor Johnson, in response, [18] appointed William Tecumseh Sherman as the Major-General commanding of the San Francisco division of the California State Militia.[ citation needed] The related case of James Casey (who had shot newspaper editor James King of William in an assassination attempt) prompted the committee to aim a cannon at the jail and demand the release of Charles and Casey. [23] [24] [25] [19] [26] [27]
The 2nd Committee of Vigilance scheduled a new trial for 1856 May 20; [28] [29] James King of William died the same day. [30] Samuel Brannan delivered a speech on justice and the enforcement of the law before the trial. [31] Both men were found guilty, and on 1856 May 22, the committee sentenced both to hang the following day at noon. [14] [29] Before the execution, Belle and Charles got married by Father Michael Acoltti.[ citation needed]
For fear of escape, 3,000 men and two field pieces led Charles to his execution, [14] at the committee's headquarters at 41 Sacramento Street in front of a crowd of 20,000.[ citation needed] Charles said nothing as the noose was placed around his head.[ citation needed] The cord was cut at twenty minutes past one o'clock, leaving Charles to drop six feet and hang for fifty five minutes before being turned over to the coroner. [32] [33] [34] [29]
Belle Cora died at 35, in 1862, of pneumonia. She was buried in the Calvary Cemetery next to her husband. In 1916, the San Francisco Bulletin published a serial on Cora by Pauline Jacobson and, as a result, Belle was disinterred and reburied with Charles beneath a common headstone at the Mission Dolores Cemetery. [35] [36] [37] [12]
Karen Joy Fowler's alludes to Cora's influence on social norms in novel Sister Noon. [9] [38] During a societal shift toward "civilizing" society, Belle had maintained her business, which had been seen as immoral. [1] In the book Arresting Dress, the author Clare Sears opines that Cora inspires female financial agency and the use of sex for empowerment. [10] In addition, Cora advocated against gender stereotypes, as demonstrated by her legal battle with the Vigilance Committee;[ how?] ultimately she set the precedent to resist further legislation like that of sodomy laws in the 20th century. [10]
By Thomas Samuel Duke, Captain of Police, San Francisco; Published with Approval of the Honorable Board of Police Commissioners of San Francisco, 1910. (Public Domain Free Download)