Tennessee Claflin

Tennessee Celeste Claflin, Viscountess of Monserrate (October 26, 1844 – January 18, 1923), also known as Tennie C., was an American suffragist best known as the first woman, along with her sister Victoria Woodhull, to open a Wall Street brokerage firm, which occurred in 1870. while journalist Barbara Goldsmith 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 and working in a saloon.

The Claflin children grew up in poverty.

In 1863, Buck rented an entire hotel in Ottawa, Illinois. 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.

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 elegantly furnished office of Woodhull, Claflin, & Company opened on February 14, 1870.

With the profits from their brokerage, the sisters started their own radical newspaper, Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly.

The brokerage firm of Woodhull, Claflin, & Company went under in the general economic depression that followed the Panic of 1873.

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 by the newly formed Equal Rights Party on May 10, 1872.

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. 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.

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 and Elizabeth Richards Tilton, wife of Theodore Tilton. Woodhull gave her sources as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Isabella Beecher Hooker, and Paulina Wright Davis. Letters from the three women were published as corroboration.

London and later life

In the wake of the Beecher trial, the sisters left New York for London in 1877.