101: The Millionaire Voodoo Queen of San Francisco, CA
When 78-year-old Thomas Bell was discovered dead in his home, suspicion quickly fell on his maid, Mary Ellen Pleasant. Mystery and intrigue had always surrounded Mary Ellen. Born around 1814 in the eastern United States, she was African American but light-skinned enough to integrate into white society. She fervently supported abolitionist causes and served as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. She even studied Voodoo under the renowned Marie Laveau in New Orleans. Upon arriving in San Francisco in the 1850s, she amassed a fortune, which she used to champion civil rights in the post-war…
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