Mile Marker 67: Madam Annie Chambers

There we were, Kansas City, Missouri. We found a cemetery. In the cemetery we found the grave of Madam Annie Chambers. Here, we tell you all about the Madam.

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References used in the podcast:
Book Annie Chambers by Lenore Carroll 

The Kansas City Times March 30, 1881 Page 5

The Kansas City Star April 12, 1881 Page 1 

The Kansas City times May 27, 1880 Page 8

Transcript

Madam Annie Chambers

Key: Drifter, Male voice. Gypsie, Female voice

Uplifting rock/western tune plays for 15 seconds, music begins to taper down then:

(Drifter) Welcome to the Rebel At Large Adventure Podcast. I’m Drifter

(Gypsie) And I’m  Gypsie

(Drifter) Talking about Ghost towns,

(Gypsie) Graveyards,

(Drifter) Outlaws, Heroes

(Gypsie) And Ladies of the night.

Music tapers to an end

(Drifter) Howdy folks, Thanks for joining us for yet another adventure. Today we are taking you on a visit to the Elmwood cemetery in Kansas city, Missouri. A sign outside the gates state “where kansas city buries it’s past”. Here, we’re about to dig up the past and shed a ray of light on a lady of the night.

(Gypsie) It's been a while since we talked about a lady of the night and today we are excited to share with you the story of Annie Chambers. She was born on June 6, 1842 near Lexington Kentucky. Her birth name was Leannah Loveall but as we all know when girls enter into the lifestyle they change their names. Not much is known about her childhood. What we do know is that when she was around the age of 18 her and some friends dressed up and rode in the parade that welcomed Abraham Lincoln into the town of Sullivan in which her father owned a hotel.  

(Drifter) This may seem like a sweet and innocent thing for a young woman to do but this upset her father. He was pro-Confederate and did not support Abraham Lincoln’s views. When she arrived at home that evening her and her father got into an argument.  Leannah packed her bags to go live with her Aunt just a day's ride away. While living there Leannah finished her studies and began working as a school teacher in town. After being away from the family for a year she went back to visit. That night some men from the railroad were staying at the hotel and Leannah got to know them. 

(Gypsie) Williams Chambers was one of the men, he would come back to visit Leannah from time to time. One day while he was visiting he asked Leannah to marry him. She was very apprehensive to say yes but she knew that in those days a woman could not make it on her own, they needed to have a man in their life if they wanted to own land or have a decent life. Leannah said yes to William and the two of them were married. Eventually Leannah became pregnant and the two of them welcomed a little boy into their lives. Leannah was finally feeling like she had a place in the world and was extremely in love with her son. 

(Drifter) Leannah became pregnant again and though the two of them were excited to add to the family her body was changing. Slowly she stopped producing enough milk to feed her baby and he unfortunately passed away. Leannah fell into a deep depression, unsure of what to do for her, William decided to send her to live with her family. He was gone away on work trips a lot and could not be there for her like she needed, she would not get out of bed, she would not eat, and he was worried the baby would not survive inside her. 

(Gypsie) One day while staying with her family she and her brother went for a horse & buggy ride. He was driving and she was resting next to him. A bird flew out in front of the carriage and it spooked the horses. Her brother did everything he could to try and calm them back down but it wasn’t enough. As the horses took off running the two of them were bouncing around in the carriage, Leannah could not hold on and was thrown from her seat. She hit the back of her head and passed out from the pain. Her brother was able to get her home and call a doctor for help but there was not much they could do. For three days she lay there in a coma. 

(Drifter) When she woke up she found out that she had given birth to a son but he did not survive. She was then told that her father had lost the hotel. And to make matters even worse she found out that her husband was out supervising a construction job and fell from one of the trestles, he unfortunately did not survive the fall. All within three days her life had been completely turned upside down and she had lost everything she had loved. Leannah took the ring off her husband's finger and wore it as a reminder of him. 

(Gypsie) Leannah needed to figure out what to do with her life now. Back then there were not a lot of options for women that there are today. She could try and get married again but with a lot of the men off to war the dating pool was small, she could try and get her job back as a school teacher but that didn’t pay much. She could try and get a job working as a servant in a house but after running her own house the thought of working for someone else did not sound appealing. While working as a school teacher she received letters from her friends talking about how they went to Indianapolis to work in a brothel and how much money they were making. She made the decision to leave, she was going to live a fast, short life, she had nothing left to live for. 

(Drifter) When she arrived in town she found the best bordello there was and asked the madam for a job. This was the start of the new life she was going to live. This is also when she changed her name. She got Annie from Leannah and Chambers because that was her late husband's last name and he had no family that she had to worry about causing shame to. She spent her first night in the house just getting accustomed to how things worked, eventually she started working and taking men to her room. She quickly fell into a life of sex, drinking and drugs. As fast as she could make money she would spend it on another fix, Annie did not care she had nothing more to live for. 

(Gypsie) It was during this time that Annie started to fall in love with one of her regulars. This was something that she did not want to allow herself to do but there was something different about him. Richmond understood her body and her heart in a way that no other man ever had or ever could. Eventually over time he was able to convince her that there was something more to live for. She stopped doing drugs and cut back on her drinking. She started saving her money and making plans for the future to be with him. The two of them were slowly falling in love and Annie was ok with that because she wanted to be with him. Richmond eventually talked her into moving out of the house and into a hotel room. He would visit her as often as he could but he was busy, he owned a successful iron shop and a lot of his time was spent managing that. 

(Drifter) Soon the hotel was not enough for the two of them and Annie moved into a house that Richmond rented for her. To occupy her time when he was away at work she invited two girls from the bordello to come and live with her. Annie started working as a madam and running the house. Richmond didn’t like the idea but he was ok with it as long as Annie wasn't sleeping with any of the men. Over time Annie began to wonder why she and Richmond were not married. They had talked about it several times in the past but nothing ever came of it. One day she asked him if he was married and he said the words she did not want to hear, Yes he was married, and he had a family. 

(Gypsie) Annie was devastated but she loved Richmond, he had brought life back into her. He gave her a reason to want to live. The two of them still spent time together even though she knew the truth. One day while Annie was out walking in the neighborhood she ran into Richmond’s wife. She begged Annie to let him go, she knew her husband would not leave Annie but she wanted her husband back. That night Annie made up her mind, if she and Richmond could not be together she was going to end the relationship with him. Richmond did not take the news well and begged Annie not to do it, but she stayed strong and told him to leave. The house was Richmond’s but Annie continued to live there and run a small brothel out of it. Three days after the break up someone knocked on the door to Annie's place. She was surprised to find the police standing there with a warrant to shut her down. Annie wasn’t dumb she knew that Richmond had friends in high places and he had convinced them to shut her down. 

(Drifter) Annie and her girls talked about things and what they should do now that they couldn’t work there. They decided they were going to move to Kansas City and set up a house there. She sold everything she could and then wrote a letter to Richmond telling him she was leaving and that she would never reach out to him again. A few days later the girls were on a train out of town and on the way to start a new adventure. It was the summer of 1869 and Annie had just rented a house down by the levee. She was going to run her own house, make her own money, and no longer depend on a man to help her make her way in life. 

(Gypsie) Annie was at her new location for about 2 years before she decided to move again. This time she moved to a cottage on Third and Wyandotte. She rented a cottage for her and three other girls for 30 dollars a month (Drifter) (about $680). (Gypsie) Once the landlord found out what she was doing at the house her rent went to 50 dollars a month (Drifter) (just over $1100), (Gypsie) but this did not stop Annie, she quickly ran out of room and rented the cottage next door. She then went to work connecting the two buildings and her rent went up to 100 dollars a month (Drifter) (nearly $2300). (Gypsie) Annie did not stay in the twin cottages for long before she decided to make a big purchase, she was going to build the biggest and most elaborate bordello in town. 

(Drifter) During the winter of 1871 she met with bankers, lawyers and builders to secure a loan of 100,000 dollars (Gypsie) (Which is over $2.4M today). (Drifter) She made plans to tear down the cottages and build an establishment no one had ever seen before. Annie wanted the finest for the men that came to visit as well as the girls that worked for her. The building was in an L shape with the entrance in the middle. The landing at the front door had Annies name laid out in tiles so you knew where you were. Once you entered the building you could go right to the west parlor or straight ahead up the stairs or left to the long side of the L. On one side of the building was the main parlor, the ballroom and the dinning room. The house had two more parlors, and  a music room. There were two bathrooms on the main floor. Annie's room was down the main hall towards the back of the house. She had the largest room in the house with a wine parlor inside. 

(Gypsie) The girls' rooms were on the second floor. Each girl had their own room with a total of 16 rooms. There were 4 bathrooms on the second floor for the girls to share.  Each room had its own fireplace as well as gas lamps on the wall. Annie had bars placed on the windows of each girl's room not to keep them in but to keep men from trying to skip out on paying. In all she had a total of 24 rooms. 

(Drifter) She had the kitchen installed in the basement where the finest meals were prepared. Also in the basement was the housekeeper and housemans apartment also with their own fireplace.She wanted to make it feel like home for them that way they didn’t have to leave the house. The men would pay a $5 cover charge to get in the house for the night but all the food was free (Gypsie) ($122). (Drifter) If they wanted any beer or wine they would have to pay for that, and if they wanted to spend a night with a girl that would cost even more. 

(Gypsie) Annie traveled all over back east finding the perfect decorations for her house. She had the finest furniture brought in. Custom paintings done to hang through the house. A large mirror was installed in the ballroom to help provide more light, and the mirrors cost Annie 5,000 dollars (Drifter) (around $122K). (Gypsie) She bought the finest china with beautiful gold trim around the edges. Six months after the cottages were torn down and construction began Annie was ready to open her new house. She was so successful that by February 17, 1873 she had the loan paid off and owned the title free and clear. 

(Drifter) During construction on the new house Annie was approached by a young girl named Bella Waterman. She had been kicked out of her family's house and needed a place to stay and work. She heard about Annie's place and that she was a fair woman that looks after her girls. After Bella and Annie talked it was decided that she would work for Annie. The first night Bella just watched how things worked in the house. A few days after she arrived Bella gave birth to a little baby boy. Annie talked with Bella about who’s baby it was and found out that Bella’s father had molested her one night and got her pregnant, when her parents found out they kicked her out of the house. 

(Gypsie) Annie let Bella keep the baby at the house but she still needed to work. This was difficult for Bella as she was up at all hours with the baby and if she wasn’t taking care of her son she was working. One night Annie found Bella asleep by the open window. It was raining on her but Bella was so exhausted that she did not wake up. They helped Bella get dried off and into bed but it was too late Bella had gotten sick. Over the next few months her health did not improve. Bella sent her son to live with her sister while she tried to improve her health, but by November she was not getting any better. One day Annie came into her room to check on her, she found Bella pale and not breathing. She sent for the doctor who told her that Bella had passed away. 

(Drifter) Rather than get her ready for burial Annie had the doctor delay the burial for a day. She felt that something was off with Bella and that her body did not look like she was dead. Later that day the maid went into Bella’s room to clean up. She wasn’t in there long before she screamed and came running out. When Annie went to see what was wrong she found that Bella was still alive. Annie had a special place in her heart for Bella and was elated when she found out she was still alive. Over the next few months her health began to improve and Bella eventually became one of Annie’s best girls. 

(Gypsie) Life in the bordello wasn’t always easy for Annie and her girls. Yes they were safer working in the house, the money was better, and Annie treated them well but it still had its dangers. On March 29, 1881 the fire alarm rang at Annie’s house. Someone had attempted to set the house on fire and in doing so caused roughly 3,000 dollars in damage (Drifter) (over $87K). (Gypsie) A few of the girls were trapped inside and barely made it out alive. A few months later Annie had someone in the house repairing the damage when a thief broke inside. He was able to make away with the repairmans coat, 25 dollars in cash (Drifter) (about $730), (Gypsie) and a few trinkets. One of the girls had 2,200 dollars with them and when the thief entered the room she fired a shot at him and missed (Drifter) (over $24K). 

(Drifter) On May 26, 1880 Annie and her girls had a terrible experience at the house. Around 11 o'clock that night they were visited by Robert Gray and his friend. Robert was in town just for the night but he was familiar with the area as he had lived there before. The men spent some time at the house and then left to go to some bars. Around 2 o'clock they returned to spend the night at the house. Robert went with Jessie Mitchell and his friend went with Bella Waterman. The next morning Robert’s friend sent Bella to Jessie’s room to wake them up, Robert had a train to catch and his friend did not want him to miss it. 

(Gypsie) Robert did not want to get up even though they were insisting. The girls came up with a plan to get him out of bed, they told him someone was here to see Jessie and that he was very drunk and Robert needed to leave. The girls then left the room so Robert could get up and ready. While they were waiting in the parlor they heard a gunshot. The girls ran into the room to see what had happened and found Robert dead on the bed. A revolver was found in his right hand with one chamber having been discharged. It was determined that Robert had shot and killed himself. 

(Drifter) Not everything was terrible that happened in Annie’s life. The winter of 1875 brought joy and happiness back. She got word from one of her high end clients that he was bringing some friends to visit. Annie got to work setting up a beautiful dinner for the men and had the finest china out for them to eat on. As the men entered the house one at a time and removed their coats she nearly fainted when she realized who the last man was, it was Richmond. Annie and Richmond spent the entire night together in her room enjoying each others company, having sex, and catching up on old times. 

(Gypsie) Over the next few years the two of them would meet up and spend the weekend together. Annie wanted nothing more than to be with Richmond but he was still married and though he loved her back he could not leave his wife and kids. When the two of them were not together they would send each other letters. During one of the meetings Annie found out that Richmond's wife was not doing well and he was unsure of how long she would have to live. Annie always held on to the hope that one day the two of them would be married and could live together. The last time the two of them met was in 1893. Annie noticed that something was different with Richmond; he looked older, that was a given, but his color looked off as well. 

(Drifter) About six months later Annie received a small box in the mail. (Gypsie) Inside was a letter that was written on Richmond’s son’s stationary, the letter read, (Drifter) “Dear Madam While going through my father’s effects, I found a sealed box with instructions to send this material to you and to burn the letters which were with it. My father died June 8, 1894, after a wasting illness of the kidneys. My Mother had passed on the previous winter. In respect of his wishes, I am carrying out this duty. Your servant, Clement Phipps.” (Gypsie) After reading the letter she opened the box. Inside she found a photograph of Richmond and her, a polaroid of her laughing under a tree, and a studio portrait of Richmond taken before he was sick. (Drifter) On the bottom of the box were three of her handkerchiefs with her initials embroidered on them. 

(Gypsie) Though Annie felt alone she did not give up on her girls.  She continued to take care of them and help them make something of themselves. She had pride in the fact that she ran an upscale house and it brought her joy when her girls were able to find suitable men to marry and move away with. Bella worked for Annie for five years before she found a prominent man in town to marry. The two of them were married for some years before he passed away. 

(Drifter) When her belated husband's family found out that she was a working girl before she was married they used that against her. His family was able to take everything from Bella leaving her with nothing. Bella went back to work for Annie, her son was still living with her sister but she needed to make a living. Her first night back she invited a 15 year old boy by the name of Billy Kearns to her room and took his virginity. Bella worked for Annie for a while until her sister came to visit. She asked Bella to come live with her and her husband so that she could be with her son. Bella lived to be around the age of 35 before she passed away in December 1888. 

(Gypsie) Annie had a lot of men come into her life but she was very selective of the men that she would spend the night with. She protected her heart but after Richmond died she started to allow herself to open up to men again. It was very common for men to stop at her place when they were passing through town and over time she got to know the men very well. One of them named Frank showed up at her house late one night. He was in a panic and looking for a place to hide his money. Frank had spent several nights with her and she started to think that maybe he might want to take her away. But this was not the night. Frank was a rancher and when he came into town to sell his cattle he took his money to the gambling tables. After several hours of betting he wanted to cash out and take his winnings. The men at the table did not want to let him leave; they wanted a chance to win some of their money back. Frank ended up shooting at the men, then he grabbed his money and ran to Annie’s. When he unbuckled his coat to show her the money she was surprised to see that he had 75,000 dollars in cash (Drifter) (over $2.4M). 

(Drifter) Annie hid the money in her safe and he left to spend the night at a hotel. Frank did not want the men to find him at her place and put her into danger. The next morning Annie went to find Frank at the hotel to give him his money back. She was surprised to find out that Frank had been beaten nearly to death and because the hotel staff did not know who he was they didn’t do much to take care of him. Annie had him brought back to her house where she nursed him back to health. It was during this time that she discovered Frank had just been recently married. Her chances of marrying him now were off the table and again she was faced with the realization that she may never get married again. 

(Gypsie) Billy Kearns continued to come to the house and spend time with the girls. Annie rarely left her girls alone and she was able to get to know Billy better. She found out that he was a professional gambler and didn’t have a real job. One cold winter night the girls had all gone to bed and Billy was left alone with Annie. He told her how beautiful she was and was able to convince her to take him to bed with her.  Billy continued to come around the house and over time he and Annie developed a connection. 

(Drifter) On June 4, 1895 the two of them were married. Annie was 52 and he was 36. Annie didn’t love Billy like she did Richmond. She knew what people would think of the two of them getting married, she was an old woman and he was a young man. Annie also worried that he would try and take her for her money. Quickly she found out that was the case. Billy would come to her often talking about his bad bets he made and that he needed money to pay off men. She didn’t hesitate to give him what he needed but she always kept track of how much she gave him. He would take from her and she would get nothing in return. 

(Gypsie) By 1909 things in the country were changing. The wealthy men in town that protected Annie were aging and passing away. Younger more lively men were moving into town and they wanted to clean the city up. The police force came in one night and shut her house down. Annie worked hard at getting the house back on the fine system. In the olden days the police would come by once a month and collect a fine from each house of ill repute. Annie did not want her house closed down, she did not just provide a place for men to come and have sex, she also provided a safe place for the girls to make a good living. But the city kept coming down on her. There was talk of prohibition and shutting down the brothels. People believed that if they were closed husbands would no longer sleep around, the drinking would stop, and the town would become a safe place to live. 

(Drifter) One day Billy approached Annie with a business opportunity. He told her how he found a company for sale in Cincinnati that sold cameras, and electric pianos. He convinced her this would be a way for her to get out of the life and start over. Annie gave him 18,000 (Gypsie) (just over $589K) (Drifter) dollars to purchase it and was optimistic it would work out. Billy moved to Cincinnati to run the new business while Annie stayed in Kansas City to take care of the brothel. The two of them would write letters back and forth but over time Billy's letters arrived less and less. 

(Gypsie) A few months went by and Annie went to visit Billy at the new store. When she arrived he was not in the office and she had to wait for him. Once he arrived the two of them had dinner together and when it was time to retire for the night Billy told her that she was not welcome at his apartment. He first tried to tell her that it was to messy for her but Annie was not stupid, she knew he had another woman at his place she just needed to hear it from him. Once Billy admitted to living with another woman Annie packed her bags and filed for a divorce. Now 62 year old Annie was alone again. 

(Drifter) Things were falling apart for Annie but she was not going to go down without a fight. In 1913 a law was passed that all brothels could be closed down as a possible nuisance. She fought the law and was able to continue to operate. In 1915 the law to close down the brothels was passed through the House but not the Senate. They tried to get the law to pass again in 1917 and 1919. Even though she was able to stay open and operate her business, that did not stop the police from repeatedly raiding her house and arresting Annie and her girls. Annie and her girls told the police that they were just living at the house while their husbands were away for work. Over the next few years she was raided over six times. 

(Gypsie) Over the years Annie fought hard to keep her house open. She pleaded with congress that her house was a proper house, that her girls were taken care of, and that she followed the laws. Unfortunately it was not enough. In June 1921 Annie’s house was closed down. A new law was passed that any business used for lewd and immoral purposes can be declared a nuisance, and can be abated and suppressed by a permanent injunction. Annie tried to run her house after she was closed down but in October that same year she was arrested and this time it wasn’t as easy to get off on the charges. By February 28, 1922 Annie’s brothel was closed for good. For roughly 40 years she ran one of the finest establishments in Kansas City. 

(Drifter) So what is a retired madam who is almost 80 supposed to do with her time now. All she had known was running a brothel, she was too old to get a job, and she wasn’t married. Annie decided to turn her house into a mens boarding house. This way the house was never empty and she could still make money. Annie's house was not the only house that was closed down. There were two other houses next to hers that were closed down as well. Those madams ended up selling their houses and moving away. 

(Gypsie) David Bulkley rented the house next door to Annie and ran the City Union Mission out of it. Annie would sit at the back of her house and listen to David preach the Christian word. Over time Annie became friends with David’s wife Beulah. She would help take care of Annie by bringing her meals, cleaning the house and reading the scripture with her. Towards the end of her life Annie began to accept the Christian faith but she never publicly denounced her past. Before Annie passed away she deeded her house to the mission. Annie lived to be 92 years old, she  passed away on March 24, 1935. She was laid to rest in the Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City. 

(Drifter) Annie was a strong and powerful woman who was ahead of her times. She had a big kind loving heart and wanted to take care of those around her. Hundreds of girls passed through her doors and she made sure each girl was taken care of. She provided the best life she could for the girls and wanted nothing but the best for them. (Gypsie) I would love nothing more than to have the opportunity to sit down with her and get to know her better. (Drifter) She is a rarity as far as madams go and I can only imagine the stories she has to tell.  Annie’s house along with the other two madams' houses no longer stand today. (Gypsie) There is a news article by the Kansas City Star published on February 18, 1934 and it shows a few pictures of the inside of her house. It's a shame that nothing is left of it. 

(Drifter) So when we visited Kansas City, we were just passing through, on our way to nowhere. As we often do, we looked up the nearest cemetery. This one was deceiving as it was surrounded by a concrete wall and the gps was wrong on getting us to the entrance. After driving around the block, we rolled inside and were blown away by its beauty, it wasn’t expected after the extremely drab exterior. The cemetery is full of mature trees, lush green lawns, old headstones & hidden mausoleums. It took some driving around to actually find the mausoleums, the road dips down, though from the entrance you dont see the change in landscape. Once in the lower area, the mausoleums are built into the hillside, this would be a phenomenal picture if one were to catch some fog laying low on the road. We would’ve been more than happy to have been locked in and spent the night there.

(Gypsie) Annie’s headstone is a good sized upright granite circle. Its inscription reads: Leannah Loveall (chambers) Kearns, AKA Annie Chambers. Born june 6  1842, Died March 24, 1935. Redeemed late in life, Annie gave her property to City Union Mission.

(Drifter) Alrighty folks, I think that wraps up our stop to the Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas city Missouri for our visit to The Madam Annie Chambers.

Dad Joke? 

(Gypsie) What do you call an elf that runs away from Santa’s workshop? A rebel without a Claus! 

(Drifter) Thank you all so much for joining us again and supporting the Rebel At Large Adventure Podcast. If you want to stay up to date with us we are most active on the Instagram (Gypsie) @rebelatlarge, (Drifter) we post photos of our adventures on our website (Gypsie) rebelatlarge.com where you’ll find links to our new merch store, Patreon if you want to help fuel the adventure, email if you want to get in touch with us as well as links to our other social deals.

(Drifter) We’ll talk to ya here in a couple of weeks, (Gypsie) Safe Travels, (Drifter) We’ll see ya down the road.

Begin 30 seconds of the same uplifting Rock/Western tune as the introduction.

 
References:

Book Annie Chambers by Lenore Carroll 

The Kansas City Times March 30, 1881 Page 5

The Kansas City Star April 12, 1881 Page 1 

The Kansas City times May 27, 1880 Page 8