Victoria Woodhull--I had never heard of her

[nbcatlover]

Giving through an old box for Lizzie notes I made three years ago, I came across a note from a friend who suggested that a literate and traveled (Europe) Lizzie Borden might have been exposed to Woodhull's thinking.

Here are some links:
http://www.victoria-woodhull.com/whoisvw.htm
http://www.nwhp.org/tlp/biographies/woo ... l_bio.html
http://www.nwhp.org/tlp/biographies/woo ... l_bio.html

scroll down to Victoria Woodhull re Henry Ward Beecher:
http://ffrf.org/day/?sel=1&day=23&month=9

The person thought that there might be a tie-in also with the New England Clafins, and that Woodhull's writings might have affected Lizzie's thoughts about marriage.

[augusta]

Was Lizzie known to have any of her writings?

[nbcatlover]

Not to my knowledge, Augusta.

The person who referred me to Woodhull thought Woodhull's attitude toward "freelove" fit Lizzie. That Lizzie was very independent, stubborn, and wouldn't marry just to marry. That Lizzie would demand to be loved.

[DWilly]

If you want to know more about Victoria check out Notorious Victoria by Mary Gabriel. She led a pretty interesting life. I'm again going to try and do the picture thing and I hope this works. I have three photos from the book. One is Victoria. A very attractive woman. The other is her even more beautiful sister Tennessee and finally Theodore Tilton who was Victoria's lover. He's a very handsome Lord Byronish looking man.

[nbcatlover]

Tennie is especially good looking. She manages to look quite erotic with the way she's wrapped her shawl, dispite the Victorian dressing.

[DWilly]

Tennie is especially good looking. She manages to look quite erotic with the way she's wrapped her shawl, dispite the Victorian dressing.

Oh, yes, Tennie was a looker. As a matter of fact, it's because of her looks that she and Victoria were able to open up a brokerage firm on Wall Street. Tennie became the lover of the incredibly wealthy Cornelius Vanderbilt. According to the book Vanderbilt was a man's man who enjoyed nothing more than a good beer at a local bar and hanging out with the guys. He also enjoyed Tennie's good looks. He didn't marry her but he did give her and Victoria the money to break into Wall Street. Btw, later on both Victoria and Tennessee chopped off their hair and wore it rather short. I'm guessing they did it to take away from their looks and put more focus on what they wanted to do. Here's a little article on Tennessee and Victoria:

Woodhull, Victoria (Claflin)

1838–1927, and Tennessee Claflin, 1846–1923, American journalists and lecturers, b. Ohio, sisters noted for their beauty and wildly eccentric behavior. As children they traveled throughout Ohio with their parents, giving spiritualist demonstrations. At 15, Victoria married Dr. Canning Woodhull but continued to tour as a clairvoyant with Tennessee. Victoria divorced Woodhull in 1864 and two years later probably married Col. James Blood (there is doubt as to the validity of the marriage). Tennessee married John Bartels but retained her maiden name. In New York City after 1868, the sisters were backed in a brokerage venture by Cornelius Vanderbilt, who was interested in spiritualism. In 1870, Victoria and Tennessee, with the financial support of Col. Blood, became proprietors of Woodhull and Claflin’s Weekly, a sensational journal that took stands in favor of woman suffrage, free love, and socialism. In 1872 the paper reported rumors of a love affair between Rev. Henry Ward Beecher and the wife of Theodore Tilton, which provoked a national scandal. Also in 1872, the journal published the first English translation of The Communist Manifesto. In the same year Victoria became the first woman candidate for president, running on the People’s party ticket with Frederick Douglass as her running mate. The two sisters moved to England in 1877. Victoria, having divorced Blood, married John Biddulph Martin, a wealthy banker. Tennessee, also divorced, married Francis Cook, an English art collector who became a baronet in 1886. Both women became well-known philanthropists.