Life Outside the Bordello: A Tucson Madam’s Story with Bernard Wilson

Annie Evelyn O’Sullivan aka Annie Clayton aka Eva Blanchard was a notorious Tucson madam, who used different names for her legitimate and illegitimate businesses. Tucson newspapers regularly reported on her criminal and civil exploits, making her one of Tucson’s most well- known citizens. Away from her bordello, O’Sullivan was known to donate money to charity and churches, and support city ordinances that kept prostitution away from city buildings, schools, and churches. She used various aliases to present a different persona to the public. Each alias aided her in navigating all of Tucson’s society. This presentation focuses on O’Sullivan’s life away from her bordello and tracks her legitimate business transactions and dealings. The presentation includes newspaper articles, court documents and other primary sources that help trace her life as a shrewd businesswoman. Regardless of the name she used, O’Sullivan was without a doubt one of Tucson’s first successful businesswomen.

This program  is cohosted by Pima County Public Library – Salazar-Ajo Branch.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Bernard Wilson is an independent researcher, who began his humanities research as part of a personal genealogical investigation into his family. He has spent the past twenty-seven years researching Tucson’s African-American pioneers and community. His first book, The Black Residents of Tucson and Their Achievements: A Reference Guide, exposed that Tucson had a large and thriving African- American community that included mining millionaires. His subsequent publications derived from the research for his book. Currently, his research focuses on the individual lives of the Old Pueblo’s African-Americans.