Tea Time Crimes

The Scourge of Gallatin Street: Mary Jane “Bricktop” Jackson

Episode Summary

It’s Freaky Friday (Twisted Tuesday??) and Alana is taking over the mic. Buckle in for a wild ride through 1850s New Orleans where we meet all kinds of characters, most especially Mary Jane “Bricktop” Jackson. Mary was a sex worker who didn’t put up with any nonsense or disrespect. Those that dared found themselves on the wrong side of her blade. Despite her murderous actions, we’re willing to bet you might kinda like the gal, or at least, enjoy Alana’s love for her.

Episode Notes

It’s Freaky Friday (Twisted Tuesday??) and Alana is taking over the mic. Buckle in for a wild ride through 1850s New Orleans where we meet all kinds of characters, most especially Mary Jane “Bricktop” Jackson. Mary was a sex worker who didn’t put up with any nonsense or disrespect. Those that dared found themselves on the wrong side of her blade. Despite her murderous actions, we’re willing to bet you might kinda like the gal, or at least, enjoy Alana’s love for her. 

Tea of the Day: Lady Gray

Theme Music by Brad Frank

Sources:

• Asbury, Herbert. The French Quarter. 1st ed. Vol. 14. American Procession. Alfred A. Knopf, 1936.
• Schafer, Judith Kelleher. Brothels, Depravity, and Abandoned Women: Illegal Sex in Antebellum New Orleans. Louisiana State University Press, 2009.
• "Bricktop."http://www.authorstevewillard.com/Bricktop.html. 
• "Mary Jane Jackson." Encyclopedia.com, http://repository.wustl.edu/concern/videos/2v23vz50q. 
• "There Is a House in New Orleans They Call the Rising Sun, It's Always Been the Ruin of Men, by Disease, a Knife, or a Gun." Civil War Talk, civilwartalk.com, 10 Oct. 2018, https://civilwartalk.com/threads/welcome-to-the-stonewall-jackson-forum.82313/.
• "Tulane University News." Tulane University, news.tulane.edu, 23 Apr. 2014, https://news.tulane.edu/news/brothels-antebellum-new-orleans.
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• "https://mykisscountry937.com/the-7-most-infamous-female-killers-in-louisiana-history/" 
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• "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jGWM2H9x-A" 
• The Historic New Orleans Collection. "New Orleans History Starter Pack: A Beginner's Guide to Understanding the Crescent City." https://www.hnoc.org/programs/history-symposium. 
• Smithsonian Magazine. "Civil War: New Orleans Was a Center of the U.S. Slave Trade." https://gbu-presnenskij.ru/elektronnoe-obraschenie/?u=before-the-civil-war-new-orleans-was-the-center-qq-k2DvkkuZ. 
• History Collection. "Shocking Tales from New Orleans' Early French Quarter." https://rss.com/podcasts/storiedhistory/. 
• "The Case of Americus Williams." The New Orleans Crescent, New Orleans, LA, December 2, 1859.
• "The State vs. Americus Williams and Mary Jane Jackson." The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA, November 30, 1859.
• "Death of a Desperado." The New Orleans Crescent, New Orleans, LA, December 9, 1861.
• "Cutting Affair on Dryades Street." The Sunday Delta, New Orleans, LA, July 3, 1859, p. 4.
• “The Rampart Street Homicide.” The New Orleans Crescent, 12 Nov 1859, Sat ·Page 1
• “The Inquest Upon Laurent Fleury.” The Sunday Delta. New Orleans, Louisiana · Sunday, November 13, 1859
• “The Rampart Street Murder.” The New Orleans Crescent. New Orleans, Louisiana · Monday, November 14, 1859
• “First District Court.” The New Orleans Crescent. New Orleans, Louisiana · Tuesday, May 15, 1860