Josephine Airey
Encyclopedia
Josephine Airey was an Irish-born American prostitute, madam
, and proprietor of brothels, dance halls, a variety theatre, and saloons in Helena, Montana
. She eventually became the most influential landowner in Helena. She was also known as "Chicago Joe" Hensley following her marriage to James T. Hensley.
in 1844. When she emigrated to New York
in 1858, she changed her name to Josephine Airey. She held a menial job, but this soon bored her, so she moved to Chicago
where she took up prostitution. In 1867, she quit Chicago and moved out west to the newly-established gold mining
town of Helena, Montana. With the money she had saved from her earnings, she opened a hurdy-gurdy house, which quickly became a success due to its appeal to the local miners who formed the bulk of her clientele. Josephine herself was a prostitute before her days of power in Helena, but this was short-lived work because it never provided enough money to support her. Although she did open a very small brothel in Chicago her greatest success were not until she moved to Helena. The Helena gold rush of 1864 caused Josephine to leave Chicago in hopes of capitalizing off of the successes of others. The men mining for gold as well as the men from Fort Ellis provided the potential cliental for the brothel. She left behind two sisters in Chicago who she supported throughout her career.
-style variety theatre called "The Coliseum", which proved greatly successful, due to its rich furnishings and the beautiful girls Josephine hired to perform. Josephine was famed for her lavish style of dress, lifestyle and parties she and her husband regularly gave.
Although prostitution was legal at this time in the United States there was still much controversy surrounding Josephine’s business practices. An article in 1884 claimed that Josephine had tricked girls into leaving Chicago to come work for her brothels. The idea was that she told them they would be working in a hotel, but never specified what their job would be exactly. This allegation was false, but Chicago Joe was in fact known for paying the fare from Chicago to Helena, which essentially meant she was importing employees.
Then in 1885 another shot was taken at Josephine’s empire. Legislators in Montana passed a law that made the “hurdy gurdy” house illegal. These dance halls got his name from the string instrument often found in them. Luckily Josephine’s attorney was able to keep her out of legal troubles, but she was forced to reorganize her business and be less prominent in the town. After a few years, she re opened the Coliseum and converted part of the building into a brothel. http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-chicagojoe.html
In January 1883, she placed a notice in Helena's newspaper, the Daily Independent, ordering local saloon owners and gambling houses not to serve her husband liquor, allow him to gamble or loan him money on pain of prosecution. Later that same year, on 24 December 1883 she advertised that she was holding a Grand Masquerade Ball at the "Red Light Saloon" and issued invitations to all the citizens of Helena.
"The Coliseum" began to lose its popularity in 1890, as Helena became more respectable. In the Panic of 1893
, Josephine lost all her property apart from the "Red Light Saloon". Soon she and her husband were forced to live in the small rooms above the saloon.
on October 25, 1899. The citizens of Helena gave her a magnificent funeral with many speeches praising her accomplishments.
In the final years of her life she lived under meager conditions. The glory of her early days had been dried up in the panic of 1893. Her death saddened the community and made front-page news. Her generosity was noted and she was buried in the cemetery at a catholic church.
Madam
Madam, or madame, is a polite title used for women which, in English, is the equivalent of Mrs. or Ms., and is often found abbreviated as "ma'am", and less frequently as "ma'm". It is derived from the French madame, which means "my lady", the feminine form of lord; the plural of ma dame in this...
, and proprietor of brothels, dance halls, a variety theatre, and saloons in Helena, Montana
Helena, Montana
Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...
. She eventually became the most influential landowner in Helena. She was also known as "Chicago Joe" Hensley following her marriage to James T. Hensley.
Origins
Josephine was born Mary Welch in IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1844. When she emigrated to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1858, she changed her name to Josephine Airey. She held a menial job, but this soon bored her, so she moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
where she took up prostitution. In 1867, she quit Chicago and moved out west to the newly-established gold mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
town of Helena, Montana. With the money she had saved from her earnings, she opened a hurdy-gurdy house, which quickly became a success due to its appeal to the local miners who formed the bulk of her clientele. Josephine herself was a prostitute before her days of power in Helena, but this was short-lived work because it never provided enough money to support her. Although she did open a very small brothel in Chicago her greatest success were not until she moved to Helena. The Helena gold rush of 1864 caused Josephine to leave Chicago in hopes of capitalizing off of the successes of others. The men mining for gold as well as the men from Fort Ellis provided the potential cliental for the brothel. She left behind two sisters in Chicago who she supported throughout her career.
"Chicago Joe"
She soon expanded her business; a fire in 1874 provided her with the opportunity of buying up property from those who couldn't afford to rebuild which made her the richest landowner on Wood Street. She was the owner of the "Grand", a large brothel on the corner of State and Joliet streets. In 1878, she married James T. Hensley, and together they built a stone, fire-proof dance hall as well as the "Red Light Saloon". She began to be known by the nickname of "Chicago Joe" Hensley. Josephine began to rent her numerous properties to other businesses, making her the most influential landowner in Helena. Her wealth and influence enabled her to donate to charities and political campaigns. Josephine and her husband later built a large vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
-style variety theatre called "The Coliseum", which proved greatly successful, due to its rich furnishings and the beautiful girls Josephine hired to perform. Josephine was famed for her lavish style of dress, lifestyle and parties she and her husband regularly gave.
Although prostitution was legal at this time in the United States there was still much controversy surrounding Josephine’s business practices. An article in 1884 claimed that Josephine had tricked girls into leaving Chicago to come work for her brothels. The idea was that she told them they would be working in a hotel, but never specified what their job would be exactly. This allegation was false, but Chicago Joe was in fact known for paying the fare from Chicago to Helena, which essentially meant she was importing employees.
Then in 1885 another shot was taken at Josephine’s empire. Legislators in Montana passed a law that made the “hurdy gurdy” house illegal. These dance halls got his name from the string instrument often found in them. Luckily Josephine’s attorney was able to keep her out of legal troubles, but she was forced to reorganize her business and be less prominent in the town. After a few years, she re opened the Coliseum and converted part of the building into a brothel. http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-chicagojoe.html
In January 1883, she placed a notice in Helena's newspaper, the Daily Independent, ordering local saloon owners and gambling houses not to serve her husband liquor, allow him to gamble or loan him money on pain of prosecution. Later that same year, on 24 December 1883 she advertised that she was holding a Grand Masquerade Ball at the "Red Light Saloon" and issued invitations to all the citizens of Helena.
"The Coliseum" began to lose its popularity in 1890, as Helena became more respectable. In the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
, Josephine lost all her property apart from the "Red Light Saloon". Soon she and her husband were forced to live in the small rooms above the saloon.
Buildings
At the height of her success Chicago Joe owned the Red Light Saloon, The Grand Bordello, The Coliseum Variety Theater, and various other businesses in the town. At one point she was the largest landowner in the entire Red Light district. These buildings she owned were not shacks, but large event centers that could host parties as well as serve their intended purposes. For example, the Coliseum cost Josephine over $30,000 to build in the 1880’s. The panic of 1893 claimed all of her holdings but the Red Light Saloon and she lived the last few years of her life in a room above it.Contemporaries
Josephine’s business model began to rub off on her employees and in 1875 Mrs. Lou Couselle started her own brothel on Bozeman, Montana. Much like her former boss she used mortgages to make money and at the time of her death she had an estate worth over $20,000. Again much like Josephine, Mrs. Lou used the profits of prostitution to expand her business empire. Mollie “Crazy Belle Crafton” was another woman who followed the path blazed by Josephine. Mollie built the Castle Bordello, which cost over $12,000 in the early 1880’s. Josephine’s success clearly had a profound effect on the minds of other women in the area at this time.Death
Josephine died of pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on October 25, 1899. The citizens of Helena gave her a magnificent funeral with many speeches praising her accomplishments.
In the final years of her life she lived under meager conditions. The glory of her early days had been dried up in the panic of 1893. Her death saddened the community and made front-page news. Her generosity was noted and she was buried in the cemetery at a catholic church.