Gertrude Lythgoe
Gertrude Lythgoe | |
|---|---|
.png) This photot of Gertrude Lythgoe appears in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1925. | |
| Born | March 1, 1888 Bowling Green, Ohio, USA |
| Died | June 24, 1974 California, USA |
| Known for | Involvement in the rum trade |
| Notable work | The Bahama Queen: The Autobiography of Gertrude "Cleo" Lythgoe |
| Parent(s) | Charles Lythgoe and Catherine Lappin |
Gertrude Lythgoe (March 1,1888 - June 24, 1974[1]) was one of the most prominent female rum-runners, or bootleggers, in the 1920s. She had various jobs before working for A. L. William Co in London where she began her involvement in the rum trade[2]. Working out of the city Nassau in the Bahamas she legally sold imported alcohol to bootleggers during the 1920s[2][3].
Little recording and research into the role of women selling alcohol during the 1920s has been conducted. However, most worked domestically while few women were entrepenuaers in the bootlegging business and none on such a scale as Gertrude Lythgoe.
Early Life
Lythgoe was born on March 1, 1888, in Bowling Green, Ohio, to Charles Lythgoe, a glass manufacturer, and Catherine Lappin.[2] She was the youngest of 10 children, and her mother passed away when she was very young. Her siblings and herself were essentially orphaned during this time, as their father was unable to care for them.
Career/Major Moments
Lythgoe worked as a stenographer as a young adult in California and New York before accepting a job at the British Scotch Whiskey wholesaler, Haig and MacTavish, a position that was based in New York City.[4]
After the 18th Amendment was established in
Life After Bootlegging
Lythgoe quit the rum business in 1926. Some report it to be because she feared she had been jinxed[5]. This fear began in 1925 when her ship went down in the harbour of a British Island and as she was soon after arrested in Miami for illegally selling whiskey, but was cleared and witnesses against[5][2]. Others report that Lythgoe left the trade as the business through Nassau decreased due to the cheaper cost of sailing straight from England to the Rum Row[3][6].
After she left Nassau and the rum business she moved to Detroit, Michigan. There she stayed for over 20 years as the owner of a rent-a-car business. In the 1950s she sold this business to move to California and start a new business selling car locks[3]. After retiring, Lythgoe published her autobiography "The Bahama Queen: The Autobiography of Gertrude "Cleo" Lythgoe" in 1964. In 1966 she returned to live in Miami and work on her second book, although she died before it was finished[6].
Legacy
Most women who were involved with alcohol during the time of prohibition worked domestically, making alcohol at home[7]. Often, these women claimed to be making alcohol in order to provide for their children, especially widows. Others believed it was their duty to support their husbands who were bootleggers. Some women were entrepenuaers in the rum business, but this often meant selling alcohol illegally at small stores or stands[8]. Gertrude Lythgoe was one of the most prominent women in the rum trade and got attention in multiple newspapers as one of the only female figures in the business[3].
Publications:
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Gertrude Lythgoe wrote the autobiography "The Bahama Queen: The Autobiography of Gertrude "Cleo" Lythgoe" which details stories from her life up to 1926 when she left Nassau[6]. It was published in 1964 by the Exposition press Inc.[6] She reportedly began work on a second book, her life after leaving Nassau, but died before it was completed[3][6].
Peer Reviewed Source 3: Florida and Rumrunning during National Prohibition[9]
- Mostly about the logistics of bootlegging and getting alcohol from the sea onto the land
References
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- ^ "Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q23D-S66P : Fri Oct 27 01:29:18 UTC 2023), Entry for Gertrude Cecelia Lythgoe and Charles Lythgoe, 1 Mar 1888.
- ^ a b c d Brennan, Frederick H. (December 20, 1925). "'Queen of the Rum-Runners? Bosh!'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1923-). pp. 13–16.
- ^ a b c d e Dorschner, John (March 7, 1971). "The Vintage Years of a Bootleg Queen". St.Petersburg Times (1901-). pp. 190–193.
- ^ Kaplan, Jenny. "Troublemakers: Gertrude Lythgoe". Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ a b Swain, Virginia (May 29, 1926). "FEARS JINX: WOMAN RUM RUNNER CAN'T EVEN SLEEP". The Austin Statesman (1921-1973).
- ^ a b c d e Storch, Gerald (June 13, 1965). "Our 'Cleo', The Bahama Queen: Memoirs of a Rum Runner". Detroit Free Press (1923-). pp. 137–141.
- ^ Murphy, Mary (1994). "Bootlegging Mothers and Drinking Daughters: Gender and Prohibition in Butte, Montana". American Quarterly. 46 (2): 174–194. doi:10.2307/2713337. ISSN 0003-0678.
- ^ Sanchez, Tanya Marie (2000). "The Feminine Side of Bootlegging". Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association. 41 (4): 403–433. ISSN 0024-6816.
- ^ Carter, James A. (1969). "Florida and Rumrunning during National Prohibition". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 48 (1): 47–56. ISSN 0015-4113.