The Strange Tale Of Hattie Armstrong

Hattie Armstrong was a Madam. And like all women in her profession, she lived a very interesting life.  Hattie ran girls on Court & Dryden Street, just two blocks from where I would grow up decades later. The house she operated stood for many years, and the photo below shows her property not long after she passed. ( Hattie owned a lot of property.)

Hattie Armstrong was born and raised in Ohio. How she came to Charleston is unknown. As she was married several or more times, it's possible that her husband brought her here, or maybe she heard that Charleston was a good place to start a "business" such as hers.  So sometime in the late 1800s, Hattie came to town and became very successful.

This area, AKA "the back part of town" was THE place to go for about anything you wanted, especially Booze and women. Even my great grandmother on my mothers side was one of the biggest bootleggers in the city, and she lived directly across the tracks from Hattie, so I'm positive that they knew each other and Hattie probably bought all her liquor from my great grandmother. By the way, her name was "Old Lady Lewis". At least that's what everyone called her, and I have a page on this website of her story.  Below you see one of the times she was arrested, at least when she couldn't pay off the cops.

NOW FOR THE STORY

Hattie had one girl working for her whom she admired above all others.  Her name was Minnie Neal.   All we know is that Hattie may have thought the girl was goiing to die. Maybe the girl got very sick, and Hattie thought so much of her that she had this family type mausoleum built in the Spring Hill Cemetery around 1912 for the purpose of a resting place for the girl because she didnt want her to be buried in a paupers grave. But unbeknownst to Hattie, that girl lived until 1944.  The mausoleum cost Hattie $3,000, or close to $100,000 in today's money, and Hattie had her last name placed across the front. Why? Because she had planned to use it herself when the time came, but that time never came, at least not in Charleston WV......

Hattie Armstrong had been married several times. A little more rare then than today. She went by the name of Papas, Momtz, Poff, Bierman, Berriman (also Berman). But her favorite name was always Armstrong. About 6 years after the mausoleum was built, Hattie was deemed insane.  How this came about is unknown, but she was only 48 years old.  Her sister took control. All of Hattie's properties were sold, and the sister took Hattie back to Ohio to finish her days.  Meanwhile, we know of two people in the   mausoleum, Minnie Neal and Straughter Adkins.  (We still dont know the Adkins connection.) But we do know what happened over the next 35 years.....

This is what Hattie's mausoleum looked like when new.  In those days, it wasn't unusual to have a gate across the doorway and nothing more.  Some didn't even have glass behind the gate, and in some cases you could see the casket sitting there.  I remember not far from Hattie's another mausoleum just like that. It wasn't until decades later that they blocked the view with steel panels.  But Hattie's gate was opened by grave robbers and the doorway was wide open for decades right up until 1948 when the city finally sealed the entrance with cinder blocks and stucco, which you see in the top picture.  Nobody knows if the grave robbers found anything on the body of the girl, but Hattie more than likely did place some jewelry on her. In the meantime, the mausoleum was open, because someone stole the gate. People would go in there, and one account even said..... to have sex, or at least heavy petting. So that's the strange story of Hattie's mausoleum, and when more information is discovered, it will be added here.

UPDATE!

Biographical Update: The True Identity and Fate of Hattie Armstrong Birth & Family Origins: Hattie was born Harriet "Hattie" L. Adams in Ohio around 1869 (appearing as an 11-year-old schoolgirl in the 1880 US Census for Washington Township, Muskingum County, Ohio). She was the daughter of David Adams (a local Ohio farmer, b. circa 1826) and Jane Adams (b. circa 1836). Her older sister, Mary J. Adams (later Mary J. Whitsell of Columbus, Ohio), would remain her lifelong protector and eventually rescue her from the West Virginia legal system. The Charleston Era & Her Surnames: After moving to West Virginia, Hattie operated a prominent establishment in Charleston's historic red-light district on Court and Dryden Streets. Her extensive list of "mystery" surnames stems from five documented marriages recorded in Kanawha County, West Virginia: Charles Bierman (often recorded as Berriman) Robert Armstrong (Married on November 30, 1898) George Muntz (commonly corrupted to "Momtz" in local lore, Married on September 1, 1902) John W. Poff (Married on March 28, 1905, and listed as Hattie Poff in the 1910 Census alongside boarder Minnie Neal) Thomas Papas (Married on February 14, 1914) The 1917 Insanity Commission: In April 1917, while married to Thomas Papas, Hattie suffered a severe mental health crisis. Following an arrest for erratic behavior rooted in intense paranoia, a Kanawha County lunacy commission officially declared her insane. Her sister, Mary Whitsell, traveled from Columbus, Ohio, to intervene. The court named Mary her legal guardian, allowing her to remove Hattie to Ohio for treatment rather than committing her to a West Virginia asylum. Institutionalization and Death Record Details: Hattie spent her final six years under medical care in Ohio. She is recorded as a patient at the Columbus State Hospital (formerly the Central Ohio Lunatic Asylum) in the 1920 US Census. State Death Record: Hattie passed away as a patient at the Columbus State Hospital on March 2, 1923. Ohio Death Certificate Number: Franklin County, Certificate #16467 (Filed under her last legal married name, Hattie Papas). The Informant:  Her sister, Mrs. Mary Whitsell, acted as the informant on the death certificate, officially verifying Hattie's parents as David Adams and Jane Adams, linking the legendary Charleston Madam back to her childhood home. Cause of Death: Organic Brain Disease Final Resting Place: Hattie was never buried in the $3,000 stone mausoleum she built for Minnie Neal at Spring Hill Cemetery in Charleston. Following her death in 1923, her sister Mary handled her arrangements locally in Columbus. She was buried quietly at the historic Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio (located at 1000 Greenlawn Avenue). ALSO: For the longest time we didnt know if Hattie was Black or White.  Turns out she was White. • The 1880 US Census: In Washington Township, Muskingum County, Ohio, Hattie (Harriet L. Adams) is recorded as an 11-year-old schoolgirl living with her biological parents, David and Jane Adams. In this census, the entire Adams family is explicitly enumerated as White. • The 1910 and 1920 US Censuses: When she was operating her establishment in Charleston under the name Hattie Poff (1910) and later when she was institutionalized at the Columbus State Hospital (1920), federal enumerators continued to record her race as White.