The Belle of Vicksburg- Lizzie Hert

VICKSBURG, Miss., (VDN) by Evan Winschel — “Charity will let her faults and shortcomings perish with the clay that gave them birth.” – Quote from the eulogy of today’s featured spotlight, Lizzie Hert. The Belle of Vicksburg.

Candles flickered as a soft breeze rustled through the closed drapes of one of Vicksburg’s most disreputable houses. A home normally filled with the erotic sounds of lust now lay silent in wait for death’s impending visit. With all remedies and treatments exhausted, the doctor retrieved his bag from the foot of the bed and made his leave. With no hope of recovery, all that was left to do was send for a priest to deliver last rites and pray for the absolution of their madam’s soul. Gathering around their bedridden friend and colleague, some wiped rags along her fevered skin while others held her listless hands in prayer. Soon the silence was broken by the sound of the door opening. Framed in its entry stood the pastor of St. Paul Catholic Church, Father F.X. LeRay. Those in attendance cleared a path as he made his way toward the afflicted. Setting himself aside her bed, he focused his eyes upon her face in the dim light. On first glance, déjà vu struck him as this was no stranger, and this was not the first time he had been called to minister to her in her final hours.

Five years earlier Lizzie Hert had established herself as the Belle of Springfield, Missouri. Originally from New Orleans, she had been orphaned at a young age before eventually being taken in and educated by the Sisters of Charity. With no family or prospects to speak of, Lizzie fell from the graces of good society and into the realm of ill repute when she relocated to Missouri. Her profession, being what it was, took a toll on her body and she eventually became stricken with consumption. The outlook was bleak, and soon someone was hastily dispatched to search for a priest that would hear her last confession. Proving that it is a small world after all, the priest summoned was none other than Father F. X. LeRay. Mustering enough strength from her weakened frame, Lizzie repented for her sins and for straying from moral acceptability. His job there complete, Father LeRay smiled as he squeezed her hand in farewell. Never to see her again, or so he thought. Miraculously Lizzie would make a full recovery. Even with a second chance at life, Lizzie found it virtually impossible to reinvent herself into something more palatable. The lower she descended into disrespectability, the higher she ascended into financial collectability. For reasons unknown, Lizzie eventually relocated to Vicksburg’s notorious and profitable brothel district where she would quickly, “be enthroned as the queen” of one of the more famous dens of iniquity. As she saw to the physical needs of the populace, Father LeRay would take care of the spiritual needs when he became the pastor of St. Paul Catholic Church. Both inhabiting two very different worlds brought together by fate.

Gazing upon this pitiable creature, he was momentarily lost for words by the unimaginable coincidence. What were the odds that he would be delivering the last rites to the same woman, for the second time, in a different state? The circumstances of this reunion were much more dire this time, as her new diagnosis ravaged her to the point of unresponsiveness. Father LeRay did his best to elicit a response of any kind from Lizzie, as was required by the faith during that time. For without an open expression of repentance, the last rites could not be given. Realizing the fruitlessness of his efforts, Father LeRay withdrew from her presence and prayed that the Lord would mercifully lift this fallen subject out of her wretched surroundings. On September 24^th, 1874 Lizzie Hert’s objectionable career came to an end when she passed away at the age of 22. 

Lizzie was laid to rest in an unmarked plot purchased by fellow brothel members in Cedar Hill Cemetery.