Three black women and one black man are listed in the census as living in Anthony St in While it is difficult to state definitively in what capacity these women and man worked during their time in the Livingston brothel, one can speculate that they lived under unequal power dynamics in a way that could significantly affect their wellbeing.
Eight black women lived in 76 Chapel St according to the census in Again, while it is difficult to know in what capacity they worked, the high number of black women living there indicates that either this was a house of black women living together and working elsewhere, or that it was a brothel exclusively worked by black sex workers, carrying implications of fetishization of black bodies.
Interestingly at 76 Chapel St, the census lists eight black men living in this property in The census records demonstrate that many black people lived in many different brothel properties owned by the Livingston family. It is known that these properties were all brothels so speculation is interesting as to in what capacity the Livingston family would be employing only black people to work in certain brothels.
It is most likely that the black woman listed in the census worked as a maid for the brothel. The corresponding census entry for 76 Chapel St is unusual. It lists five white women of ages ranging from childhood to elderly living with three black men under the age of Given the rampant racism of the s this listing is more than a little unusual, particularly for a brothel. Perhaps the most likely scenario is that the women listed were the madam and four sex workers, while the men worked in as servants.
It is difficult to know in exactly what capacity these young men were employed within the brothel and why there are no corresponding census entries in their names. However, this continued listing of black men living in Livingston brothels is an interesting potential for further research as to in what capacity they worked and why the Livingston family continued this practice. Black Bodies in Livingston Brothels. Peter Vandyke in Census. Peter Vandyke Census Record. Mary Wall Census Record.
