Dorcas Maria Hampton (1839-1927) was born an illegitimate daughter of Kentucky and raised alongside her biological father's slaves on a pioneer Ralls County, Missouri farm. Whippings ordered by her stepmother persisted until she fled home at the age of 14. On her own in Hannibal, Missouri in 1854, she did her best to find work, but options were slim. After serving for a time as a chambermaid on Mississippi River steamboats, (ironing sheets and table napkins) she settled in pre Civil War St. Louis, and took on the trade of last resort. "Nothing else could be expected," Dorcas Hampton said,...