Madam Bess: Lewisburg's Clairvoyant

Recently, I’ve been really interested in exploring a different side of West Virginia’s paranormal history: the Spiritualism movement in the Mountain State, and, as an off-shoot of that topic—well known psychic mediums in our area. However, I was researching a completely different topic when I found a newspaper advertisement for ‘Mildred Carter Bess–Clairvoyant’ from Lewisburg, WV. On a whim, I did a quick Google search for Mrs. Bess, got a few hits, and felt compelled to share what little of her story I could piece together. 

Mildred Carter Bess was a prominent African-American citizen from Lewisburg, West Virginia. She was the daughter of Ed and Willie Carter, and although there are quite a few different birth dates given for her, it seems that she was born sometime between 1895 and 1900. Mildred was the wife of Forest Carter, and I actually found TWO marriage licenses for the couple on the WV Archives website. The first marriage certificate dates from September of 1920, when a 22 year old Mildred married 22 year old Forest (Forst) Bess in Lewisburg. The word ‘void’ is written in the top left corner of the document, then crossed out. The second marriage certificate is for the 1936 union of Forest Bess and Mildred Carter Bess, both 37 years old, in Greenbrier County. As the 1930 census lists a 26 year old DIVORCED Mildred Carter Bess living with her parents, Ed and Willie Carter, it would seem that the couple broke up, only to be remarried years later. Maybe that’s why I felt an immediate draw to Mildred—my husband and I were together in our early 20′s, separated, and then got married at 36. 

Anyway, the 1930 census also gives Mildred’s occupation as medium/fortune teller, so it would seem that not only did Mildred discover her gift to contact the other side early in life, she made a career out of it fairly early in her life as well. Throughout the 1930′s, her newspaper ad for a clairvoyant ran fairly regularly in The Raleigh Register, a newspaper from nearby Beckley, WV. She also ran ads in other newspapers around West Virginia and surrounding states offering readings by mail. All the client needed to do was send her their date of birth and $1. 

She was known to the local college girls, as ‘Madam Bess,’ and undoubtedly, she probably did plenty of business helping young ladies get a glimpse of their future husbands and/or career prospects. She was aided in her work by her crystal ball, which she kept covered when not in use. But ‘Madam Bess’ was much more to her community than just the local fortune teller.

Mildred Carter Bess was devout member of the John Wesley Methodist Church in Lewisburg, even donating at least one picture that hung on either side of the altar. She spent many years presenting a gold medal to the top-performing student at Bolling High School’s graduation ceremony. She and her family are also strongly tied to one of Lewisburg’s most historic businesses. 

In 1897, Mildred’s father, Ed, purchased a building on what is now Washington Street. It is believed the building was built by slave labor, and could have been built as early as 1834. It served several purposes, including a post office, until 1891 when an African-American man named Frank Perkins purchased it and turned it into a barber shop. Ed Carter also ran a barber shop in the location until 1934. Although Carter remained owner of the building, he leased the barber shop to Jesse Lawrence McCoy and left the management of the property up to Mildred. 

Mildred had living quarters above and behind the barber shop, and up until 1934, she would have to enter through the shop itself. But, after it was leased to Mr. McCoy, she had a separate entrance put in. McCoy leased the barber up until shortly before his death in 1970, and over the decades, Mildred became close to the family. In 1991 McCoy’s daughter, Mary A. Summerline published an article about her memories of growing up in her daddy’s barber shop, and discusses her friendship with Mildred. As Mildred was a superstitious person who believed it meant good luck for a man to be the first visitor to one’s home in the new year, each New Year’s Day, Mr. McCoy would be sure to stop in early to pay her visit. 

Mary enjoyed visiting Mildred and would do so alone, or accompanied by her mother and/or sister. She notes that Mildred had an impressive piano (her mother had used it to give piano lessons) and they often bonded over piano music, after which Mildred often served juice and cookies. 

Forest passed away in 1951, and Mildred joined him in 1985. They are both buried in the Lewisburg-Bolling Cemetery. It doesn’t appear that the couple had any children. However, Mildred’s legacy lives on in the contributions she made to Lewisburg’s African American community, and community of Lewisburg as a whole. And to me, her legacy lives on through a simple ad in a local newspaper offering the services of a clairvoyant.

As for the barber shop, it is now known as Flanagan’s Barber Shop, owned by the Gene Flanagan family. Gene started working under Mr. McCoy in 1962 and took over the shop later on. The shop is still open today and is considered one of the oldest continually operated businesses in Lewisburg, and possibly the longest continually operated barber shop in the state. 

Additional Sources and Reading:

Daddy’s Barbershop, by Mary A. Summerline. The Mountain Laurel, March 1991.

African American Genealogy-WV. Mildred P. Carter Bess. June 21, 2006.