The Early Years Of Stephanie St. Clair.


 The early life of Stephanie St. Clair (or Stephanie Saint-Clair) is largely shrouded in mystery. But it’s believed that she was born in the West Indies on December 24, 1897. Some sources suggest that she was from the island of Grand-Terre, while others say she was from Martinique.


However, it’s also possible that she was born in France. For St. Clair’s part, she insisted that she was of “French-European” heritage.


The mystery surrounding St. Clair’s birth was by design, due to her desire for privacy and her eagerness to cultivate a reputation. But regardless of her true origins, St. Clair had made her way to Montreal, Canada, by 1911.


Just one year later in 1912, she boarded a ship that was headed toward New York City. While on the ship — and in post-migration quarantine — St. Clair learned to speak English. After being cleared, she explored what would be her new home and soon settled in the neighborhood of Harlem.


How she got her initial influx of capital remains unclear. But what is clear is that by the mid-1920s, she was running a successful numbers game.

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