Nellie Semphroch

Nellie Semphroch (1874-1937) was a woman who lived her whole life in Washington, DC. When she was a little girl, she endured the Confederate bombardment of her city during the Second Mexican War. She was nearly killed by Alfred von Schleiffen as the German officer fled the city for Philadelphia.

Many years later she became a prostitute, which she hated. She also hated her clients, such as Bill Reach. This led to a hatred of men in general; the only exceptions she made were for Hal Jacobs and Merle Grimes. One day she conceived a daughter by one of them, and gave up prostitution to run a coffee shop so that she could give her daughter, Edna Semphroch, a respectable mother.

During the Great War, when Washington was occupied, Nellie's coffee shop became popular with Confederate soldiers. Nellie was soon convinced by Hal Jacobs to spy on her clients and pass on her intelligence to him. She continued to do this for the duration of the war. She was decorated with the Order of Remembrance, First Class afterwards.

Nellie was horrified to learn that Reach was Washington's spymaster. When he began making lewd comments to Nellie in her coffee house, she asked the Confederates to keep him away. During the US bombardment which preceded the Army's retaking of the city, Reach attempted to rape Nellie. She killed him. She carried the secret of the fact to her grave. It was commonly assumed that Reach had merely become one of the many civilian casualties sustained by Washington in the bombardment.

After the war Nellie married Hal Jacobs and was surprised when she bore him a daughter, Clara Jacobs. She continued to operate her coffee shop until 1937, when she died of blood poisoning contracted by carelessness in preparing a chicken. Her daughters took over management of her coffee shop.