Much of the knowledge surrounding Mary Ellen Pleasant is confounded in myth and legend. Her lineage, free status, religion, and even the color of her skin is a source of controversy. Tales of ghosts, murder, baby-selling, voodoo, and mystery surround the narrative of Mary Pleasant's life.

Sifting through the life of MEP, one is going to find a wealth of information based in hearsay. In 1902, MEP wrote an autobiography, and to this day, this is the best source of (suspected) accurate information on Mary Ellen Pleasant. She was born in Philadelphia to free parents on August 19, 1814. MEP married her first husband in Boston during the 1840's, James Smith--an abolitionist, who left her a great deal of money when he died to continue the cause. The causes surrounding his death and the amount of money MEP inherited became a source of wild speculation. In the 1850's she moved out to San Francisco during the peak of the gold rush with her second husband, John James Pleasants. During this time, MEP worked as a domestic servant and John Pleasant worked as a ship cook.

MEP was well known in California for her abolitionist activism. African Americans in the state were starting to form their own institutions to protest legislature that further banned migration of African Amercans to the state of California throughout the 1850's. There were issues with the mass transit system and racial discrimination.

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