- Fannie Porter
Fannie Porter (
February 12 ,1873 - c.1940) was a well known "Madame" of the 19th century. She was best known for her association with famousoutlaw s of the day, and for her popularbrothel .Career as a Madame
Porter was born in
England , and traveled to America around the age of one with her family. By fifteen she was working as aprostitute inSan Antonio, Texas . By the age of 20, she had started her own brothel, and became extremely popular for her cordial and sincere attitude, her choosing only the most attractive young women as her "girls", her requirement that her "girls" practice goodhygiene , and for her always immaculate personal appearance. Her brothel was located at the corner of Durango and San Saba streets.By 1895, her brothel in
San Antonio was one of the most popular of theOld West . It had by that time become known as a frequent "stop off" for outlaws on the run from the law.Butch Cassidy , theSundance Kid ,Kid Curry , and other members of theWild Bunch gang frequented her business. One of her "girls",Della Moore , became the girlfriend to Kid Curry, remaining with him until her arrest for passing money from one of his robberies. She was arrested, butacquitted , eventually returning to work for Porter once again. Another of her "girls", Lillie Davis, became involved with outlaw and Wild Bunch member Will "News" Carver. She later claimed she had married Carver in Fort Worth prior to his death in 1901, but there are no records to verify the alleged marriage. It is possible that the Sundance Kid and his girlfriendEtta Place , whose true identity and eventual disappearance from history has long been a mystery, first met while she worked for Porter, but that has never been confirmed. Wild Bunch gang memberLaura Bullion is also believed to have at times worked for Porter between the years of 1898 and 1901.Porter was well respected for her discretion, always refusing to turn in a wanted outlaw to the authorities. She also was known for being extremely defensive of her "girls", insisting that any who mistreated them never return to her brothel. She generally employed anywhere from five to eight girls, all ranging in age from 18 to 25, and all of whom lived and worked inside her brothel. Her business was not only popular with outlaws of the day, but also with lawmen, and she made sure that any lawmen who entered received the best treatment. William Pinkerton, of the
Pinkerton National Detective Agency , was said to have frequented her brothel.By the early 20th century, the tide had began to turn against active, openly operating brothels. Eventually, she retired, and faded from history. It is not known as to where she went following her retirement. Most agree that she retired semi-wealthy, but it is unknown to where she might have gone. Some stories indicate that she married a man of wealth, some indicate she retired into seclusion, while others indicate she returned to England. None of those are confirmed. Later rumors indicated that she lived until 1940, when she was killed in a car accident in
El Paso, Texas . However, that also is not certain.External links
* [http://www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-Madams.html#Fannie%20Porter%20(1873-19) Fannie Porter partial bio]
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