Dora Bolshaw ~ "Black Hills Madam"

Dora Bolshaw, later known as Dora DuFran, was the daughter of Joseph John and Isabella Neal (Cummings) Bolshaw. She was born on 16 November 1868 in Liverpool, England. Dora emigrated to the United States with her parents around 1869. The family settled first at Bloomfield, New Jersey and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1876-1877. 

An extremely good looking woman in her youth, she got her start in prostitution around the age of 13 or 14. She then became a dance hall girl, calling herself Amy Helen Bolshaw. 

The gold rush hit Deadwood, South Dakota when she was around 15. It was there that Dora promoted herself as a Madam and began operating a brothel. She coined the term "cathouse" after having Charlie Utter bring her a wagon of cats.

In early 1876, Utter and his brother, Steve, took a 30-wagon wagon train of prospectors, gamblers, 180 prostitutes and assorted hopefuls from Georgetown, Colorado to the gold rush in Deadwood, South Dakota. Like many wagon trains, the wagons were Shutler wagons which were notable for "gaudy paint jobs". In Cheyenne, Wyoming Wild Bill Hickok became partners with Utter in the train, and in Fort Laramie, Wyoming, Calamity Jane also joined up. The train arrived in Deadwood in July 1876, and Utter began a lucrative express delivery service to Cheyenne, charging 25 cents to deliver a letter and often carrying as many as 2,000 letters per 48-hour trip. Dora picked up several girls from Charlie's train.

Dora picked up several girls from Charlie's train and, from time to time, Old West personality Martha Jane Burke (Calamity Jane) was in her employ. Dora's main competition in Deadwood was Madam Mollie Johnson.

She had several businesses over the years and demanded that her girls practice good hygiene and dress well. Her most popular brothel was called "Diddlin' Dora's", located on Fifth Avenue in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Diddlin' Dora's advertised itself as 'Three D's ... Dining, Drinking and Dancing ... a place where you can bring your mother.' Though the cowboys frequented the popular place, most just wanted to 'get down to business,' with at least one man remarking, 'I wouldn't want my mother to know I had ever been there.' Dora's other brothels in South Dakota and Montana were located in Lead, Miles City, Sturgis and Deadwood. 

While in Deadwood, Dora married Joseph DuFran, "a personable gentleman gambler" who helped grow her business. After her husband's death, she moved the business to Rapid City, South Dakota where she continued having success as a brothel owner. She died of heart failure on 5 August 1934. Her pet parrot Fred and husband Joseph are buried with her at Mount Moriah.

Kitty Leroy

Kitty Leroy was born in Michigan in 1850. By the age of 10 she was performing as a dancer. As she got older, she began to work in dancehalls and saloons.

At age 15, she married her first husband: Legend has it he was the only man in town with the nerve to let her shoot apples off his head. But the marriage didn't last long: She was a wild young thing who wasn't ready to settle down. She moved west, settling for a time in Dallas, Texas where her dancing attracted a lot of attention in town. Kitty married a second time when she was 20 years old and eventually gave up dancing to become a skilled faro dealer who often dressed in men's clothing.

Kitty and husband #2 moved to California, where they planned to open their own saloon. But before reaching their destination, she left him for another man, who she married. But marriage #3 didn't last long either: It's said the couple had an argument where she attacked him and he refused to hit back because she was a woman. She changed into men's clothing and challenged him again, this time drawing her gun ... he didn't and she shot him. When he didn't die right away, she called for a preacher and the two were married. He passed away within a few days.

In 1876 Kitty moved to Deadwood, South Dakota (on the same wagon train as Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok) where she worked as a prostitute in the brothel managed by Mollie Johnson. She soon opened the Mint Gambling Saloon, where she met and married a German prospector. When his money ran out, they began to argue: She hit him over the head with a bottle one night and threw him out, ending marriage #4.

Kitty's saloon was very successful. Although she had gambling income, she continued to work as a prostitute, most of the time managing her own girls. She married husband #5 on 11 June 1877. Samuel R. Curley was a prospector and gambler who was extremely jealous of Kitty's numerous affairs, one of which was with husband #4. On the night of 7 December 1878, Curley shot and killed Kitty in the Lone Star Saloon, then shot himself.

The following day, the townspeople allegedly laid out the pair for viewing inside the saloon before they were buried together. A journalist would later say of the 28 year-old, that she "had five husbands, seven revolvers, a dozen Bowie knives, and was always went armed to the teeth."

She had a daughter somewhere along the line, as Deadwood newspapers of the time indicated that her estate was left to her daughter.