Fort Worth Characters

Chapter 11: Madam Mary Porter: Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

204 Few people have ever heard of Mary Porter, although many think they have. That is because Mary is usually confused with Fannie Porter, the notorious San Antonio madam who became famous as the consort of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In the 1970 documentary “The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” Director George Roy Hill stated that Sundance’s beautiful girlfriend, Etta Place, was “one of Fanny [sic] Porter’s girls in Fort Worth.” Wrong. Mary Porter was Fort Worth’s most notorious madam at the turn of the century, not Fannie Porter; they were not related except for being in the same line of work. And unlike Fannie, Mary Porter’s story was not turned into a Hollywood-ready legend; in fact, until now it has never been told. She was born in Ireland in July 1844. Her family name is unknown at this time, and her time in the country of her birth was short.1 Ireland at the time was in the grip of An Gorta Mór, the Great Hunger, caused by the failure of several successive potato crops. Between 1845 and 1850 more than a million people died of starvation and disease in a country of only eight million. Of the survivors, more than 2.1 million left Ireland for good, 1.5 million of them settling in the United States. Among those who came to America were the infant Mary, her sister Catherine, and her parents. They probably landed in ChapTeR 11 Madam Mary Porter: Mary, Mary Quite Contrary Madam Mary Porter: Mary, Mary Quite Contrary / 205 Canada sometime before 1850, then crossed into the United States over the open U.S.-Canadian border, eventually landing in Rochester, New York. Alternatively, they might have come through the Castle Garden port of entry in New York City and then made their way up to Rochester. The record is not clear. Because New York had a large resident Irish population, the newcomers felt comfortable and entered the workforce as menial laborers, which was still a vast improvement over life back in the old country. As one of their fellow countrymen observed of New York City, “No man or woman ever hungered or ever will and where you will not be seen naked . . . where you would never want or be at a loss for a good breakfast and dinner.”2 In 1860 the family was living in Rochester, their status much improved through hard work and a bit of Irish luck. Sixteen-year-old Mary was probably working as a laundress (taking in laundry) or a domestic, the most common jobs for young Irish women at this date. Sometime in the next twelve years, Mary met and married George Porter and they settled in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Irish faced less prejudice out West than back East. With no established social hierarchy and success measured by accomplishment rather than pedigree, the frontier was a place for starting over. Pockets of Irish could be found in cities all over the West about equally represented in politics, law enforcement, and vice. Hot Springs at this time was a popular health resort with a thriving vice district. The marriage may have been either a proper “Boston marriage” or a common-law arrangement; the record is not clear. They were definitely living in Hot Springs in 1880 as Mr. and Mrs. George B. Porter. They ran a “boarding house,” which may have been a euphemism for a bordello because Mary was listed as the “head of household.” Two other single young women “boarded ” with them. Forty-two-year-old George died on March 30, 1882, and was buried in Hot Springs’ Hollywood Cemetery. Mary stayed in town for at least another three years before packing up and leaving for greener pastures. There is some indication in local records that she had worn out her welcome, which was normal for women in her line of work, particularly after a turnover in municipal government. The world’s oldest profession never really went out of fashion, but the faces changed. Mary never returned to Hot Springs, although she kept her house there and continued to operate it under her name for another five years.3 Fort Worth Characters / 206 The death of George forced Mary to start life over as a thirtysomething widow with no schooling or marketable skills. If she was not already the breadwinner in the...