Etta Place, the Sundance Kid's girl
From History and Wikipedia:
Etta Place is mostly a cipher to history, except for the well-documented period between 1900 and 1907
Theories about her real identity have her as a runaway mother from Texas who was a schoolteacher, or a prostitute at Fannie Porter's place in San Antonio.
Or a combination of the two
Fannie Porter was born in England and traveled to the United States around the age of one with her family.By age 15, she was working as a
prostitute in
San Antonio, Texas.By the age of 20, she had started her own brothel and became extremely popular for having a cordial and sincere attitude, choosing only the most attractive young women as her "girls", her requiring that her "girls" practice good hygiene, and for maintaining an immaculate personal appearance.Her brothel was located at the corner of Durango and San Saba streets, better known as the
Sporting District.
By 1895, her brothel in San Antonio was one of the more popular of the Old West. It had become known as a frequent
stop off for outlaws.
Butch Cassidy, the
Sundance Kid,
Kid Curry, and other members of the
Wild Bunch gang frequented her business.
Della Moore, one of her "girls", became the girlfriend to Kid Curry,remaining with him until her arrest for passing money from one of his robberies (she was arrested, but acquitted, eventually returning to work for Porter once again).
Lillie Davis, another of her "girls", became involved with outlaw and Wild Bunch member
Will "News" Carver. She later claimed she had married Carver in Fort Worth before his death in 1901, but there are no records to verify the alleged marriage.
It is possible that the Sundance Kid and his girlfriend
Etta Place, whose true identity and eventual disappearance from history has long been a mystery, first met while she worked for Porter, but this never has been confirmed. Wild Bunch gang member
Laura Bullion also is believed to have at times worked for Porter between 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 ages from 18 to 25, and all of whom lived and worked inside her brothel.Her business was popular with outlaws of the day as well as with lawmen, and she made sure that any lawmen who entered received the best treatment. William Pinkerton, of the
Pinkerton National Detective Agency, once paid her a visit.