Madam Dora DuFran or Dora Bolshaw (née Amy Helen Dorothea Bolshaw) (November 16, 1868 - August 5, 1934) was one of the leading and most successful madam

Madam

Madam, or madame, is a polite title used for women which, in English, is the equivalent of Mrs. or Ms., and is often found abbreviated as "ma'am", and less frequently as "ma'm". It is derived from the French madame, which means "my lady", the feminine form of lord; the plural of ma dame in this...

s in the Old West days of Deadwood, South Dakota

Deadwood, South Dakota

Deadwood is a city in South Dakota, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is named for the dead trees found in its gulch. The population was 1,270 according to a 2010 census...

.

Biography

Dora was born in Liverpool, England. She emigrated to the United States with her parents Joseph John (Nov. 14, 1842 - March 26, 1911) and Isabella Neal Cummings Bolshaw (Nov. 12, 1844 - April 12, 1911) sometime around 1869. The family settled first at Bloomfield, New Jersey

Bloomfield, New Jersey

Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 47,315. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.-History:...

, then moved to Lincoln, Nebraska

Lincoln, Nebraska

The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....

 in 1876 or 1877. An extremely good looking woman in her youth, Dora became involved in prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

 around the age of 13 or 14. She then became a dance hall girl, calling herself Amy Helen Bolshaw. By the time the gold rush

Gold rush

A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...

 hit Deadwood

Deadwood, South Dakota

Deadwood is a city in South Dakota, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is named for the dead trees found in its gulch. The population was 1,270 according to a 2010 census...

 when she was 15, Dora promoted herself to Madam and began operating a brothel.

Dora coined the term "cathouse."

Career

Although she preferred having pretty girls work in her brothel, the selection in that part of the west was extremely limited. She usually did, however, demand that her girls practice good hygiene

Hygiene

Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...

 and dress well. She picked up several girls who arrived in Deadwood via the wagon train

Wagon train

A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond...

 led by Charlie Utter

Charlie Utter

Charles H. Utter was an early figure in the American Wild West, best known as a great friend and companion of Wild Bill Hickok....

. From time to time Old West personality Martha Jane Burke (Calamity Jane

Calamity Jane

Martha Jane Cannary Burke , better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, and professional scout best known for her claim of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok, but also for having gained fame fighting Native Americans...

, 1852–1903) was in her employ. Her main competition in Deadwood was Madam Mollie Johnson

Mollie Johnson

Deadwood Madam Mollie Johnson was a 19th Century madam. Johnson was born in Alabama, and migrated west due to the demand for working prostitutes. Indications are that she began working that trade in her early teens, around the age of 15 or 16 by some reports...

. Dora coined the term "cathouse" after having Charlie Utter bring her a wagon of cats for her Deadwood brothel.

She had several brothels over the years. The most popular was called "Diddlin' Dora's," located on Fifth Avenue in Belle Fourche, South Dakota

Belle Fourche, South Dakota

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and is water.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 4,565 people, 1,854 households, and 1,186 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,446.9 people per square mile...

. Her other brothels in South Dakota were located in Lead

Lead, South Dakota

Lead is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,124 at the 2010 census. Lead is located in western South Dakota, in the Black Hills near the Wyoming state line.-History:...

, Miles City, Sturgis, South Dakota

Sturgis, South Dakota

Sturgis is a city in Meade County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,627 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Meade County. Sturgis is famous for being the location of one of the largest annual motorcycle events in the world, which is held annually on the first full week...

, and Deadwood. Although she married a man named Joseph M. DuFran (1862 - August 3, 1909), Dora continued her brothel operations throughout the marriage. She eventually moved her operations to Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...

, where she continued having success as a brothel owner. Dora died of heart failure in 1934. Her pet parrot Fred and husband Joseph are buried with her at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood.

Publication

DuFran (under the pseudonym: d'Dee) published a 12-page booklet on Calamity Jane titled Low Down on Calamity Jane (Rapid City, South Dakota: 1932). This booklet was later reprinted in an expanded 47-page version, edited by Helen Rezatto (Deadwood, South Dakota: 1981).

Dora DuFran was played by Melanie Griffith

Melanie Griffith

Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl...

in the 1995 made-for-tv movie 'Buffalo Girls', based on the book by Larry McMurtry.