Mattie Silks
Encyclopedia
Mattie Silks, or Martha Ready (1848–1929), was a leading madam
and brothel
keeper in the latter part of the 19th century.
and Denver, Colorado
, where demand for women was high due to the Colorado gold rush
es.
in Denver between two women. In addition to being in competition with one another due to their brothels, both were involved romantically with the same man, Cortez Thomson, a local businessman. Both missed their targets, but Silks' bullet did strike a bystander, none other than Thomson, injuring him slightly.
From 1877 to 1897 her brothel was the most successful in Denver. In 1898, Madam Jennie Rogers opened the House of Mirrors in Denver, and quickly became more successful than any of the competition. Jennie Rogers died in 1909, after which Silks purchased the House of Mirrors for $14,000. She continued to work as a madam, traveled, and invested in real estate, making her a very wealthy woman.
She died in 1929 from complications due to a fall. Very few people attended her funeral. She was buried, under the name Martha Ready, beside Cortez Thomson, her longtime lover, in block 12-lot 31, of Fairmount Cemetery
in Denver.
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...
and brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
keeper in the latter part of the 19th century.
Early life
Born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, raised in Indiana, Silks began her working career in Springfield, Illinois. She was one of the best known madams in the west, having brothels in Dodge City, KansasDodge City, Kansas
Dodge City is a city in, and the county seat of, Ford County, Kansas, United States. Named after nearby Fort Dodge, the city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,340.-History:The first settlement of...
and Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, where demand for women was high due to the Colorado 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...
es.
Life in Denver
Silks is described as being a very good looking woman, with spirit and a competitive nature. She started her first brothel on Holladay Street (now Market Street) and suffered from stiff competition from other brothels. At one point, she and another madam, Kate Fulton, had the first recorded duelDuel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
in Denver between two women. In addition to being in competition with one another due to their brothels, both were involved romantically with the same man, Cortez Thomson, a local businessman. Both missed their targets, but Silks' bullet did strike a bystander, none other than Thomson, injuring him slightly.
From 1877 to 1897 her brothel was the most successful in Denver. In 1898, Madam Jennie Rogers opened the House of Mirrors in Denver, and quickly became more successful than any of the competition. Jennie Rogers died in 1909, after which Silks purchased the House of Mirrors for $14,000. She continued to work as a madam, traveled, and invested in real estate, making her a very wealthy woman.
She died in 1929 from complications due to a fall. Very few people attended her funeral. She was buried, under the name Martha Ready, beside Cortez Thomson, her longtime lover, in block 12-lot 31, of Fairmount Cemetery
Fairmount Cemetery (Denver, Colorado)
Fairmount Cemetery in Denver, Colorado was founded in 1890 and is Denver's second oldest operating cemetery after Riverside Cemetery. It was designed by German landscape architect Reinhard Schuetze...
in Denver.