Big Nose Kate Follow Up
Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!
Well guys after I completed that Old West series about Doc Holliday I
had several questions about Big Nose Kate, like what happened to
her after she spit up with Doc, and I didn't have much of an
answer so I went back to find out.
For those of you who didn't see that series of posts she was Doc
Holliday's off and on girlfriend and companion but she kind of
disappeared on him.
When the gunfight at the OK Corral happened Doc and the Earp boys
were in jail for a little while until they were cleared by a jury trial and
it was at this time that Big Nose Kate decided to "Get the hell out of
Dodge!" leaving Doc on his own.
We know that they had a very rocky romance and many times would
fight like cats and dogs and she had a history of running out on him
before, so this was not shocking but we don't know the specific cause.
What we DO know is that she was restless and ambitious and with
Doc's fatal disease I can see, knowing her personality, why she would
want to find a more permanent and secure relationship. Not very
romantic but that's my take on it.
Of course, my female followers usually set me straight on these things
so I may be missing something! lol.
For those who didn't see my Doc Holliday posts, Big Nose Kate was a
well known prostitute and Madame who ran brothels in the Wild West
frontier towns. It seems like a horrible lifestyle but a bit about her
past is worth mentioning here.
She immigrated with her parents from Hungary when she was a little
girl and both of her parents died within a month of each other from
Yellow Fever. This put her and her little sister in the care of a type of
foster home where Kate was sexually abused for years until she ran
away to St Louis at the age of 16.
Here is a photo of her sitting, and her little sister:
Well, when she got to St. Louis the only way she could support
herself was through prostitution so you can see from her experience
how that was a logical outcome from what she'd been through.
By the time she met Doc Holliday she was pretty famous and so was
he and when Doc killed a man in self defense and she found out that
a mob was coming for him she bravely busted him out.
Well, the town didn't have a jail so they were holding him in a hotel
room where Kate worked so she pulled two pistols on the guard
at Doc's room and they rode off into the night together, thus
beginning their wild and dysfunctional romance.
Here is a wanted poster for Kate after that jail break:
source
She never did get picked up for this, it's not like they couldn't have
found her eventually because everywhere she went she started up a
successful brothel. I think maybe some Deputies got paid off and
convince to look the other way if they showed up at one of her
establishments!
Ok, so when she left Doc in Tombstone, Arizona she traveled around
in New Mexico and Arizona and ended up marrying a Blacksmith in
1888 until he committed suicide in 1915.
She then moved in with a man in Dos Cabazas until he died in 1930.
In Prescott, Arizona is where she ended up in a home for the destitute
and died in 1940 at the age of 90, which was a really long life for back
then and especially for the rough life of drinking and probably
smoking that she had.
Her legacy does live on though because one of the saloons she ran is
still in operation in Tombstone, Arizona.
It looks like a nice place and the reviews are pretty good too.
If it wasn't for Doc Holliday most people would never had heard of her
but she was an interesting character and played a role in founding society
in the American Western Territory.
Thanks for reading folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy Texas
the gentleman redneck
ps- ya know...you might just be a redneck if:
You consider your license plate personalized because your dad made
it in prison!
I am surprised that she lived as long as she did. (90 back then was nothing to sneeze at! She certainly lived a hard life. Interesting that she settled for a blacksmith. Not much excitement there...
haha! I know cecicastor but maybe she was finally ready to settle down and take it easy like alot of us do. lol.
What a tough lady, and even though she may not have been in the best light back then we can look back on her as a hero of the west today. Her story lives on and that says a lot right there. Thanks for another amazing history lesson.
howdy back again sir badger! Yes sir she was a wild one, didn't really like being beholden to any man and was pretty crazy in her younger years but it saved Doc's life because it took alot of guts to bust him out and run away with him like that! lol.
Hi there, Good to be back here on your posts after ages courtesy this great piece of update :D
Good piece of history again @janton thank you for the delegation which I am using back on you so its not going to a waste :D
Okay so the big nose kate was like my girlfriend, always disappearing on me and finding me back and not knowing what to do with me again :D
hahaha! that's a good one hananali! yes Big Nose Kate was hard to please and wanted alot of excitement in her life. She was addicted to attention and partying and the wild life so it was hard for her to settle down.
I'm sure your girlfriend doesn't have that problem! lol.
thank you for your kind words and for leaving a comment.
Okay now I am not sure if you are explaining Big Nose Kate or my girl because they are both eventually the same, am afraid now :D
No need to thank me for anything, its just your own good deeds getting back at you :D
ha..no your girlfriend is nothing like Big Nose Kate I'm sure of it. lol. She was a rough, crazy woman but you can see why because of her past. Losing both parents at a young age and then being abused really messed her up.
Oh that could be a different story then but the way she behaves totally resembles to how my girl does :D
howdy back hananali..so how does your girl behave, very restless and always wants to be on the move?
That's true, very unpredictable and can not decide what she is up to
howdy again hananali! well how old is she? maybe she just needs a few more years to settle down and relax. She is going to school full time?
What a terribly hard life for this woman, she was an abused child that grew up to be a survivor gong from one disaster to another. Sometimes people who are abused as children tend to go into self-destruct mode often. Why she left Doc Halliday no body knows.
howdy again angiemitchell! yes Ma'am she had a hard, cruel childwood with losing both parents as a little girl and then being abused like that, that's terrible. But she was tough and made a success of herself in some ways but was still obviously messed up.
Probably in her older age she settled down and was normal. Unless that's why the one husband killed himself! Maybe she was still all messed up.
Maybe. Sad that she lived in poverty at the end of her life.
yes Ma'am It is sad indeed. I guess her husband didn't have much when he died or else she blew money. She had successful businesses that made alot of money but she must not have been able to handle it well.
I guess she had to lie to the retirement home about who she was so they would let her in. Then after she died they found out about her past, apparently they wouldn't have let her stay there if they'd known.
Wow, I love that Salon. My Aunt has been a lot of places out west. She loves it.
howdy again sir cosmiccrimes! oh that's interesting, she lives back East in Virginia but travels all the way to the West because she likes the Western culture?
She's a world traveler. She has already been everywhere in Europe.
howdy back again sir cosmiccrimes! oh how interesting...and how can she afford that, is she wealthy?
She and her now ex -husband both worked for the government so they have moved around a lot. she does not travel as much these days but still goes out West at least two times a year. She's not wealthy. Middle class.
She retired from Department of Defense. Even though she had a good job, the cost of living out there is astronomical.
howdy again sir cosmiccrimes! hey if you're close to her and you like each other maybe she'd take you with her..but I don't know if that would be a fun way to travel or not.
LOL. I couldn't ask her. I would feel like mooching.
haha! yes sir cosmiccrimes I know what you mean but maybe you could pay your way and hitch and ride! lol.
Congratulations @janton!
You raised your level and are now a Minnow!
Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
So interesting living to 90 is pretty impressive in those times
howdy there JJ! yeah I mean for the rough lifestyle that she had with the heavy whiskey drinking and I assume smoking and party lifestyle, probably alot of drug use because back then the Opium use was rampant and there were no drug laws, the brothels were also opium dens.
But anyway when the average lifespan in the late 1800's was 58.6 she outlived everyone that she knew, all of her contemporaries.
Thank you so much for commenting and reading!
Yeah sometimes makes one wonder if a healthy lifestyle is all its written up to be
Hi @janton. Really enjoy the way you tell the stories, just need a campfire.
haha howdy again sir cryptoandcoffee thank you so much for the kind words but I'd love to sit around the campfire and here about your stories because you actually lived them! lol. It would be so interesting. Perhaps some day when we visit South Africa.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
That would be fun. One day when steem goes through the roof we could afford to do these things.
yes sir cryptoandcoffee! I've heard so many experts think it's possible or even probable that I'm confident that something good will happen.
Oooo @janton I so agree with @cryptoandcoffee. You just need a campfire! And the background strumming of a guitar. Love your tales of the Old West
hey there buckaroo! thanks so much for your kind words, there are so many great stories to tell so I think I'll be telling them for awhile! Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
Looking forward to hearing more great cowboy tales from a Texan cowboy ;)
well howdy there buckaroo! thank you so much for the kind words. I just wish I had your skill in putting great looking posts out!
Wait, no mustache? Are you ok?
hahaha! howdy there blacklux! yes, thankfully Big Nose Kate didn't have a mustache. lol.
Great article! I like the look of that bar too....
howdy again sir preppervetuk! thank you so much for your kind works and for reading! I look forward to your next post.