griffing@fnal.gov

Inez Griffing Becomes "Dixie Lee" -- Legendary Madam

by Ann Hathaway and William Griffing

"The new prostitute learned to assume both a new identity and a defensive social attitude.  The literature abounds with an interesting initiation rite in which all new prostitutes changed their name as they entered a brothel… for the novice, as well as for the initiated, the change of name was a means of bonding to a subculture considered deviant and degraded by the dominant culture.” [1] 

Less than 20 years after the War Between the States, loyalties were still divided in eastern Kansas and Missouri, where so much blood was shed even before the Confederate states seceded from the Union.  For the man with Southern sympathies, a handsome woman with a name evoking memories of magnolias and Spanish moss dripping from the oak trees could make him believe, for just a minute or two, that the South would rise again.  We will never know her real reasons, but it’s possible Inez Griffing considered those things when she chose her brothel name of “Dixie Lee.”

Inez Leaves her Family

In the previous issue of the Register, [2] we told you that Inez Griffing, the central character of our story, was born in Table Rock, Pawnee County, Nebraska on 29 Dec 1862, the oldest child of Osmyn and Sarah (Reavis ) Griffing.  Osmyn had suffered some serious injuries in an accident in 1852, and died of consumption in 1874; Sarah was pregnant with their fifth child at the time.  We also told you that Sarah remarried an ex-convict named Greene Holton who moved the family to Oregon, then California. We know that Sarah was still running her boarding house and restaurant in Falls City, Richardson County, Nebraska in the spring of 1875 because we found an advertisement for her establishment and a notice of an outbreak of measles among her children in the local newspaper. We also found evidence that her restaurant was being sold in the fall of 1875 through the assistance of a brother-in-law, suggesting her marriage and recent departure from Nebraska. It’s easy to understand Sarah’s decision to marry and leave her business in Nebraska; 1875 had been a most difficult year. The grasshopper invasion had obliterated all agricultural prospects and business, in general, was severely depressed. “Our business men wear long faces,” lamented The Falls City Press in its June 9th issue.

Census records do not suggest, however, that 12-year old Inez made the trip to the West coast with her mother, stepfather, and siblings. Though we can’t be certain, we believe the headstrong, self-reliant Inez rejected the notion of living with her new stepfather, a man described by prison records as having gray eyes, a florid complexion, scars on his forehead, and projecting upper front teeth. [3] Perhaps he was overbearing and threatening to the young girl. He was certainly known to be violent and hotheaded. Inez’s intuition proved to be right. Five years after taking Sarah and Inez’s siblings from Nebraska, Greene Holton was convicted of “assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and murder” – the same felony that landed him in jail for a seven-year stint in San Quentin prison twenty-three years earlier. According to the Humboldt Times of 8 Aug 1880, Greene Holton and William Ross were playing cards at the Bracket House in Arcata, Humboldt County, California, at 2 am on August 7th when a dispute between them escalated into a fight. In the scuffle, Greene stabbed the lumberman four or five times with a knife.  A wound in William’s side was cause for some concern that he might not recover, though he eventually did. Greene was convicted on 22 Oct 1880, and was sentenced to serve a term of just one year, though he was released from prison by authorization of the Governor after only ten months.

It's likely that Sarah and the rest of the family moved to Marin County, where San Quentin Prison is located, when Greene was convicted in 1880. After he was released, the family seems to have drifted south to the San Francisco area. Sarah indicates she is a widow in the 1900 census in San Francisco, so we're assuming Greene died before 1900.

Inez Becomes “Dixie Lee”

Regrettably we have not yet verified where Inez was and what she was doing between her father’s death in 1874 and early 1887, when she first makes an appearance in Wichita records.  One possibility is that she stayed in Nebraska with her Uncle Isham Reavis’ family. Another possibility is that she went to Kansas City to live with an older cousin named Lydia (Giddings) Gere who had recently remarried with Alwyn Holmes. This couple, with their three children, resided at the corner of 7th and Central in Kansas City, Missouri, only four blocks from the infamous high-class brothel of Annie Chambers. [4]  After a hard early life of raising her siblings while her mother labored in the restaurant, the easy money and fine clothes of the women in Annie Chambers’ establishment may have been particularly alluring to Inez.  The 1880 census lists a “mistress” of a boarding house on 4th Street by the name of Annie Lee; she has an 18-year-old “boarder” by the name of Lottie Lee  living in her house.  Next door to Annie Chambers’ house on 3rd Street is a “boarding house” run by Lou Martin; she has a 17-year-old “boarder” by the name of Clara Lee.  Either one could be Inez, we’ll probably never know for certain.

What we do know is that Inez was in Wichita in time to be included in the 1887 city directory, running a high-class brothel at 133 N. Wichita Street under the alias Dixie Lee.  We can conclude that Inez had spent some time learning the “tricks of the trade” before 1887, and had saved sufficient funds from her earnings to set herself up with the fine clothes and furnishings required by a brothel of the caliber of Annie Chambers.’  When she bought the buildings remains unclear, but by the time of her death, Inez owned the four lots on the west side of Wichita Street where her brothels were located.  It could be that Inez came up with the money all by herself to purchase the land, but it was most likely a combination of her earnings, gifts from her male friends, and perhaps even a loan from a wealthy admirer.

On the front page of the 26 Dec 1884 edition of the Wichita Weekly Eagle, there is an article headlined “War of the Roses” which details the actions of one Mag Woods, keeper of a house of ill fame.  According to the 1883 city directory, a Mrs. Maggie Wood, from Middlesburg, Georgia, resided on the west side of Wichita Street 2 doors south of First Street.  On the September 1884 Sanborn fire maps, two doors south of First Street would have been 141 N. Wichita; the only house then on the lots that Inez/Dixie would own at the time of her death.  By the time the 1886 Sanborn fire maps were published, 141 N. Wichita Street had a new neighbor: a house at 133 N. Wichita Street.  When the 1887 city directory was published, Dixie Lee was established at 133 N. Wichita Street, and was probably running the brothel at 141 N. Wichita as well.

The Brothel Business

The years 1887 and 1888 would prove to be busy ones for Dixie Lee.  A grand jury investigation was convened in September 1887 to examine and hand down indictments in regards to vice and corruption in Wichita.  Her establishments weren’t mentioned as often or as prominently as others, and a vote taken on 1 Feb 1888 failed to indict Dixie Lee on charges of keeping a house of prostitution.  A second vote taken only two days later, however, returned a unanimous indictment against Dixie Lee.  From transcribed grand jury notes, the vote seems to have turned on the testimony of Lillie Duval, a prostitute working for Dixie Lee. [5]  In spite of the eleven indictments handed down by the grand jury just in the area of prostitution, the indictments were never brought to trial, and the notes from the investigation languished in an attic until they were given to the Kansas State Historical Society.

The grand jury investigation focused primarily on the area of 5th (now St. Francis) and William Streets, where there seemed to be a plethora of brothels with names like “Holly House”, “Green Cottage”, “Silvers House” (named for the keeper, Jennie Silvers), “Black and Tan”, “Dug Out”, “Paradise”, and “Little Georgia’s.”  These were lower-class brothels where the prostitutes would “…expose themselves to passers on the street nearly naked.”  Slightly north of this area was the notorious “Red Light” on the Rock Island tracks, which didn’t seem to have as sordid a reputation.  At 130 N. Water was the “Iron Clad”, originally a beer garden owned by Emil Werner.  Finally there was Dixie Lee’s house on North Wichita street, a high-class brothel that didn’t seem to have a nickname; instead, it was known simply by the name of the madam.

At Dixie Lee’s, the prostitutes would never have appeared in the windows or doorways of the house without being fully clothed.  “Reflecting the class distinctions of the rest of society, brothels catered to the economic interests and budgets of different clientele.  Every city, for example, boasted several expensive five- and ten-dollar parlor houses that attracted wealthy men, who used the facilities much as a gentlemen’s social club.” [6]

Running the brothel itself required the usual management skills of anyone running an upper-class restaurant and boarding house.  Beyond internal management, there was a set of rules peculiar to each locality in terms of bribes, kickbacks and fines that ensured political cooperation in keeping the brothel open.  “Since some of the high-priced sporting houses doubled as clubs where the local political and economic elite met to exchange necessary information and negotiate informal deals, an intelligent madam invariably became privy to the inner workings of her community.  A reputation for absolute silence was essential…  In some cases, some madams became silent partners in the local power structure; they knew too much for any local politician to shut their establishments down.” [7]

Around 1888, Inez replaced the house at 141 N. Wichita Street with a new house located just slightly south of the old one, at 139 N. Wichita Street.  She also enlarged the house at 133 N. Wichita, adding a circular room, probably a parlor, on the southeast corner of the house and a bay window on the north end of the front of the house.

1897 Sanborn Map of 100 block North Wichita Street, Wichita, Kansas

(Copyright 2001 Sanborn Map Company, The Sanborn Library, LLC. All Rights Reserved.)

Dixie Lee's Property included structures at 133, 139, and 145 N. Wichita Street

The "F. B." appearing on each of these structures stands for "Female Boarding" House (or Brothel)
Double-click on image for enlargement  

Inez Marries

Probably in 1886 or 1887, Inez became acquainted with a man by the name of Charles A. Oppenheimer.  Charles was born 22 June 1858 in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana, the sixth of 10 children born to Abraham and Emma (Eppstein ) Oppenheimer, a prominent family in the Jewish community of Fort Wayne.  Although he later became a produce dealer, the 1860 census lists Abraham’s occupation as “clothing merchant.”  That occupation must have appealed to Charles, as the 1880 census finds him in Wichita, boarding with the Joseph Phillips family, with the occupation “clerks in store.”  The 1883 city directory indicates that Charles is a salesman for R Jacks & Co, purveyors of fine clothing, with “a complete zoo for the entertainment of customers’ children.” [8]  In 1885, Charles is still a clerk at R. Jacks’, but is boarding at the Douglas Avenue Hotel, on the southwest corner of Douglas and Water Streets.  The Douglas Avenue Hotel was built in 1872 by one of the town fathers, William Greiffenstein.  By 1887, however, the establishment had degenerated into a notorious boarding house where men could have women stay with them, for an extra $2 fee.

Although a marriage record hasn’t been found, all evidence indicates Charles and Inez were married in 1888.  The 1888 city directory lists Dixie Lee at 133 N. Wichita Street, while Charles’ occupation is given as “speculator” with no residence; the 1889 city directory still indicates Charles is a “speculator”, but his residence is 133 N. Wichita, along with Dixie Lee.  The marriage was a rocky one right from the beginning, according to a newspaper article at the time of Charles’ death.  There were fights, separations and reunions throughout, as Charles desperately wanted Inez to give up The Life to make a life with him.

These photographs of Charles A. Oppenheimer's parents, circa 1897, were provided by Wendy Lang

Adopts a Daughter

From 1887 through 1892, Dixie Lee was residing at 133 N. Wichita Street, according to city directories.  Beginning in 1891, Lou Hall resided at 139 N. Wichita Street, and would help Inez run her Wichita brothels for nearly ten years.  Lou Hall, alias Lou Thompson, was running the “Red Light” brothel at the time of the 1887/1888 grand jury investigations.

In early 1894, the Oppenheimers welcomed an addition to their family, an adopted daughter they named Ruth, born probably in late 1892.  To shield Ruth as much as possible from the business that supported the family, Inez and Charles attempted to build a home for themselves and Ruth in the “valuable and fashionable quarters of the city,” [9] but the residents of that neighborhood objected to their prospective neighbor, so the Oppenheimers built their mansion at 145 N. Wichita Street at a cost of $3,000, and containing over $1,500 of furniture.  In May 1894 a rumor reached the Oppenheimers that “an officer of the Humane society was to have taken away” [10] little Ruth and place her in the children’s home, implying that Charles and Inez were considered unfit parents.  Ruth was “taken out in the country and left with parties who could be trusted to keep [her] safely.  The officer did not appear.” [11] According to the article, Ruth’s biological mother was a young lady of good social standing whom “fell from grace and this baby was the result of her sin.  The mother died when the baby was only two days old…” [12] A friend of a friend knew that Inez Oppenheimer had frequently expressed the wish to adopt a baby, and recommended that the baby be given to her.  Although adoption records are sealed, there is an adoption record for Ruth Oppenheimer in the Sedgwick County probate court indexes, indicating that Ruth was not Charles and Inez’s natural child, as had been speculated.

The rumored attempt to remove Ruth from her custody probably frightened Inez more than the threat of a lengthy jail sentence.  Leaving Lou Hall in charge of her Wichita properties, Inez took her daughter to Kansas City, Missouri where the 1894 city directory shows Inez Oppenheimer living at 21½ W 10th Street, and Dixie Lee, her alias, now operating a high-class brothel next door to Annie Chambers at 205 W 3rd Street.

Adopting Ruth undoubtedly renewed Charles’ requests for Inez to leave The Life, if only to provide a stable, healthy environment for their daughter.  Perhaps that was the reason Inez came back to Wichita, where we find Charles, Inez, and Ruth living on N. Wichita Street, along with Inez’ next-younger sister, Ella (Griffing) Sample.  That reunion was apparently short-lived, however, as Inez obtained a divorce from Charles later that year. It’s uncertain whether Inez filed for divorce in Wichita or moved back to Kansas City before filing, but a protracted legal battle ensued for custody of Ruth. We are certain, however, that by early 1897, Inez and Ruth are once again residing in Kansas City.

Suicide of Former Husband

Charles must have been despondent after the divorce.  He had given up his family and his reputation as a “promising young businessman” [13] for the woman he loved and his adopted daughter, and now Inez had divorced him.  He went to Kansas City in February 1897 when he heard his former wife was living there with another man on Central Street.  When he tried to call on Inez, she refused to see him.  On 2 March Charles and Julius Rice, an acquaintance, were arrested for passing a bad check, and were taken to the No. 2 police station on St. Louis Street in the West Bottoms, where they were locked up in the same cell.  Early on the morning of 3 March, Charles asked for a glass of water.  An hour or so later, Charles awakened his friend Julius with his groaning.  Charles had dissolved in the water two ounces of carbolic acid, which he had hidden in his shoe.  Before a doctor could reach the police station, Charles had died.

Carbolic acid poisoning was a popular method of suicide at that time, mostly because it was cheap.  An ounce of carbolic acid, known as phenol today, cost just a few pennies and could be obtained over the counter at any drug store.  But it was a nasty way to die.  Carbolic acid first causes violent gastroenteritis, followed by collapse, delirium, then convulsions and death, with death caused either by paralysis of the respiratory system or paralysis of the heart, depending on the strength of the dose.

Charles wrote two letters just before he died, one to Rabbi Samuel Schulman, rabbi of Congregation B'Nai Jehudah in Kansas City, asking for a funeral according to the rites of the temple. The other letter was addressed to his former wife. That letter read as follows: "Farewell to you both. It is for you to make a good woman out of the dear child (meaning their adopted daughter) and quit the disreputable business you are now in. If it had not been for John Neill you would not have treated me as you have. This is the third time I have tried this and it has become a mania with me, and this time I'll make sure of it. I hope when O'Neill and yourself awake at night you will all remember how I looked after death. Avoid telling any falsehoods about me. I ask everybody I have wronged to forgive me. Why I have been arrested I don't know. But I have not been imprisoned for any [wrong] doings since the loss of you, dear Inez, and the baby. God bless you both." [14]

Charles was buried on 5 March 1897 in the section of Elmwood Cemetery belonging to Temple B'Nai Jehudah, Kansas City, Missouri. He was 38 years old.

The Other Man

So who was this John O’Neill with whom Inez lived on Central Street in Kansas City in February 1897?

John Patrick O’Neill was born in Scranton, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on 21 March 1861, the son of Bernard and Hannah (Hart ) O’Neill.  He came to Kansas City with his father, sister Sarah, and stepmother Katherine Finnerty  in 1880.  While his father supported the family as a butcher, “J. P.” got involved with local politics in the Northside (River Market) area, eventually becoming a trusted associate of Big Jim Pendergast .  J. P. opened a shoe store at 505 Main Street in 1886, later opening a second store at 905 Main Street.  In April 1887, he married Annie Killeen , born in Fon du lac, Wisconsin but raised in Kansas City.  Their first child, John Patrick O’Neill, was born in April 1888, but died on 2 June 1888 at the age of five weeks of “congest brain.”  Their second child, Bernard, was born in June 1889.  J. P. was appointed secretary of the first Park Board of Kansas City on 26 April 1890 where he served until 1892, when he was elected Sheriff of Jackson County, Missouri. He would hold that office for two terms, until 1896.  While he was Sheriff, J. P.’s wife died of consumption on 23 July 1894.  Five-year old Bernard was sent to live with J. P.’s sister-in-law Sarah (Killeen) Stewart  and her family, who also lived in the Kansas City area.  According to the city directories, J. P. went back to the shoe business once he was no longer Sheriff. But according to the an article appearing in the Kansas City Post written many years later, when J. P. “went out of the office of sheriff, he degenerated into a bartender and a keeper of low saloons in the North end” and “blossomed as a macqueraux [pimp]…, ‘friend’ and protector of Dixie Lee, a notorious courtesan.” [15]  Some think J. P.  was given the task of collecting monies from the brothels in the Northside that were due Big Jim Pendergast in exchange for his protection, and that’s how he met Dixie Lee.  By 1898, he was well known as a “thinker and schemer” [16] for Big Jim Pendergast.

Pinnacle of Her Career

The 1897, 1898 and 1899 Kansas City city directories shows that Dixie Lee is residing at 205 W 3rd in Kansas City, still running the brothel next door to Annie Chambers; Lou Hall  is still taking care of Inez’ properties in Wichita. The 1900 census minces no words in telling it like it is in the 100 block of N. Wichita Street.  Kittie Miller  “Runs Bawdy House” at 133 N. Wichita; there are five “prostitutes” in residence.  Lou Hall “Runs Bawdy House” at 139 N. Wichita with four “prostitutes,” and Ollie Clayton at 145 N. Wichita has the same occupation with three “prostitutes.”  The house at 151 N. Wichita, though not owned by Inez, is also a bawdy house run by Nellie Orliff  with four "prostitutes."

On 5 April 1899 Inez purchased the house at 1512 Troost in Kansas City, in the fashionable Dundee Place residential district, as a home for herself and Ruth.  The 1900 census shows Inez and Ruth at that address, along with Lucie Whitney, servant; Lucie’s daughter Laura; and a nurse, S. L. Nash.  Dixie Lee is also listed in the 1900 census at 205 W. 3rd Street, along with ten female “roomers”, a servant, and a porter.  But the name right below Dixie’s in the census record is the most interesting.  Her name is “Dollie Lee,” and her relationship to Dixie is listed as “Sister.”  From the birth date and age given, we believe “Dollie” is Inez’ youngest sister, Jessie.  We aren’t sure if Jessie was a working girl or not; it’s possible that Jessie was just doing what she could to help out her older sister as Inez had fought a legal battle with the city of Wichita earlier in the year.

A Map of the Brothel Area at Third & Wyandotte Streets in Kansas City, Missouri

Showing location of Dixie Lee's Brothel in juxtaposition to Annie Chambers' Brothel and other Famous Madams

Double-click on image for enlargement

The Track’s End

In January 1900 Inez received word that the Wichita city council and the Missouri Pacific Railroad had reached an agreement to build a brand new depot on the northwest corner of Douglas and Wichita Streets.  Ordinarily this would have been good news, because a railroad depot would usually mean an increase in business for the brothels.  However, the planned construction would reduce the width of the alley running east and west just south of Inez’ brothels from 30 feet down to 15 feet, build additional tracks on Wichita Street resulting in the closure of the west side of the street, and add a fenced platform next to the tracks to prevent access to anyone not having a ticket.  This meant a customer could only gain access to Inez’ brothels from the alley to the west or from First Street to the north.  In addition there was the anticipated increase in noise from the trains on Wichita Street, which would surely impact her business.  Dixie Lee would have been happy to sell her properties to the city, but the city wasn’t interested.

It would seem that Dixie Lee had reached the end of her tracks in Wichita, and a decision had been made to close down her businesses in a way that looked perfectly legitimate.  So Dixie Lee hired two of the most prestigious law firms in the city, Amidon & Conly, and Stanley, Vermillion & Evans, to file an injunction against the city to keep the depot from being built in that location.  The injunction was filed on 30 Jan 1900, and was put on the court docket for February 5.

The injunction caused uproar beyond belief.  A keeper of bawdy houses filing an injunction to prevent a new depot from being built?  Absurd!  Preposterous!  “The truth is that the class to which doxy Dixie belongs is so in the habit of pinching and bleeding unsuspecting victims that she could not refrain from the opportunity of trying the game on an entire community…” [17]

In an obvious attempt to legitimize and expand the protest against the depot construction, an identical injunction was filed by the same law firms on behalf of Mrs. Olive McFarland, owner of McFarland Foundry at 114 N. Wichita Street.  Both injunctions were put on the court docket for February 5. To the dismay of the law firms, however, Mrs. McFarland took the witness stand and swore “she had never authorized Mr. Amidon or anybody else to bring this suit for or in her behalf.” [18] To make matters worse, Mrs. McFarland indicated that County Attorney Amidon had promised she would not have to pay any fees or costs in connection with the suit.  Dixie Lee’s case was postponed until the next day, February 6, at which time it didn’t take Judge Dale long to dismiss the injunction after hearing arguments from both sides.  The depot was built as planned, and the first train pulled in at 7:25 AM on 1 Jan 1901.  In the photo of the new depot below, the roof of 133 N. Wichita can be seen between the depot and the engine of the train.

Estate of a Madam

It’s possible that this legal fight with the city of Wichita hastened Inez’ death.  Presumably to keep her daughter Ruth from witnessing her mother’s declining health, Inez began renting rooms 26 and 28 at the Belmont Hotel, 301 W. 9th in Kansas City, on 1 Oct 1900.  Inez would continue to rent those rooms until early January 1901, when she would travel to San Francisco, where her mother and siblings lived.  Checking into the Lane Hospital at the corner of Clay and Webster Streets in San Francisco shortly after her arrival, she wrote her will there on 8 January 1901.  Inez died at Lane Hospital on 13 January 1901, aged 38 years and 15 days.  San Francisco death records, along with many other public records, were destroyed in the fire after the 1906 earthquake, so we don’t know the cause of her death.  However, an article appearing in the Wichita Daily Beacon on 28 Jan 1901 reported that Inez had gone “to Chicago the first of January to have an operation in hopes of regaining her health.”

In her will, Inez assigned her mother’s brother Isham Reavis, prominent judge and attorney in Falls City, Nebraska, to be guardian of her then-8-year-old daughter, Ruth Oppenheimer, and the executor of her estate.  And what an estate it was!  Estimates of the total value of her estate ranged as high as $250,000, but it was probably closer to $100,000. [19]  Inez left government bonds with a face value of $9,450 to her daughter Ruth.  Ruth was also bequeathed her mother’s diamond rings, her pair of diamond bracelets, a diamond sunburst pin, a diamond hairpin, diamond cuff buttons, a pair of diamond solitaire earrings, “all other of my jewels,” and the house at 1512 Troost in Kansas City.

To her next-younger sister, Ella Z. (Griffing ) Sample, Inez left a house in Oakland, California, located at 864 Oak Street.  According to the 1900 census, this piece of property seems to have been a house rented out to a family unrelated to anyone in our story.  Today it is the location of the above ground entrance to the Lake Merritt BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station.

To her mother Sarah Holton, her brother Ernest Griffing, and her sisters Anna Griffing and Jessie (Griffing) Olmstead, Inez left her real estate in Wichita, lots 13, 15, 17, and 19 of Waterman’s Addition, the houses on those lots, and all the furnishings in the houses. [20]  This property was sold on 21 March 1905 to the Wichita Gas, Electric Light, and Power Company. [21]  Today it is the site of the Garvey Building.

To her half-sisters, Eunice Holton, Georgia Holton, Ada Holton, Florence Holton, Floretta (Holton) Hamberger , and Flora (Holton) Hadden, Inez left $5 each, a token gesture.

There was one final bequest: “To my friend J. P. O’Neil, of Kansas City, State of Missouri, I give and bequeath all my furniture and other effects on and in the second floor or flat of that certain building in the said City of Kansas City, known as and designated #700 Wyandotte Street, and also all the furniture and effects which belong to me and are in that certain building known as and designated #205 West Third Street in said Kansas City.”

So J. P. and Inez must have continued their relationship after Charles’ suicide, and J. P. ended up inheriting the contents of Dixie Lee’s Kansas City brothel, as well as the contents of the second floor of 700 Wyandotte. [22]  It seems that this is where J. P. and Inez spent time together, since J. P.’s residence in the 1901, 1902, and 1903 Kansas City directories was given as 700 Wyandotte.  We haven’t been able to locate an inventory of the contents of the brothel, but J. P. paid inheritance taxes in 1901 on property valued at $519.45.  J. P. remarried about 1906 to a widow named Annie Flynn , but inheriting property from Dixie Lee would follow J. P. the rest of his life. When he was up for election as alderman in 1916, the Kansas City Post devoted several articles on 1 April and 2 April 1916 to the nefarious deeds of J. P. O’Neill, “Former saloonkeeper, former defaulting sheriff, the consort of dissolute women, the heir of one…” [23] John P. O’Neill died 14 Dec 1922 at the age of 51 while wintering in San Diego.

The Kansas City Board of Trade Building.

Inez and J. P. rented a room on the second floor of the brick structure abutting the rear of the Board of Trade Building

Family Ties

Sarah Reavis Griffing Holton, age 57 and widowed at the time of the 1900 census, was living at 22 Bush Street in San Francisco with her son Ernest, age 28, a loader of freight cars, and daughters Georgia (age 18) and Ada (age 16), both of whom worked in a candy factory.  At the time of the 1910 census, Sarah was living at 645 Fulton (now a parking lot next door to a funeral home) in San Francisco with her son Ernest, age 35, and a theatrical press agent at the time.  Sarah died 18 April 1915, aged 73 years, 7 months, and 6 days.  She was cremated at Cypress Lawn.

Ella Z. Griffing Sample Kelly  was married to Mr. Sample prior to the 1895 Kansas census.  By the time Inez’ probate was filed in 1901 she had married Thomas F. Kelly, whose occupation was listed as theatrical singer in the 1920 census, when they were living at 1240 Fulton in San Francisco.

Anna Griffing married Joseph H. DeSoria  after 12 April 1902.  At the time of the 1920 census, she and Joseph were living at 715 Scott in San Francisco, now one of the famous Painted Ladies on Alamo Square in San Francisco.  Anna died 25 April 1935 in San Francisco.

In the 1920 census, Ernest Griffing was living with his sister Jessie and her husband Charles Young  at 1612 Fulton (the house still exists, but is now sided with cedar shingles) in San Francisco; his occupation was laborer at a drayage company.  He never married, and died 22 January 1936 in Mendocino County, California.

Jessie Griffing married Louis Olmstead sometime before 1900.  About 1908 she married Charles C. Young in San Francisco; at the time of the 1910 census they were living at 1634 Webster (no longer standing; the area is part of Japantown) in San Francisco.  Jessie died on 25 July 1940 in San Francisco.

Before Inez wrote her will, her half-sister Flora Holton had married Mr. Hadden.  Sometime later, Flora married Mr. Diez (or Diaz ).  Flora died 27 April 1949 in San Diego.

At the time of the probate of Inez’ will, Floretta Holton was married to Mr. Hamberger and was living in Portland, Oregon.  About 1902 she married Edgar W. Dickenson; by the time of the 1910 census, Floretta and Edgar and their two sons were living in San Diego.  Floretta died 16 Feb 1953 in San Diego.

Florence Holton married Mr. Silver sometime after Inez’ will was probated.  She died 28 March 1952 in San Diego.

Eunice Holton was born 10 July 1880 in Arcata, Humboldt County, California, and married Eugene James Kreider about 1901.  So far we have not been able to find any further information about Eunice.

Either Georgia or Ada married a man by the name of H. Wilson sometime before their mother’s death in 1915, but that’s all the information we have on them.

It’s worth noting that of Sarah’s 11 children, only one (Ernest) was a boy, and he never married.  It also seems unusual that none of Sarah’s five children by Osmyn had any children of their own.

Dixie Lee Dead

Isham brought Inez’ body back to Steele Cemetery in Falls City, where she was buried next to her father.  Isham marked her final resting place with an impressive monument.  Ruth went to live with her great-uncle Isham Reavis and his wife Anna in Falls City, Richardson County, Nebraska.  Ruth was still living with Isham and Anna at the time of the 1910 census; her name was given as Ruth Oppenheimer Reavis.  Ruth granted power of attorney to Isham on 4 Oct 1911; the document was registered in Jackson County, Missouri in June 1913.  Isham died 8 May 1914 in Falls City, only days before celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary.  On 4 Dec 1916 a change of name was filed in Jackson County, noting that Ruth Z. Oppenheimer was now known as Ruth Reavis.  Filing these documents in Jackson County seems to imply that Ruth still owned the house at 1512 Troost in Kansas City.  Unfortunately that is the last mention research has turned up about Ruth.  Wherever she went and whatever she did, we hope she had a long and happy life.

“’Dixie Lee’ as she was called, was one of the characters of Wichita in the days of her frontier history.  She was considered smart and her business ability enabled her to amass a considerable fortune.  Information received here shows that her people in California are numbered among the best.” [24]

[1]    Ruth Rosen, The Lost Sisterhood: Prostitution in America, 1900-1918 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982), 102.

[2]    “Inez Griffing: Risqué Business,” Register 39, No. 2 (2004): 51.

[3]    Register and Description of Convicts under Sentence of Imprisonment in the State Prison of California, 1857 and 1880.

[4]    “Queen of the Kansas City Red Lights,” Register 39, No. 2 (2004): 56.

[5]    Lillie’s testimony against Dixie Lee didn’t seem to affect their working relationship; Lillie was still residing at 139 N. Wichita Street in 1892.

[6]    Rosen, 86.

[7]    Rosen, 87.

[8]    H. Craig Miner, Wichita: The Early Years, 1865-80, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982), 161.

[9]    Wichita Daily Eagle, “Story of a Baby,” page 5, column 2, May 17, 1894.

[10]    Ibid.

[11]    Ibid.

[12]    Ibid.

[13]    Kansas City Star, “’Carmen’ in Real Life,” March 3, 1897.

[14]    Ibid.

[15]    Kansas City Post, “Star-O’Neill-Republican Plot is Bared”, front page, April 1, 1916.

[16]    Kansas City Star, “Jim Pendergast Grabs for Power”, editorial, June 28, 1898.

[17]    Wichita Daily Eagle, “Plans in Progress”, page 5, column 1, February 3, 1900.    

[18]    Wichita Daily Eagle, “Disgrace”, page 5, column 1, February 6, 1900.

[19]    Approximately $2 million in 2004 dollars.  [Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, “Consumer Price Index (Estimate) 1800-2004”, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis] 

[20]    The following Inventory & Appraisement of the Wichita properties was filed on 17 April 1902 by Appraisers H.D. Heiserman, D. E. Fuller, and J. T. Donnelly who were appointed on 3 May 1901.

 TOTAL APPRAISED VALUE: $257.75

[21]    Wichita Daily Eagle, page 5, March 22, 1905.

[22]    Though the contents of the brothel at 205 W. 3rd Street is not in the public record, the property at 700 Wyandotte Street in the rental apartment shared between Inez and J.P. O'Neill was itemized. O'Neill inherited the following items from that location:

"3 Double Gas Fixtures, 1 Single Gas Fixture, one Hall Gas Fixture, one Triple Gas Fixture, one Oak Hall chair, 2 Hand Painted brass chairs, 4 Pr. Lace Curtains, Poles & Draperies, 4 Roller Curtains and Fixtures, 1 China Spittoon, 1 China Serving Set, 1 French Vase, 1 Pr. Baroque ?, 1 oil Painting, 1 Oak Console with Triple Plate Glass Mirror 5 1/2 ft. by 3 1/2 ft., 1 Heavy Walnut Bed Stead Hand Carved, 1 Walnut Ward Robe Hand Carved cedar lined with 5 1/2 ft. by 3 ft. Triple Plate Mirror, 1 Hand Carved Walnut Dresser Marble Top with 3 1/2 by 2 1/2 ft. Triple Plate Mirror, 1 Hand Carved Walnut Commode Marble Top with 3 ft. by 20 inch Triple Plate Glass Mirror, 1 Silver Toilet Set 12 pieces, 1 China Toilet Set 10 pieces, about 70 yds. Axminster Carpet, 4 Companion Pictures, 1 Lamp, 5 Pictures 1 hanging on wall, 1 Gas Stove and tubing, 2 Feather Pillows, 1 White Hair Mattress, one Top Mattress, 3 Comforters, 1 silk Spread, 1 Pillow Holder, 1 Heavy Spring, 6 sheets, 6 pillow slips, 1 Large Pitcher, one Silver Water Pitcher and Goblet, 1 small Pitcher, 1 Hair Stuffed Sofa, 2 Hand Hammered Brass Urns, 1 Hand Carved Combination Book Case and Desk, 1 Oak Stenhofe, one Oak Rocker, one Walnut Morris Chair, all being and contained in 2nd Story of Building Known as No 700 Wyandotte Street in Kansas City, Missouri." 

[23]    Kansas City Post, “Star-O’Neill-Republican Plot is Bared”, front page, April 1, 1916.

[24]    Wichita Daily Beacon, “Dixie Lee Dead”, page 5, column 3, January 28, 1901.

A Marriage Record was subsequently found by Ann Hathaway for Inez A. Griffing and Charles A. Oppenheimer in Jackson County, Missouri. The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev. J. S. Bilter, a Minister of the Gospel, on 26 July 1887. The date and location of the marriage seem to confirm the hypothesis that Inez broke into the brothel business initially in Kansas City, perhaps under the tutelage of Annie Chambers.