With New Year’s revelry upon us, it seemed fitting to focus on a woman who liked a good party. For your consideration, I bring to you Kitty Leroy.
There is not a lot of evidence about her early life (b. 1850), but it appears Kitty Leroy was a paid dancer by the age of 10 and on her own, dancing in theaters, by the age of 14. She married and had a son in 1872, but did not care for married life and headed west, leaving husband and son behind.
After earning money in her home state of Michigan by dancing and trick shooting demonstrations, Kitty landed in Dallas at Johnny Thompson’s Variety Theater on South Jefferson (where the Civil Court building is currently). Kitty became a wildly successful performer at the theater, bringing the house down after each of her performances with the men screaming for more. She cut quite a swath with her exotic clothing and huge diamond earrings. People at the time described her attire as ‘gypsy’-esque one moment and conservatively masculine the next. She might be seen in trousers and suit coat or flowing skirts, but she always had multiple weapons on her at all times. As a woman with sniper-like skills, she did not hesitate to draw a gun on men she thought were swindling her.
The story continues with our next post – and it just gets wilder. Grab a whiskey and hold on.
Photo courtesy of True West Magazine online.
