Who was Molly B'Damn? Part 1
When a man is first identified as a medieval knight, a picture of an armed, brave fighter for good immediately comes to mind. There are more examples of this, such as Kitty of the successful TV show "Gunsmoke." She was the owner of the show’s western saloon and dance hall, the typical setup for a brothel. Kitty was the embodiment of the big-hearted, civic minded, nonjudgmental madam whose home, hearth and wallet were open to the needy. Kitty’s past was unknown and not even whispered about. Was the CBS network modeling Maggie Hall (alias Molly B’Damn) and thereby adding to Molly’s arguable legend?
What is not argued about Molly is her coming to the U.S. from Dublin, Ireland, in 1873 at age 20.
She married a man in New York named Burdan who talked her into prostitution in order to have money to live on. They divorced after four years, and she headed west for a new beginning. She was witty, charming, smart and very beautiful.
Her “new beginning” did not include her changing her profession. She wandered around the West as a successful prostitute, earning a lot of money which allowed her to live the high life. She heard that gold had been discovered in the Coeur d’Alene mountains so she headed north, finally arriving in Murray, Idaho.
That is where her legend took root and grew. Some of the folklore embedded in her story is debated, such as how her name morphed from Maggie Hall to Molly Burdan to Molly B’Damn.
Her marriage changed her last name from Hall to Burdan. Her “pimp” husband insisted that a change from Maggie to Molly would make her more acceptable to her disapproving, wealthy father-in-law. On arrival to Murray she quickly made a lifetime friend of Phil O’Rourke who thought she said her last name was B’Dam instead Burdan, an understandable loss of concentration while bedazzled by her beauty. None the less, the end result of her name changes proved to be a good marketing decision.
Molly came to America as a good Irish Catholic girl. The legend is that at her second confession after she had chosen her profession, the priest excommunicated her. Maybe she embraced her final name change hoping that by loudly confessing to the world that she acknowledged it and accepted her condemnation she could find redemption. Good luck with that Molly B’Dam (or Damn for English majors or Darn for the very religious).
Molly’s legend includes the story of her first train ride to the North Idaho area where she coincidently met Calamity Jane on the train. They had an important girl-to-girl chat which included the fact that they were both headed to Murry to start the same business. They amicably decided that Murray was too small for two new likeminded businesswomen, so Jane got off the train. Perhaps Jane also realized that Mother Nature had not blessed her with beautiful blond hair, clear skin, blue eyes, a perfect figure and a warm smile showing perfect teeth. But Jane was probably a better shot and brawler than Molly and Jane preferred men’s clothes.
In Part 2 of this story, I will present some of the oft told episodes of Molly’s legend and life, to include her remarkable bathing habits.
The Museum of North Idaho has a bookstore that is about to be expanded when the new museum opens in the renovated JC White house located north of Tubb’s Hill and south of McEuen Park. The success of the first year will be helped by an expanding membership. There are five membership levels with increasing returns in benefits — from $30 to $500. Go online at museumni.org for the Museum of North Idaho and more details.
Richard Sheldon is a member of the Museum of North Idaho Board of Directors.
