Rosa Elizabeth White (January 1855 – 1911/1912), known as Rosa May was a prostitute during the late 19th century and very early 20th century who lived in the

Virginia City, Nevada Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

and

Bodie, California Bodie ( ) is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States. It is about southeast of Lake Tahoe, and east-southeast of Bridgeport, at an elevation of 8,379 feet (2554 m ...

areas. A local legend states that she selflessly nursed sick miners during an epidemic and succumbed to the illness herself. Because of this she has been referred to as the "

hooker with a heart of gold The hooker with a heart of gold is a stock character involving a courtesan or prostitute who possesses virtues such as integrity, generosity and kindness. Characteristics The character type is defined by morally positive traits, which are contra ...

Biography

Early life

Rosa's parents were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrants. In 1871 she ran away from her home in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and from 1871 to 1873, she began her career of prostitution. It appears that she began her trade in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and then drifted through

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

. She first appears in Virginia City in 1873 and worked in brothels throughout the

Carson City Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, Virginia City area.

Virginia City years

From 1873 to 1888, Rosa circulated in Virginia City and Carson City. The majority of her time was spent in Virginia City where she worked for Virginia City madam, Cad Thompson, (Sarah Higgins). Rosa was a favored employee and often was left in charge of the brothel during Cad's trips to San Francisco.

Bodie years

From 1888 to the early 1890s, she traveled to and from Bodie, California and eventually settled there in 1893. She appears on the 1900 census records. Land records from 1902 show that Rosa purchased a house in Bodie's "Red Light District" for $175. There are no records of Rosa May living in Bodie after the 1910 census. The only evidence that she is buried in Bodie is a photo illustrating the Rosa May piece from Ella Cain's 1956 book, ''The Story of Bodie''. This photo shows a decrepit wooden fence surrounding an otherwise unmarked grave. Since Ella Cain's biographical sketch of Rosa May is mostly fiction, it is likely the photo was chosen for its picturesque qualities. Author George Williams III conducted an exhaustive search in the 1970s for Rosa May's death records and found nothing. Bodie was declining rapidly during the period that Rosa May disappeared, and it may be that she left the area in search of greener pastures. Her supposed resting place in Bodie is a popular tourist destination for those exploring the former Bodie State Park.

Behind the myth

In her book, ''The Story of Bodie'', author Ella Cain relates the story of the epidemic and Rosa succumbing to the same illness that had stricken the miners for whom she was caring. Other resident's accounts and external records refute that there was any type of epidemic during the winter of 1911–1912. Letters, diaries, and handwriting analysis, indicate that she was a charming person, took an interest in others, but was somewhat volatile emotionally. There appears to have been a serious or traumatic event, (or events), in her early years but no record exists of what it could have been. Official documentation about Rosa's life, (birth and death records, etc.), are either missing or non-existent, but extensive research done by author George Williams III provides some basic facts and general information about her. His research is documented in the book ''Rosa May: The Search for A Mining Camp Legend''. Her story is dramatized in the musical play, '' Nevada Belle'' by George Morgan and Duane Ashby.

References

External links

Music Box International, Nevada Belle

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Rosa 1855 births American prostitutes 1910s deaths