On this date in 1904, a Fargo newspaper published a sympathetic story about a young woman arrested at a bawdy house in Wahpeton. She went by the professional name Leo Williams and was described as a woman of unusual beauty. Charges of grand larceny had been brought by Cora Oman, the notorious madam who ran a house in Moorhead. Leo offered no resistance when arrested, but she stated she was innocent and that the entire case was motivated by spite.
Leo quickly hired an attorney, who listened to her side of the story. She explained that she had been living at the Oman house for some time and had tried several times to leave and retire from her life as a courtesan. However, Cora Oman had interfered. When another girl at the house announced she was going to Wahpeton, Leo decided to escape under the pretense of accompanying her to the train depot. Leo claimed that earlier in the day, she had temporarily exchanged diamond earrings with Cora Oman and had forgotten to return them before slipping away.
In court the following morning, several local jewelers examined both sets of earrings and determined that Leo’s pair was far more valuable than Cora’s. The court was satisfied with Leo’s story that she was, in fact, what was known in sporting circles as a "good parlor girl" and that her landlady didn’t want to lose her.
It was reported that Leo was the daughter of wealthy and influential parents from one of the leading families in her Wisconsin hometown. She was about to inherit an estate worth $100,000 in a few weeks. Leo expressed that the life she had been leading was distasteful to her, and she intended to abandon it. She announced plans to take the night train to Wahpeton to pack up her belongings and then leave for the East.
Cora Oman had long been a thorn in the side of Fargo and Moorhead officials due to her illegal blind pig and roadhouse operations. In 1901, she was extradited from Minneapolis on contempt of court charges after fleeing to avoid violating prohibition laws in Fargo. Though she was released on a writ of habeas corpus, she was immediately re-arrested for the original charges. The Saint Paul Globe reported that while many disapproved of her occupation, local veterans sympathized with Mrs. Oman for supporting her husband, an aged and disabled soldier.
Dakota Datebook by Lise Erdrich
Sources:
- SPITE WORK - Girl on the Eve of Securing Big Fortune is Arrested on Charge of Grand Larceny. Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, January 27, 1904, Page 8
- MRS. OMAN GOES BACK. North Dakota's Requisition for Contempt of Court Honored. The Minneapolis Journal, October 30, 1901, Page 7
- CORA WILL COME BACK. Bismarck Daily Tribune, October 30, 1901, Page 5
- FARGO. The Saint Paul Globe, November 04, 1901, Page 6
- CONTEMPT IS A MISDEMEANOR. Minnesota Attorney General Decides Cora Oman Must Be Brought Back to Fargo. [Minneapolis Journal]. Jamestown Weekly Alert, November 07, 1901, Page 3
- CORA OMAN BEATEN. Charged That She Sold Liquor Without A License After Being Warned Not To Do So By The Court. The Saint Paul Globe, November 19, 1901, Page 2
