Edith Downes (1854-) was the wife of Thomas Downes and the mother of Archie Downes. Originally a farmer who was forced into prostitution after her husband's death in 1899, she later became a successful businesswoman.
Biography[]
Edith Downes was born in Valentine, Nebraska in 1854, and she later married Thomas Downes and settled with him on a ranch in the countryside. They lived a humble life, and, in 1899, Thomas took a loan from loanshark Leopold Strauss and was unable to pay it. Strauss went Arthur Morgan to collect the debt, and he badly beat Thomas before Edith told him that her husband was sick; Thomas had coughed blood into Arthur's eye during the beating, giving Arthur tuberculosis. She later visited the Van der Linde Gang's camp and informed Strauss that Thomas had died, hoping to be absolved of his debts; however, Strauss insisted that she had inherited her husband's debts. She later gave the last of the family's money to Arthur, and she and her son left their homestead and moved to New Orleans, where Edith became a prostitute to support her son. One day, she inadvertently offered her services to Arthur, but, when she recognized Arthur, she called the police and claimed that he was harassing her. She and her son proceeded to move to Annesburg, Arkansas, where she continued to work as a prostitute, while Archie worked in the mines; she later contacted syphilis from one of her clients. Arthur, feeling regret for his past actions, saved Archie from being bullied by his foreman, and he even offered money to help Edith. Arthur later confessed that he hadn't even forgiven himself for what he had done, and convinced Edith to take his money; Edith then forgave him. By 1907, she had used the money to open golf courses and other successful businesses, making her family wealthy.