There are conflicting records of Evans' birthday. According to cemetery records, she was born May 31, 1874, but her obituary in the Salida Daily Mail-Record notes that she was born May 31, 1871 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was also possible she was born May 31, 1871 on a farm in Mobile, Alabama. Evans became a sex worker in the 1890s. She got married at 17 years old to John Cooper Evans, Jr. They had a baby daughter, Lucille. She took the name Laura after her husband's sister.
Expanded description She likely began her career in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1890, and within a few years traveled west to the
red light district of
Denver, Colorado. She was known as a prankster, and her wild escapades kept her name in the press. Evans became known as a sex worker in
Leadville, Colorado, in 1894. Evans had a daughter, Lucille, who wrote and distributed a "defamatory circular" that denigrated prominent residents of Salida. She felt contempt for her mother because of neglect. ==In popular culture==